The Highway Re-route Movement (HRM) is blaming Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for its leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh’s life being under threat.

Kublalsingh started his second hunger strike in protest of the segment 27 days ago. He was rushed to St Clair Medical Centre for emergency treatment yesterday after he suffered a heat stroke and lost consciousness at Maracas beach.

At a candlelight vigil held yesterday, HRM member Shereen Boodhai said the situation was the PM’s fault.

Boodhai said the PM failed to live up to a promise that the controversial Debe to Mon Desir segment of the $7.3 billion Solomon Hochoy Highway extension project from San Fernando to Point Fortin would be halted pending determination of environmental concerns. 

The promise, she said, was made to the HRM during a meeting at the Parliament building, Waterfront Centre on March 16, 2012.

The HRM and its leader are insisting that the Government hold mediation talks to arrive at the best agreement for the nation.

Close to 1,000 citizens assembled at Nelson Mandela Park, Port of Spain for the vigil, which was held in support of HRM’s calls for mediation.

Kublalsingh and the HRM have repeatedly said the segment would be harmful to the environment as it was being constructed through a lagoon.

At yesterday’s vigil the crowd shouted “yes to mediation.”

Movement for Social Justice David Abdulah told the vigil that some 30 civil organisations have signed a letter to the Prime Minister demanding that there be mediation on the matter.

He said the group proposed that Government consider the Highway Review Committee report and reccommendations on the controversial segment. The committee, which was chaired by former Independent Senator James Armstrong, proposed mediation and the halting of further work on the highway section.

Masman Peter Minshall also spoke at the vigil. 

Among those gathered were Roman Catholic priest Clyde Harvey, Anglican priest Knolly Clarke, banker Richard Young, Merle Hodge, panman Ray Holman,  and Sheila Dookeran, wife of Foreign Affairs minister Winston Dookeran.

Clarke in his address said for the law to be truly applied, there must be justice.

At the vigil, it was agreed that forty supporters will begin a 40-day fast in support of the ailing Kublalsingh. Each is to fast for a day.

The crowd later walked from the park to the nearby hospital, where relatives of Kublalsingh were able to see them from his ward. 

Relatives told the Guardian that Kublalsingh wanted to return to the pavement on St Clair Avenue to continue his hunger strike.

Health Minister Fuad Khan is concerned that the Ebola virus may have found a new way to spread. Khan was reacting to news that broke yesterday of a US healthcare worker tested positive for the virus, becoming that country’s first case of the disease being contracted or transmitted locally. The female victim was part of the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital medical team that cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, a patient who later died from Ebola. This, although she wore full protective gear.

Speaking yesterday, Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan said the development “was more cause for concern” for local authorities. He said the situation raised some critical, as the healthcare worker had worn a mask, gloves, gown and shield when attending to Duncan. “She had the proper suit, yet still she became infected. We now have to look at another component of infectivity. Is there another way to become infected?” he said.

“We don’t have Ebola here,” Khan said, adding that there was a serious need to reinforce monitoring of people coming into the country. “We must seriously look at guarding our borders,” he said, adding that a team was already working on early detection of travellers arriving at ports of entry with symptoms. “It may very well come down to having to quarantine people coming from West Africa and those interacting with them,” he said.

He said revised travel health forms should be ready to be introduced as early as next week. The forms are designed to secure a passenger’s detailed history as to their travel within the last six weeks, the reasons for their visit, places visited, and their interactions with those abroad. Urging citizens to take their own precautions, Khan said, “This could mean that people may even stop shaking hands—no acknowledgment, kissing or even touching.”

over 4,000 dead
More than 4,000 people have died in the ongoing Ebola epidemic centered in West Africa. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) figures published last week, almost all of those deaths have been in the three worst-affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Ebola symptoms include severe fever, weakness, severe muscle pains, severe headaches, sore throat, profuse vomiting and diarrhoea, and a skin rash.

The virus may incubate the body for 21 days before the symptoms appear, and a blood test only becomes positive after three days of symptoms appearing. Ebola spreads through close contact with a symptomatic person’s bodily fluids such as blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine, saliva and semen. The WHO says blood, feces and vomit are the most infectious fluids.

first signs:
Duncan arrived in the US from Liberia to visit family on Sept 20, and first sought medical care for fever and abdominal pain on Sept 25. He reportedly told a nurse he had traveled from Africa, but was sent home. He returned on Sept 28 and was placed in isolation because of suspected Ebola. He died on October 1.

Mersviral threat
Asked about the additional threat posed by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), as T&T muslims travel to that region to make hajj, Khan said the same monitoring systems will apply. Mersviral is a respiratory illness first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Its symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. It is spread through close contact. So far, all cases have been linked to countries in and near the Arabian Peninsula.

