Trini style Activism

WE will copy anything …
Frankly I am tired of the divisive habits; there is a lot do in the fight for our beloved country. We need to each take hold of different possible solutions, and work hard @ making that work, while SUPPORTING EACH OTHER! Imagine that! Some one sent me a link to this site http://www.voicesoftnt.org/. Finally an on-line forum that is not about partying but WHY HAVE THEY STARTED A NEW PETITION? The lay out is even similar! However on further review I have a few questions that I am hoping someone can help me with! http://www.trinidadmurders.org/ already has a well laid out petition. (see below) May I humbly suggest you contact them and provide a link to this petition. Maybe even start collecting off-line petitions in your area!

Accountability?!
I have finally grown tired of organizations selling “cat in Bag.” , “They eh go kno’ de difference” and if they ask we’ll mama guy them with words. Here an organization without any notable links, is seeking supports in financial way, yet who’s behind it!
As a us entity do they have 501 C 3 status verification active or pending? By The way who will be overseeing these funds?
I am not accusing them of anything I am simply suggesting we demand a level of transparency… having been directly affected by TnT crime and having seen one to many immigration crimes. I am asking. As for that address,
Maha Helping Hands of South Florida. 6289 West Sunrise Blvd.Suite 123.Sunrise Florida.Zip code: 33313
can someone please verify! Legally one has to post an address for web sites or deal with the US authorities, Unfortunately now many are simply virtual offices!

TRANSPERANCY?!

Who is collecting the money and what are they doing with it! These I am sure will be the first in a spate of organizations that will be set up! Who will they need to answer to or will we see a second victimization of the situation!

What good will this do!
I’ve had to answer this once to often

• "How does this help change the situation? Positive, concrete suggestions are what‘s needed. “

It is one thing, to sympathize with victims, it is easy, it is human...
But to empathize, to place yourself in another’s shoes is what makes us humane!

Seeming to have the support of others, may not seem like much, but to a family in that grief it means the world, unfortunately I come by this knowledge through personal experience... It is vital! This is an excert from a response to such a question http://www.trinidadmurders.org/ the first one
First, please read the following notes:
The Keith Noel 136 Committee is not FOR or AGAINST the death penalty, that is not our issue.
We encourage you to take this petition seriously and refrain from entering false information. This is not a joke.
Any erroneous or offensive additions will be removed immediately so don't waste your time or ours.
If your name contains an apostrophe (e.g. D'Abadie), please replace it with a space instead.
Please enter your Name and Location only once.

Thank you for your support.___To the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.His Excellency Dr. Maxwell Richards
We the Citizens, are fed-up with the violent, murderous crime situation and will no longer live in fear. We demand action by our elected Members of Parliament and ask that you use the Office of the President to help us, this scared and frightened population.___
Signatures collected offline: over 42,500Total signatures collected: over 81,000

Their transparency, check their sites for more info The Petition campaign has received enourmous support from all quarters. To date we have funded the campaign from our own private sources. To maintain the momentum - the website, newspaper ads, radio advertising etc. we are going to require some additional funds.
If you would like to help and do support the work of The Keith Noel 136 Committee please do so by sending your donation to :
Scotiabank. [ any branch ]Account Number 2400692.Account Name: The Keith Noel 136 Committee
For overseas donations you can either send a bank draft or cheque to:
The Keith Noel 136 Committeec/o No. 2 I.D.C EstateBiljah Road,ChaguanasTrinidad, W.I.
Thanks to all those who have given support so far - both financially and physically. We've so far received $29,000 via the bank account and our campaign will continue. If you'd like to assist in circulating the petition with us please contact us Tel: 671-6909. Thank you!

http://www.voicesoftnt.org/ petition
If you would like to receive information on upcoming meetings. please enter your email address here:
Their Submit form is ambiguously placed here between these two!

First, please read the following notes:
This group is not affiliated with any political parties.
We encourage you to take this petition seriously and refrain from entering false information. This is not a joke.
Comments that relates to any racial discrimination will not be entertained or endorsed by this group.
Please enter your Name and Location only once.

