Yes, Terrence, this is where crime reach

NOT Terrance. Not the one of social-media soap-opera notoriety.

This is Terrence. MP for St Joseph Terrence Deyalsingh got a taste of what life is like for citizens under the government he’s a part of. The Minister of Health was chatting with a constituent outside of a venerated St Joseph institution, the Nyabinghi bar/cornershop – a pastime not ideal for one’s health, apparently.

Two gunmen pulled up on them and taxed Deyalsingh – relieving him of his bera, a traditional gold East Indian bracelet.

That’s not the interesting bit. Such split-second criminal predation happens to ordinary, mostly law-abiding citizens across this country every day. That’s why the rest of us plebs who have jewellery wear it exclusively at home, abroad or in the casket.

More interesting were snippets of a recorded conversation immediately following the incident. “Just letting you know where crime has reached.”

That was the breathtaking utterance from Deyalsingh over the phone to someone referred to as “minister.”

You can draw your own conclusions about the person’s identity on the other end of that call. The video recording of that conversation spread like “the Covid” on social media. The brief exchange said so much more than the actual words spoken that it’s tough to know even where to start.

We can only go on his words, but Deyalsingh seemed surprised that something like this could have happened at 5 pm in the “hot sun, bright sun.”

Daylight robberies out in the open have been commonplace for easily more than a decade now. They’re scarcely referred to as such in media reporting, because there’s little point in making that distinction.

In the phone call, Deyalsingh made special mention of his proximity to the St Joseph Church – implying incredulity of something like that playing out so close to hallowed ground.

Bandits have no compunctions about burgling churches themselves, which happens often enough. It’s unlikely these miscreants would recall their catechism days and hold back from robbing someone near the house of God – let alone folks chopping it up in front of a house of perdition.

The line in the conversation that was the most triggering was the “just letting you know where crime has reached” part.

It betrayed a lethal detachment in the sclerotic heart of the government from the unremitting suffering citizens face in a country devoid of leadership on crime. We “reached” a long time ago and have since journeyed far beyond the darkest predictions of the trajectory of violent crime. Sadly, Terry, we normal folks don’t have anyone to call.

I don’t believe Deyalsingh thinks himself above the withering touch of the criminal horde, even if his words inadvertently implied this.

Trinidad still bears deep psychic scars in the aftermath of the high-profile assassinations of former attorney general Selwyn Richardson and attorney Dana Seetahal. As a nation, we crossed that Rubicon a lifetime ago. Society bred a particularly rapacious species of supervillain and let it off the leash with no authority willing to challenge the worst impulses of these marauders.

It’s not easy to cast from the mind the horrors that stalk our lives, but we certainly work hard at it. There should be a J’Ouvert in or boat ride coming up any time now.

What made Deyalsingh’s conversation doubly fascinating is it violated the PNM’s rigidly enforced
omertà: never openly criticise the party or do or say anything that reflects poorly on the leadership. To do so is to risk exile to the badlands of actually having to work for a living. If your conscience troubles you, speak your misgivings and discomfiting truths into a bottle, cork it and bury your treachery deep in forgotten lands.

I can’t say with certainty that the MP knew he was being recorded. Still, it’s not a good look for the party; a member of the inner sanctum acknowledging the severity and everywhereness of a scourge the government bears overall responsibility for containing.

As bad as crime has become, the Prime Minister has staunchly defended his government’s performance on the issue. For a Cabinet member to be seen, in hot sun, bright sun, expressing disgust with the state of insecurity in this country is, in political terms, highly problematic.

But this too shall be lost to memory – as have all the lives extinguished, children shot to death, families destroyed, shattered mental states and everything else that goes with holding a passport in this place.

Anyway, back to Terrance. Not Terrence, the other one…

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