Tropical Storm Fay strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic but was expected to weaken, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. 

The storm earlier swept past Bermuda, lashing the island with heavy rain and gusting winds, knocking out power for more than 27,000 customers of the Bermuda Electric Light Company. The utility is the sole supplier of electricity for the territory of roughly 65,000 inhabitants.

Fay downed trees and utility poles and several roads were blocked across the tiny archipelago, which has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and enforces strict building codes to ensure that homes can withstand intense weather. Bermuda authorities urged residents not to venture out on the roads. “The safest thing is for people to remain at home and allow the important work that follows this kind of storm to be done safely,” Acting Premier Trevor Moniz said.

Fay weakened and moved east-northeast of Bermuda. But new warnings and watches were issued for the Caribbean as Tropical Storm Gonzalo formed east of the Leeward Islands and threatened the region. 

Up to yesterday afternoon, Gonzalo’s centre was located about 200 miles east of Guadeloupe and about 230 miles east-southeast of Antigua, moving toward the west near 10 mph. Gonzalo was expected to move through the Leeward Islands early this morning. Maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph, but were expected to strengthen over 48 hours. Tropical storm warnings and watches are in effect for most of the region, as a result.

Tropical Storm Gonzalo is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 4 to 8 inches across the Leeward Islands, British and US Virgin Islands and eastern Puerto Rico.—Caribbean News Now

Hunger striker Dr Wayne Kublalsingh fell unconscious for about 30 minutes yesterday morning. Up to press time, Kublalsingh, leader of the Highway Re-route Movement (HRM), was hospitalised at the St Clair medical centre, mere metres from the site of his 27-day protest, opposite the prime minister’s office on St Clair Avenue. 

It remained unclear whether he would join his supporters at the camp site today, as his personal physician Dr Asante Van West‐Charles­‐Le Blanc advised that he remain warded for 24 hours, after which his condition would be re-assessed. An unconscious Kublalsingh was admitted around 10 am and had to be revived by the staff of the centre’s accident and emergency department.

Van West-Charles-Le Blanc told reporters Kublalsingh passed out while on his way to Maracas Beach in an air-conditioned car. A combination of dehydration and heat led him to lose consciousness, she said. Kublalsingh was accustomed to taking salt-water soaks on the weekend to rehydrate his body, she said. 

Van West-Charles-Le Blanc said Kublalsingh was administered fluids and vitamins intravenously, after being brought to the facility in the private vehicle. The doctor estimated that Kublalsingh was unconscious for half an hour. “He regained consciousness with the IV in his hand and accepted it be left there for now. At present time, he’s alert and he’s oriented. We’ve done some blood tests and the results are within normal limits and he’s going to stay here overnight. He’s going to continue to be hydrated.”

“He’s just going to rest here overnight,” Van West-Charles-Le Blanc said. “At this present time, he’s still critical but he’s stable.” She said Kublalsingh would continue to receive drips for the rest of the day. “This time he was lucky,” she said, “he lost consciousness but regained it.” Kublalsingh began the second hunger strike with a weight of 124 pounds, and Van West-Charles-Le Blanc estimates that he is “now down to 90 pounds.”

“The end result of this hunger strike, if there is no intervention, is death,” she said. “We don’t know how long, what time frame or time limit we have, that is uncertain. But right now, that is the end result if nothing is done.” 

Asked if she had once again assumed charge of Kublalsingh’s medical care, Van West-Charles-Le Blanc said, “As I said before, I took a step back. I said I would be available in case of an emergency and this was an emergency so I have been called upon. He’s still not listening to me and not taking my medical advice. I am giving this some time and let’s see what the 24 hours brings, and after that, I will let you know what is going on.”

Stating that she was honouring her professional and moral responsibilities, Van West-Charles-Le Blanc said Kublalsingh had agreed to her recommendation to remain hospitalised for 24 hours.

Shouts of “Re-route! Re-route!” and “Shame on you!” greeted Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar as she left the St Clair medical centre after visiting Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM) leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh. It was a hostile reception from a large crowd of HRM supporters gathered outside the St Clair Medical Centre. Persad-Bissessar and Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan visited Kublalsingh at 7pm.

Asked if there was likely to be any mediation, Persad-Bissessar said she “told him I did not think this was the place to have any such discussion.” She said the matter was referred to Works and Infrastructure Minister Dr Surujrattan Rambachan and the President of Nidco Dr Carson Charles and their technocrats. The meeting lasted for just over 30 minutes. “I prayed with him,” Persad-Bissessar told reporters.