We, the people of Trinidad and Tobago now residing in United States and other countries of the world are appalled by the frequency of violent crime and escalating kidnapping in the country. We hereby petition the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to act swiftly to protect it's citizens, residents and visitors. On behalf of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago we are requesting that you implement stringent measures to combat this situation during this critical period.
Collected to date 125

Who they are , Is not fully explained I have posted and e-mailed them a request I am hoping ythey are yet another legit group rising to the challenge!

What purpose will this serve

"How does this help change the situation? Positive, concrete suggestions are what is needed."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
It is one thing, to sympathize with victims, it is easy, it is human...
But to empathize, to put yourself in others shoes is what makes us humane!
____________________________________________________________

Thanks for your response and Questions
IT is a lot!!!!
Seeming to have the support of others, may not seem like much, but to a family in that grief it means the world, unfortunately I come by this knowledge through personal experience... It is vital!

I agree...
My brother a Prison Officer Atwell Sandy JR, was murder Dec 2001, greiving thru that was tough, it became harder after I was visited by individuals who blamed him for standing up against corruption on his watch, the level of fear to step up has been the hardest thing to accept! Attending the last meeting of Mr Valley @ the consulate did little to soothe that. I was Quietly Pulled aside and told by another attendee that their family had hired PRIVATE GUARDS TO GUARD THEIR RELATIVE IN ONE OF OUR PROTECTIVE SERVICE! Mr VALLEY"S response to the concern of citizens did little to soothe that anger. Greiving takes time there are other issues that few acknowledge.

My sister in law, suffered a heart attack at my brothers funeral and passed two years later. They were just in their early 30's. My son almost choked the life out of a classmate because
"He was not going to be a victim like his uncle!"
Fortunately we were able to get the relevant counseling here. The rest of my family has not!
One of the hardest thing to deal with at that time was the seeming lack of interest of concern of fellow Trinidadians. I reached out to many reporters and others TRINIDADIANS ARE AFRAID FOR THEIR LIVES! They are afraid to step forth , they DO NOT TRUST THE POLICE, THE GUARDS, officers of the law are afraid.

A custom officer who also stood up against drugs on his watch was murdered the day before my brother ( actualy the authorities are aware that they had come looking for my brother the EXACT same time as this official was shot, he had changed his schedule). To this date nothing.. their deaths disappeared a month later from the press.
WHO are to GUARD THE GUARDS! Not one reporter asked the question WHY. We are dealing with families that feel isolated, neighbors that feel defenceless, neighbourhoods that believe it is their problem alone!
SOLIDARITY IS ESSENTIAL! I can only imagine the fear ofKeith Noel's neighbour who for all intents and purposes is a witness, is he safe? WE CAN"T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!

My siblings and I are finally to the point where we are on the same page. We have decided DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS! ...we still have to deal with a mother so afraid of losing her other kids that she begs us "TO KEEP QUIET"

WHAT Can Be Done...

We need a personal and community watch systems that are outside the control of corrupt authorities!

• We need to establish and train community watch organizations,
• We need counselors ESPECIALLY FOR THE CHILDREN!
• We NEED EXISTING LAWS ENFORCED AND SANCTIONS IMPOSED especially on corrupt officials.
• We need a crime reporting system that the community has FAITH IN, both anonymous and actual!
  Then we need stronger law to deal with current issues.
  We need citizens DEMANDING and ready to face the truth!

A bandit was blamed for my brothers murder... the truth was that he was warned weeks before his death that OFFICERS were gunning for him because of his stance against drugs... BY ANOTHER PRISON OFFCER!
...who has not stepped forth... these men were not killed at their homes because of convenience.

IT WAS A WARNING TO OTHERS TO KEEP QUIET! This is MY TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO!

This was a situation that authourites should have made an effort to ensure closure, not for my family or the family of thAt custom officer, but to assure the men and women who take an oath to protect THAT they will be protected.
So WHAT ARE YOUR SUGGESTIONS HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN ASKING WHY, HOW ...
or will it take personal experience to mobilize! I am sorry if I sound intense my response to anyone who critises actions is WHAT ARE YOU DOING. send it to me I will circulate it! Every bit helps! Please contact me If you seriously would like to be part of the solution.

Their is another reason that petition is important. I have been approached, told by business acquaintences, " That they vote against Trinindad as a location... this in a major international travel conglomerate, "because of the crime situation". We have a Business profile nightmare on our hands!

