The Freedom Chambers

I visit this site a lot, almost daily. I read everything. I see healthy debates, some of which have enlightened me to viewpoints I'd not considered before.

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and while it has been grand seeing such diversity in thoughts, I am thinking it may be a good time to ask this of everyone:

That the debates are kept to issues and not sink to personal attacks on anyone.

The South African Constitution is one of the most progressive in the world. Nelson Mandela took great care to ensure the concept of equality was wide and comprehensive. Discrimination on the basis of one’s sexual orientation is for example illegal. Elton John could therefore sing and dance as pleases.

Could someone explain why Indian men are so scarce in advertisements? In a country where we’re hardly a minority the conspicuous absence is glaring and shocking. Is it that we have no purchasing power and companies can therefore comfortably ignore us with impunity?

The attached two cases need careful study. They are particularly relevant to Mr Panday's case. The key issues are almost identical. Fiona Jones was the MP for Newark. She was found guilty of falsifying election expenses. As a result of the criminal conviction she was removed from the postion of MP.

On appeal the Court found that the jury was misdirected and rightly quashed her conviction on 22nd April 1999. Jones was reinstated as an MP when the the High Court ruled on 30th April 1999.

Enough has been said about the great loss to the region and the void that has been created by the death of the Lloyd Best by people who had the good fortune to know him a lot better than I did. I was abroad and could not attend his funeral and wish to add my own personal tribute because of the profound impact he had on my life.

I first met Lloyd at a chance encounter at the airport. I was an avid fan and pompously introduced myself as a barrister who had just returned from London.

The Panday rollercoaster continues to provide the most amazing and exciting political ride in the PNM’s amusement park. His victory in the Court of Appeal is the climax of one of the most sinister political plots in the history of Caribbean politics.

To protect and preserve the independence of the judiciary, the constitution restricted the grounds for removing any judge or the Chief Justice for “inability to perform the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any other cause), or for misbehaviour.”

In the case of the CJ, the President has to appoint a tribunal of no fewer than three judges from the Commonwealth to hear and determine the complaint.

“Resign or be Charged” was the unforgettable, screaming headline that signaled the start of this crisis. PM Manning had given the CJ an ultimatum. Manning had warned him that this time around he would not go the impeachment route because he felt the evidence warranted a full scale criminal prosecution.

The sight of thousands of Trinis cheering on our national cricket team at Guaracara Park, last weekend, when we retained the Carib Beer Challenge Trophy, was a sight to behold.

The climax of the inter-island rivalry was exciting and entertaining. Barbados has won the regional tournament 21 times since 1966.

It has dominated the regional competition and no other country can boast of similar statistics.

The last time Trinidad and Tobago won the competition two years in a row was 1970-1971. Thirty-five years later, Darren Ganga has repeated this feat.

Carnival was different this year— new venues for Dimanche Gras and Panorama, the one-song rule and maximum security.

The noticeable the gap between the various social classes widened this year with VVIP sections, ultra-inclusive fetes and expensive costumes.

We partied under the watchful eyes of heavily armed soldiers and police officers. The greatest show on earth was relatively safe given the magnitude of the event and the size of the crowds. A tough, no-nonsense attitude with zero tolerance for louts and violence kept crime statistics down to a minimum.

As if by design, the disbelief or refusal of society to believe was washed away by this week’s headlines. The shocking horror stories and dehumanising experience of kidnap victims made even the most unpatriotic Trini cringe in disgust at the sad state of our beloved nation. Many refused to accept the harsh reality of what these unfortunate victims and their families have been forced to undergo; society flippantly shrugged off this entire kidnapping phenomenon.

Two police officers sat behind the desk. They stared at her blankly. Neither man moved a muscle; they stared at her as though she had horns growing out of her head. She realised she was not commanding the policemen’s attention nor conveying any sense urgency of her plight. She tried again.

‘It took me ten years to have a child and now I feel as if I have lost her,’ the mother said. My mind darted back to the headline “Kidnapped for life” a few weeks ago.

She had all but given up having children. She would look in sadness as other people loved theirs, praying and trying every kind of fertility treatment, even local herbs. Everything and anything. When she realized she was pregnant, she couldn’t believe it. Her husband was ecstatic; the unspoken, emotional void was about to be filled.

Last weeks column hit a raw nerve in society. I received hundreds of e-mails and telephone calls from all over the world. Ms. X's ordeals showed the human suffering, torture and abuse a kidnap victim was forced to endure during captivity. The unvarnished, raw reality made an impact on every functioning conscience.

Everyone wanted to know why Ms X told her story to the world. What motivated her to emerge from the darkness of her suicidal depression and tell us about her ordeal, I asked?