The PM said she “came as a human being with concerns about his health.” Khan said Kublalsingh’s stay at the medical facility was being paid for by the Ministry of Health. 

A couple died in a road traffic accident in Maloney, leaving behind two young children. Kema Walker and his girlfriend Tenille David, both 32, were killed when a taxi transporting them flipped over on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway around 2 am yesterday. Their children, aged 2 and 8, were also in the car. The eight-year-old, identified as Tinnique, is said to have head injuries.

According to reports, the taxi, which was carrying seven passengers, was travelling south along the Maloney Boulevard, before turning left and heading east along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway. Another vehicle, also proceeding east, collided with the taxi, causing it to flip and land in a ditch on the northern side of the roadway. The taxi driver, who has been identified as Kess Alexander, and all other passengers were taken to hospital.

CNC3 News reported that the driver of the vehicle that slammed into the taxi was taken into police custody after a breathalyser test done at the scene gave results above the legal limit.

Truck crash kills Barrackpore man
A Barrackpore man was killed on Friday evening when a truck collided with his car while he was driving home. Around 6.45 pm, Ageim Abraham Mohammed, 29, was driving along the Southern Main Road, Point Lisas, when a truck slammed into his Nissan B14 car. Mohammed was a scaffolder with a company in the Point Lisas Industrial Estate. 

His mother, Shakeela Mohammed, who spoke to the media at the family’s home on Jaipaulsingh Road, Barrackpore, is asking drivers to slow down. She said Mohammed was the youngest of her three children and he had plans to build the downstairs area of the home. He was not married. Officers from the Couva Police Station are continuing investigations. 

Art teacher killed
Police are also probing the death of Susan St Hill, who was killed on Friday morning. The 34-year-old art teacher of St Francois Girls College, Belmont, was driving west along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, near Bhagwansingh’s Hardware, Piarco, around 8 am, when her car was hit by another vehicle. The impact caused St Hill’s car to spin out of control before colliding with another car.

St Hill was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Contacted yesterday, officers said they were continuing to interview drivers who witnessed the incident.

My name is Kathy-Ann Ortega and I’m the manager of a city jewelry store.
 
My father’s a Venezuelan and my mother’s a born Trini. I was born in Trinidad but spent my first eight years in Caracas. I don’t remember it much. My surname is probably the most Spanish I speak.
 
I grew up in St James, a stone’s throw from Western Main Road, going towards Panka Street. It was such a free place then. I live in Woodbrook now. So I didn’t move very far. I think my mother buried my navel string quite deep.
 
I grew up Catholic; but then I evolved. Into a born-again Christian. And keep evolving.
 
I have a 26-year-old daughter named Donna. I saw her from birth to down the aisle: I’ve been the proud mother of the bride. She’s a successful, well-rounded individual.
 
I come from a long, long line of what I would call, “lionesses”: strong women.
 
I’m not very tall. I was always the smallest in my class at school. But it never held me back. I’ve always enjoyed my height. Precious things come in small packages.
 
Life throws you some curve balls and you have to do your best to deal with it. In some people’s eyes, I might not have accomplished much but, for me, and for God, I have: my family is healthy and they love me; I have a roof over my head; I eat everyday; and I am blessed to have a job I love.
 
I grew up looking at the original Planet of the Apes movies but the way they did Dawn of the Planet of the Apes really touched what humanity is and what an animal really is. Either ape or human could do good or evil; what matters is what you are exposed to in youth and what you carry through your whole life.
 
It’s been very difficult having my daughter leave home. I went through a very short empty-nest syndrome. She sorted herself so she could be independent. That meant I have done something right.
 
I went up to secondary school but I didn’t really like school. I was an artistic person and didn’t fit into the school norm.
 
With the store being off Henry Street in downtown east Port-of-Spain, you have to be alert, but we feel secure. What helps is, everything is in a showcase and you have to unlock it. I know how to spot the “characters” when they cross the threshold: what to look out for: what they wear; how they carry themselves; whether or not they have something in their waist.

If I see a “character,” I don’t worry about my height: I watch them dead in their face put on what’s called, “a lion voice.” They tremble when I speak. Eye contact is very important. When they look at you, they tend to look down and go.
 
There are people in town who are mentally ill. My great concern is the ships docking and these foreigners coming to have a look at Port-of-Spain. There’s one particular one who suffers from schizophrenia, hears voices in his head, and cusses them at the top of his own voice. Some of Port-of-Spain’s homeless are all right and just need to be placed. They’re really and truly “displaced” persons. You have money leaking elsewhere when it’s supposed to be helping these people.
 