Three officers Sandys'

The Three Prison Officers Sandy. The follwing was written arond May/Jun 2003.I hope it speaks for itself!


It has happened again. Prison Officer Winston Sandy was gunned down in Laventille. There is a myth that lighting does not strike twice. Someone needs to tell that to the Superintendent of Prisons; recent events with their Officers have proven otherwise. This, as a warning is an unapologetic, self-serving writing. I was tuned in to the WLIB –Trinidad Hook-up, and like most listeners was moved by the pleas of Mr. Greaves for the safe return of his daughter. Unlike most I empathized with his anguish. I understood his helplessness and frustrated anger that he directed at the local law enforcement officials. Then the news announcement came: Prison Officer Winston Sandy had been murdered in Laventille, his brother had asked for police protection. I was left numb and shaken. Not again!

This is the story of the three Officers Sandy and the response their collective stories has elicited. A friend of mine once said that her father had taught her that there was a great difference between being human and being humane. It is human to sympathize with another. It is humane to empathize. Unfortunately it took this recent tragedy to truly drive that message home. I ask you to put yourself in the shoes of these families as you read this. The first Prison Officer Sandy was gunned down in front of his home in Laventille. He was given a burial with official honors. Prison Officer Sandy was Atwell Sandy Jr. This Prison Officer Sandy was gunned down on December 11th 2001. Prison Officer Sandy cheated death once the day before on Dec10th, 2001, the first time the strangers came looking for him. This is the story I am most familiar with. Prison Officer Atwell Sandy Jr. was my brother, three years my junior. Even he did not believe the treats leveled at him from both sides within the prison system. Unfortunately another law enforcement officer, a Custom Officer was not. He was at home that afternoon. I am not sure how that Custom Officer was buried. Like the records pertaining to my brother’s death they were unavailable in the archives of the local papers that could be checked via the web. I do know the system- the government, the politicians, failed him and others who try to uphold the law. The one line that I remember from the collage that has become the aftermath of my brother’s death is a statement attributed to the leading Prison official, “ threats from prisoners was a risk associated with being a prison Officer.” The threat maybe, but the officer’s address and schedules? These should not be available to Prisoners. I remember writing in my journal that I was living my father’s fear.

The second Prison Officer Sandy is retired Prison Officer Arthur Sandy. As children, my brother and I would worry for a day or two after seeing movies on prison outbreaks, or on hearing of prison disturbances. We never really believed that Prison Officer Sandy, our uncle was in any danger. I remember falling to sleep to the sounds of my father and uncles arguing politics. My uncle’s death was never really an issue. We lived in Trinidad, not some South American country after all. That was why, I reasoned that my brother’s superiors did not take the death threats he received as seriously as they probably should have. My uncle outlived the prison system, then last month I was told that he was in a coma. Like Mr. Greave’s daughter the medical system was inadequate and too costly to deal with my uncle’s kidney failure. Since then I’d separated myself from direct contact with my family. The emotional trauma, had taken its toll, I needed room to breathe and heal.
I am angry with myself. ‘All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.’ I swore that another mother would not have to bury her son. Another family would not mourn. Another nephew would not cry. Another wife would not beg to be taken. I swore that I’d do something. Just… after I healed. … After I was more financially stable. …After I found my voice… literally. What, I wonder had been the response of the Greaves’ family prior to this? Music man Derrick has intoned that he and his brothers are strong members of the community. Will it take personal tragedy for everyone to act? The afternoon my brother was shot, I had visited a local food store on Flatbush Avenue. I remember my nonchalant attitude to the questions posed to me, by an elder as to which side of the political debate in Trinidad I stood. Like many I was disenchanted to say the least with the ‘rum and roti’ politics. I do not know that gentleman’s name but two hours later his words rang true, “It is your business, eventually it is everybody’s business.” I pray for the safe return of the young woman and others like her. There is not just the financial cost that these families will incur. What will be the emotional cost? I have started moving forward healing, towards doing something. But for another Sandy family I am too late.

