THE EDITOR: In a newspaper of July 4, in inconspicuous columns, one reads of the bullet-riddled body of a man in Dow Village found on the pavement, a Massy delivery man killed in an attempted robbery, and a John John resident shot and killed along George Street, Port of Spain.
One cannot but feel that TT has grown so accustomed to its citizens being killed that as a population we have become numb. We are daily being stripped of our humanity and slowly morphing into a heartless human consumed with survival and the pursuit of personal gains.
It is not uncommon for individuals to confess to not reading the newspapers, not watching the news and totally fed up with politics. As the apathy grows and becomes part of our daily lives, the forests are being raided by illegal loggers and quarry operators; food production diminishes, crime grows, economic survival is being supported by borrowing instead of growth and development in the business community, and for the first time in the history of TT, the few willing to seek election to public office are among some of the poorest choices available.
TT must not be allowed to operate on automatic pilot. The same newspaper reports that the Commissioner of Police has agreed that after a businessman applied for a firearm user’s permit (FUL) in 2010, a provisional approval was given in 2021, 11 years afterwards, and now she will determine the outcome of his approval in another six months. Fourteen years to make a simple decision like approving a FUL and the numb population seems OK with the slow pace of getting simple things done.
The population accepts that TT remains one of the few countries in the world that, while having machine readable passports, continues to use paper forms for immigration and customs declarations at our ports.
We are one of the few countries worldwide where anyone can produce a legal licence plate for a vehicle. We ignore the thousands of abandoned agricultural lands, the failure to improve our drainage and we accept paying millions of US dollars for desalinated water despite being blessed with six months of heavy rainfall annually.
A country gets the administration it deserves simply because we vote for them every five years. That whole process is more complex than simply placing an “X” next to the name of someone. The failure starts with our competent personnel refusing to offer themselves to serve and the business community's continued support for mediocrity.
If TT is to get out of its rot, everyone must play their part and support patriots that are decent and willing to improve our country. Organise community groups and finance and promote agents of change. Instead of sharing bacchanal for likes, how about sharing the news of those willing to promote a better country?
STEVE ALVAREZ
via e-mail
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