Our leaders come on television and lie to the citizens. They think we’re idiots. That’s why a lot of us are very disenchanted.
 
The last time I dipped my finger (into electoral ink), I really wanted change. The last regime was really hell. But now we are very unstable and nothing is being done. So I’m no longer going to practise dipping my finger. It seems as though every single one of them do the same thing. It blows my mind.
 
The best part of my job is engaging with the customers. Every single one of them is a VVIP to me. The bad part is the quiet times, like September, when nobody is buying jewelry because they’re buying school uniforms and books. But we get the Christmas rush.
 
A Trini is a flamboyant free spirit. Who engage with anyone in any aspect of life: their smile, their love, their heart. Very inviting.
 
T&T is a precious gem to me.
 
Read a longer version of this feature at www.BCRaw.com

Guests at the Hilton Trinidad were google-eyed Friday as members of several trade unions walked through the hotel, chanting union slogans and calling for the removal of general manager, Barbadian Leroy Browne. 

The action, which began shortly after 12 noon, saw members of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the Steel Workers Union, the Transport and Industrial Workers Union (TIWU) and the National Union of Domestic Employees walking past the security guards at the hotel’s entrance and entering the lobby.

Once there, they began to tell guests seated in the lobby about the conditions in which the workers were forced to operate, as well as the alleged health and safety violations at the facility. 

Speaking to reporters at the entrance to the hotel, CWU’s Secretary General Joseph Remy said a member of staff, who is also an executive branch officer of the union, was presented with a disciplinary letter on Wednesday. He said this worker had now joined three others—two supervisors and another branch office—who had been fired and suspended respectively.

Two weeks ago, the CWU staged a placard protest outside the hotel’s entrance to highlight the unacceptable conditions and Browne’s refusal to meet with the union to discuss the matter. Remy has accused Browne of acting in an arrogant manner with both the employees and the union.

He produced a copy of a letter sent to Minister of Trade, Investment and Communication, Vasant Bharath on October 8 in which he appealed for the minister to intervene in the matter and to revoke Browne’s work permit.

Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan has come under fire from the family of environmentalist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh, who have accused him of obtaining Kublalsingh’s private medical records without their permission. The family also wants Khan to clarify statements he made yesterday about Kublalsingh’s health. Khan, who visited Kublalsingh at the St Clair Medical Centre on Sunday, yesterday said the leader of the Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM) appeared normal and he was “flabbergasted” by the state of Kublalsingh’s health. He said he was surprised how strong Kublalsingh seemed, especially for someone who had gone without food and water for almost three weeks.

Kublalsingh fell unconscious for about 30 minutes on Sunday in the car park at Maracas Bay after suffering heatstroke. He was taken to St Clair where he was given intravenous fluid. Kublalsingh is on a second hunger strike over the disputed Debe to Mon Desir section of the Solomon Hochoy Highway to Point Fortin. In a statement yesterday, signed by Hayden Kublalsingh, his family said: “We wish to make it very clear that Dr Khan was not provided access to any medical reports of Dr Kublalsingh either by his family or by his attendant physician in this matter. “In these circumstances, we call upon the minister to indicate how, through whom and on what basis were these reports allegedly obtained by him, as well as the basis for publication of the contents of such reports without the permission or consent of Dr Kublalsingh or family members.”  It said the privacy of any aspect of Kublalsingh’s medical reports had not been waived and Khan was therefore in further breach of professional medical ethics, which, they said, had been reported to the Medical Board.

Kublalsingh Back Tomorrow
Contacted yesterday, Kublalsingh said he was resting at his D’Abadie home and was doing better but was still feeling “a bit weak.” He said he expected to return to his protest camp outside the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, tomorrow and maintained he would continue the hunger strike unless Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who visited him on Sunday but did not commit to anything during that time, agreed to mediation and to abide by the findings of the Armstrong Report.

Khan Responds
But contacted yesterday Khan shot back, saying he never took any such records. “Absolutely not. I never took anybody’s medical records and I do not have such records in my possession. I have my clinical acumen in my possession,” he said. He said he spoke to the doctor who was in charge of Kublalsingh and got feedback about his condition. “I simply asked the doctor about Mr Kublalsingh. I asked him how he was going and he said, ‘Pretty good.’ I asked him how were Mr Kublalsingh’s vital signs, and he said, ‘Normal.’ I asked him about the level of hydration; he said Mr Kublalsingh was not that dehydrated. “If anybody is saying otherwise and they want to disprove what the doctor said, let them make their medical records public. As a medical doctor looking on, I think Mr Kublalsingh is in perfect condition... he was very vocal and very strong.” 