The third Prison Officer Sandy entered the story at this point. I was in fact working on a proposal to raise money for medical equipment and expenses for Caribbean countries when I heard of Officer Winston Sandy. As of this writing I am still trying to ascertain if there are any connections. It does not matter. I have found all Sandys’ are related via a couple of generations and the island of Tobago. At the least he is my brother via another mother.

Unlike most I will not excuse myself. My father taught my siblings and I that we were our brothers’ keepers. I remember my father using his time-off, and his own money to pave the road so that my mother and the other families would not have to walk on treacherous mud encased embankments politicians thought was sufficient. As a child, I recited stories of David’s face off with Goliath and other biblical heroes, till I knew Daniel’s fear in the lions’ den. I wonder what he would have done in the face of bullets. I give thanks to the legacy of Dr Eric Williams and his compatriots. They were a generation, who at my age refused to accept things as they were. My N.Y College professor thought I had been privileged to have the best private, not public school education. So while I may not follow the rules, I know to type a letter and in the least pick up the phone to make a call. I am an adept public speaker, at the least I can tell a good piece of gossip. Like any Trini whose bones have stood in The University of Woodford Square, I know how to formulate a sound argument and stand by it. I’ve been fortunate to have the ears of some of the top community and political activist, only too willing to share their expertise and contacts.

Unlike most I have no excuse.

Like Mr. Levy, the host of the Global Village I believe in taking care of your own. I may have been more fortunate than he, to be told directly of the power of the media. While I understand its use to economically empower my people and myself. I am probably better able to see his power from the vantage point of the sleepless nights spent praying for justice. Or at the least an opportunity to avenge my brother’s death. Maybe it is the voice of my mentor gently prodding me to transpose my grief to actions, “Speak baby girl …speak!”

Speak of what and how? Don’t get me wrong, I for one am in debt to Mr. Levy and his co-host. In the days after my brothers’ death theirs were the only voices that reached me. I still have childhood memories of activists using whatever platform available to tell the story and spread the word, from the Mighty Chaulkdust to Muhammad Ali. Who am I to dictate the choices, Mr. Levy or anyone else makes, when I myself, am unable to do just that?

Just when I found my voice another brother is dead. I long for the days when journalists took pride in investigating, not just reporting. Maybe someone would have asked why. Why & who put a hit out on two law enforcement officer? Who was bold enough to have attempted them both on the same day? I’m tired of these crimes being blamed solely on returning nationals. Let’s face it. They have neither the contacts, nor capital to bring drugs and guns seemingly unchecked, yet they have become the boogey men of the Caribbean. Show me the money, at least the proof! Give me at least the appearance of justice… as Burroughs did! How did criminals get, not just the addresses, but also the schedules, of two Prisons officers? How can neighbors, who call New York to tell who was doing what with whom, behind closed doors, can’t on won’t, see these strangers being dragged in the open, or strange movement in their neighborhoods!

Maybe with this newfound voice I should call for the resignation of the Chief of Prisons! At least twice he has failed to protect those under his command! Should I rally and garner the support of my generation, to still the wails of mothers and fathers mired in grief? Then who will protect my mother, the friend, who blamed my brother for doing his job, for standing in integrity against prison corruption? His fellow officers, who know the truth, but awaken with nightmares, were silenced in fear for their own life. I am wont, from past experience, to believe the newspaper reports, surrounding this recent murder! If nothing else the deaths of The Officers Sandy serve as a deterrent to those who may be considering serving their country. To be fair at this time I am unaware of any direct link between the two officers.

It is said that the good Lord does not give you more than you can handle. After numerous sleepless nights I’ve questioned that wisdom. My aunt, on her last visit her reiterated her belief, that God would not abandon the cries of a praying nation. My own mother has expressed the belief that God and good would prevail. Would it then be blasphemous of me to say, “ You’ve prayed now get of your ‘@*’ and let God work through you?”

As I said, this is an apologetic self-serving cry for my country. At the least I can start the dialogue with others like myself, who found through tragedy that it was my business. I still am unsure what role I am to play. Maybe I can start by assembling the supplies needed to fight for the sole of my Caribbean. So when it is your son or daughter, mother or brother, you’ll know what to do. Let’s start the dialogue. I’m sure that, on behalf of the family of Officer Winston Sandy, The Greaves family and mine, your empathy is requested!