Khan said during his visit Kublalsingh shook his hand and again apologised for cursing when Khan visited him during his first hunger strike in 2012. “When he shook my hand he did it with vigour. I was extremely shocked last night (Sunday), looking at a gentleman who has been fasting for such a long time and in such strong health,” Khan said. Asked if he believed it was all a farce, the Health Minister opted not to use those words. “But what I find to be very coincidental is the fact that Mr Kublalsingh ended up at St Clair, which is in very close proximity to where the candlelight vigil took place,” Khan added. Supporters held a pre-planned vigil on Sunday evening at the Nelson Mandela Park (formerly King George V Park) outside the window of Kublalsingh’s room at the clinic. But that event had been planned since Friday when Kublalsingh wrapped up.

Doctor: Wayne was dehydrated
Dr Asante Van West-Charles-Le Blanc, Kublalsingh’s physician, maintained yesterday that when he was taken into St Clair on Sunday he was dehydrated and visibly shaking and shivering. “He was under two blankets when I saw him and to say he was strong, I think that is incorrect,” VanWest-Charles-Le Blanc said. She said she did not examine Kublalsingh on Sunday but briefly spoke to him.  “I can’t tell you who Dr Khan spoke to and I am not going to be in a verbal battle with anyone. “Dr Kublalsingh was definitely dehydrated when I saw him in the Casualty Department and in terms of organ failure, I have always maintained that organ damage was possible, and it may not be visible in blood tests right away.”
 

Erica Joseph was seen tightly hugging a tiny red teddybear crying yesterday as she sat on a mattress under a tent at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain. Yesterday marked 18 days since she and her husband, former national heavyweight boxer Wendell Joseph, 68, moved to the Savannah. The couple is again making a plea for the relevant authorities to assist them in getting a home as soon as possible or some good samaritan to come to their rescue.

The T&T Guardian asked Joseph why she was crying and how she and her husband were getting by. She replied: “Girl it hard. I going down. My health deteriorating and nobody hearing us. Nobody from the Government listening to us and showing that they care.” Joseph’s husband, Wendell, who left Erica alone to go and fill up some bottles of water, upon his return said: “I not giving up this fight you know. We are citizens and we need help.” Calls to the cellphone of Minister of Housing Dr Roodal Moonilal yesterday went unanswered.

Forty members of the Highway Re-route Movement (HRM), mostly young people, have begun a 40-day “relay fast” outside the Office of the Prime Minister in support of the HRM’s leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh. They will each fast for a day in turn. The initiative, called the “Project 40 movement,” was kicked off by HRM member Staroi Hassanali from Santa Cruz.

Hassanali, who said he recently joined the HRM, said he felt compelled to do so as he wanted more accountability and transparency from the Government. A psychotherapy graduate who recently returned to T&T, Hassanali said he would be fasting for 24 hours until 9 am today. “It was important to be involved because I recognise that Dr Kublalsingh’s cause impact us all in so many ways. It’s about taking a more active stance,” Hassanali said. 

Another supporter, Gerry Williams, said the primary aims of the Project 40 movement was to show solidarity with the broader issues the HRM was highlighting. “We are also concerned for the health of Dr Kublalsingh and want to show we are willing to take up the baton. Ultimately we want to do what we can to achieve the objective of mediation on the highway re-route issue,” Williams added.
The group said it was important to continue the initiative, as although Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar visited him on the weekend while he was hospitalised, she gave no commitment to agree to mediation on the matter.

In fact, in an interview with the media outside the St Clair Medical on Sunday night, the PM said she remained firm in her position on the matter. Fr Clyde Harvey, who visited the group yesterday, said it was important to think about the things which may be sustaining Kublalsingh. “The things which he believes to be prayers, faith and a connection to the ‘source,’ which is how Wayne frequently refers to God and to remember that sustenance could die tomorrow and that Wayne could die,” Harvey said. He said the HRM must think about how it would continue if Kublalsingh died and urged those wanting to support him by fasting should also inherit Kublalsingh’s spiritual values.

At least three boys at a denominational school in San Fernando had to be screened for HIV last month after they were buggered by a martial arts instructor. Cpl Cedeno-Figaro of the Mon Repos Station arrested a 50-year-old Cocoyea man at his home on Sunday, shortly after a 14-year-old victim took police to a lonely area on San Fernando Hill where he was raped under the pretence of being trained. The alleged incidents also happened at the instructor’s home, where he would take them to read and chant from spiritual books.

A source told the T&T Guardian yesterday: “Apparently he had them reading bad books and would take them to a room at his home where he would blow smoke in their faces while chanting stuff. He told them that it was part of their spiritual growth.” Police have already received statements from the boys and school officials and were awaiting legal advice yesterday before laying charges. They said the rapes started in May but were only reported last month when one of the boys confided in a friend who then reported the incident to the school principal. 
Another victim said his 19-year-old friend said the man had done the same thing to him. The T&T Guardian was told school officials wanted the matter to be dealt with quietly because it “was a good school.” 

Speaking by telephone yesterday, a school official denied any teacher at his school was involved in a police investigation but confirmed police were investigating a matter which involved students at the school. Another official told police a teacher had recommended the suspect to train students because he was a martial arts experts who taught at other schools. Several years ago, the instructor was arrested while teaching karate at a gym in Freeport for the same offence. Back then, he trained students from another secondary school in San Fernando, where it was alleged he would massage them until their muscles were weak and then rape them. The matter was dismissed when it reached the magistrates court because the victims did not attend the hearings.

Minister of National Security Gary Griffith yesterday confirmed  T&T was officially monitoring migrants from African countries as the country prepared itself in the face of the growing global threat of Ebola. Employers of migrant workers, particularly illegals, should also ensure their employees’ health statuses were safe as T&T bid to secure borders from the deadly virus, Griffith said.

The National Energy Skills Centre already, on Health sector advice, has postponed the arrival of the latest batch of trainees from Nigeria due to the threat. Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan is liaising with Living Water, which handles people from all parts of the world seeking asylum in T&T, to ensure that avenue is also protected.

Following 8,914 cases and 4,000-plus Ebola deaths in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria, one in the US, where a Liberian national died, and isolated cases in Spain and Germany, World Health Organisation assistant director-general Dr Bruce Aylward yesterday revealed the Ebola death rate had risen to 70 per cent. He said there could be up to 10,000 new cases a week in two months. 

Aylward said if the world's response to the crisis was not stepped up within 60 days, "a lot more people will die" and there will be great need to deal with spiraling numbers of cases. The Ivory Coast was also said to be threatened, he added. Yesterday, Griffith said the Immigration Division would be seeking to adhere to regulations to ensure T&T’s interests were protected. 

He said he was also liaising with Immigration on confirmation of statements by US Marine Corps General John Kelly (US Southern Command) that people from Liberia had passed through T&T last month while attempting to enter the US illegally. Kelly was discussing trans-national criminal networks smuggling people who could be carrying Ebola at a National Defence University forum last month when he made the claim.

 Kelly said a group of people from Libera who were found on the Costa Rica border waiting to head north, had said they “met up with the network in T&T” and were en route to the US. Kelly said there was no way to keep Ebola contained in West Africa.

Security firms at risk

Griffith said he had, therefore, taken a strong approach concerning migration to T&T in order to deal with various challenges posed by global security concerns on the Ebola issue, as well as terrorism, both of which posed challenges where border infiltration was concerned. He said: “It involves movement of persons from the Caribbean, globally as well as vice-versa, and where Ebola is concerned, possible exposure to the virus. This is very serious and not a matter of profiling anyone.

“As a result of movement, the immigration aspect is even more important now - and cannot be a rubber stamp - since persons entering T&T legally or illegally can be a liability, not only where health issues are concerned but also other areas.”

Griffith said there was also a problem with migrant workers, especially from Africa, and due to concerns about Ebola, local employers may need to monitor those they sponsored for work - or those who work for them temporarily - on  possible movements back and forth from T&T to any overseas territories, particularly western Africa where the virus had claimed the most lives

Stressing the situation was not profiling, Griffith said a number of private security companies, for instance, employed migrant workers, including Caribbean and African nationals. A private security sector spokesman told the T&T Guardian that of the 534 local companies, ten to 15 use non- nationals and several agreed the Ebola threat was a discussion point due to the migrant factor in their sector.

NESC stops African batch of students

National Energy Skills Centre (NESC) chairman Feroze Khan confirmed yesterday that they had, on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer (of Health), postponed the arrival of a batch of trainees from Nigeria last month. He said: “The batch is about 100 students who were coming for training in welding pipe fabrication and similar skills at NESC’s drilling academy. 

“But as a result of the existing threat, the CMO of Health advised we delay their arrival until T&T better understands the risk and we’ve complied. “We are not yet in position to say when they will be coming but we will be guided by the CMO’s advice. At this stage any visitor coming into the NESC, we will also have to seek the CMO’s advice on appropriate action.” 

Health Minister Fuad Khan also says he has to hold talks on the Ebola issue with Living Water, the local representative for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) which takes in people seeking asylum or refugee status assistance. Several months ago, Khan noted its role in that. It was reported in January that Living Water had 100 people seeking asylum in T&T, mainly from African countries, and had helped 1,200 in its work overall.

Khan said: “We will have to hold talks with Living Water so they can let us know who is coming in and we will have to do assessments to ensure all protocols on this issue are followed.” Yesterday, Living Water’s Rosemary Scott said it had been doing such work for 20 years, estimating it had assisted about 500 people between the 1990s and currently.

Scott said in recent years it had received an influx of people from Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and other locations. But she said it had not received people from that region in a year. She said when the Ebola issue arose, it contacted health authorities on the issue and were told to refer suspected cases to hospitals. Living Water does not house refugees but interviews cases for processing. 

In a media report earlier this year, Scott is quoted as saying most recent applicants were from Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Security firms at risk
Griffith said he had, therefore, taken a strong approach concerning migration to T&T in order to deal with various challenges posed by global security concerns on the Ebola issue, as well as terrorism, both of which posed challenges where border infiltration was concerned. He said: “It involves movement of persons from the Caribbean, globally as well as vice-versa, and where Ebola is concerned, possible exposure to the virus. This is very serious and not a matter of profiling anyone.

“As a result of movement, the immigration aspect is even more important now - and cannot be a rubber stamp - since persons entering T&T legally or illegally can be a liability, not only where health issues are concerned but also other areas.” 

Griffith said there was also a problem with migrant workers, especially from Africa, and due to concerns about Ebola, local employers may need to monitor those they sponsored for work - or those who work for them temporarily - on  possible movements back and forth from T&T to any overseas territories, particularly western Africa where the virus had claimed the most lives

Stressing the situation was not profiling, Griffith said a number of private security companies, for instance, employed migrant workers, including Caribbean and African nationals. A private security sector spokesman told the T&T Guardian that of the 534 local companies, ten to 15 use non- nationals and several agreed the Ebola threat was a discussion point due to the migrant factor in their sector.

National Energy Skills Centre (NESC) chairman Feroze Khan confirmed yesterday that they had, on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer (of Health), postponed the arrival of a batch of trainees from Nigeria last month. He said: “The batch is about 100 students who were coming for training in welding pipe fabrication and similar skills at NESC’s drilling academy. 

“But as a result of the existing threat, the CMO of Health advised we delay their arrival until T&T better understands the risk and we’ve complied. “We are not yet in position to say when they will be coming but we will be guided by the CMO’s advice. At this stage any visitor coming into the NESC, we will also have to seek the CMO’s advice on appropriate action.” 

Health Minister Fuad Khan also says he has to hold talks on the Ebola issue with Living Water, the local representative for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) which takes in people seeking asylum or refugee status assistance. Several months ago, Khan noted its role in that. It was reported in January that Living Water had 100 people seeking asylum in T&T, mainly from African countries, and had helped 1,200 in its work overall.

Khan said: “We will have to hold talks with Living Water so they can let us know who is coming in and we will have to do assessments to ensure all protocols on this issue are followed.” Yesterday, Living Water’s Rosemary Scott said it had been doing such work for 20 years, estimating it had assisted about 500 people between the 1990s and currently.

Scott said in recent years it had received an influx of people from Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and other locations. But she said it had not received people from that region in a year. She said when the Ebola issue arose, it contacted health authorities on the issue and were told to refer suspected cases to hospitals. Living Water does not house refugees but interviews cases for processing. 

In a media report earlier this year, Scott is quoted as saying most recent applicants were from Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

As members of civil societies meet with Works Minister Surujrattan Rambachan today, leader of the Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM) Dr Wayne Kublalsingh says his fate lies in the hands of the Government. He said the outcome of today’s meeting would determine if he stops or continues the hunger strike.

In an interview with the T&T Guardian at his home at D’Abadie yesterday, Kublalsingh urged the Government to accept the alternative route as outlined in the HRM’s optimum connectivity proposal. “It’s very solid. It’s very comprehensive. It’s very workable and moderately priced compared to the Government’s alternative,” Kublalsingh said. On whether he believed today’s meeting was an attempt to mediate the environmentalist disagreed.

“Mediation is when you have a third party and the third party intercedes and tries to look at the sides of both parties and trash out issues and tries to see if you have compromises if required and come to the best optimum solution... so this is not really mediation. “It is basically two sides meeting as a first step to resolving the issue and of course has the interest of nation at heart,” Kublalsingh said.

But Kublalsingh applauded the Government for its effort, saying today’s meeting was a step in the right direction. However, he was still skeptical whether the Government would accept the alternative route as proposed by the HRM. “The Prime Minister said they have considered the Armstrong Report and we want to know how they have considered and to what extent they have considered it. 

“Again that is nothing really because we have not yet been given anything from them so the hunger strike continues,” Kublalsingh added. Asked if he believed today’s meeting was a genuine attempt by the Government to listen to the concerns of the HRM Kublalsingh made references to previous meetings. He said: “The past has been decisions already being made and the Government basically saying déjà vu and holding on to their positions and not willing to make any adjustments.

“And there has been in the past a great deal of insincerity and stonewalling... basically refusing to answer questions, saying that you forget, saying that it is in the hands of other people, saying that you couldn’t remember those details... just giving answers to get rid of the person. That has been our dealings with the government,” Kublalsingh added. He said he hoped that situation had changed so as to have more fruitful discussions on the issue.

Those expected to attend the meeting include leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) David Abdulah and founder of the Adult Literacy Tutors Association (ALTA) Paula Lucie-Smith.

Fuad wrong
On statements made by Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan which cast doubt over Kublalsingh’s health, the HRM leader said such comments only strengthened his spirit. He said: “I don’t think that Dr Khan’s version is at all relevant. He has not seen me and he has not examined me. That is not an issue here. That is a diversion.

“The issue here is the Government is ransacking part of the northern range to ransack part of a lagoon, to ransack communities, to attack the treasury in the most serious kind of way and I’m standing with my body between the Government and those type of actions. I’m using my body as an instrument of social attrition.” Saying he had to keep his body intact, Kublalsingh urged his detractors not to abuse it with “such verbal mis-statements.” 

“Yes I am strong but perhaps the reason why I am strong is perhaps because he (Khan) is weak. The reason why my handshake is strong is because his handshake is weak. “I didn’t feel any how when Dr Khan made those statements because they do not bother me. They make my spirit stronger,” Kublalsingh added.

Vilma Kublalsingh, mother of environmentalist and hunger striker Wayne Kublalsingh, says government supporters have been spreading false rumours about her son and her family. She said so while sitting in solidarity with 30-year-old Kahlil Hassanali, a researcher who began a 24-hour fast in support of the Highway Re-route Movement yesterday. The protesters are camped outside the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair. 

The latest rumour, Vilma said, was that the Kublalsinghs owned property in Mon Desir. “People have been calling and asking us about this but that is not true. We do not own any land in Mon Desir,” Vilma said. She said government supporters had also been spreading incorrect information that the Government had paid her son’s medical bills after he was taken to the St Clair Medical Centre on Sunday. “That is not true. We have paid our own bills,” she added.

Vilma said Kublalsingh was resting but had said he would continue his hunger strike today. “We will have to see how he feels,” she said. Hassanali, whose brother, Satori, spent 24 hours without food and drink at the protest camp overnight on Monday began his own 24-hour stretch of the “relay fast” at 9 am yesterday. The brothers are related to deceased former President Noor Hassanali. He was their great-uncle.

Saying he supported transparency, truth and justice, Kahlil sat with members of the HRM, reading a book and responding to questions from the media. He said he had never met Kublalsingh but had observed his activism and had decided to join friends on Sunday to show support during a rally at Nelson Mandela Park (King George V Park) on Sunday.

The rally coincided with Kublalsingh’s being admitted to the medical centre after he collapsed on Maracas Beach on Day 26 of his hunger strike. Hassanali, from Santa Cruz, said he was in solidarity with Kublalsingh and had decided to be a part of a youth movement called Project 40 after observing the activist’s strikes. “I had often wondered why it seemed as though it was him alone in the struggle,” he said. 

Project 40 is a group of young people, committed to showing support to the HRM by taking part in individual fasts over a 40-day period. Each member is expected to fast for 24 hours, sometimes outside the OPM. “The young people need to come out and be part of the struggle. It is clear that Government has been disingenuous and I understand Wayne’s frustrations,” said Hassanali. 

“There is a need for studies to be done with regard to the highway. There were broken promises and we as a society need to increase our social, environmental and moral consciousness,” he added.

Works Minister to meet groups today 
Works Minister Surujrattan Rambachan is expected to host a meeting today with civil-society groups who petitioned on Kublalsingh’s behalf, along with a technical team from his ministry and Nidco. This meeting will take place at 9 am at the ministry on Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain. Rambachan had originally invited the groups to tour the proposed highway site today but they refused, saying that would be repeating the work of the Armstrong Committee. 

A release from the ministry said points of concern raised by the groups in their letter to the Prime Minister would be addressed These included requests for the Government to:
• Properly consider the report and recommendations of the Highway Review Committee (the Armstrong Committee).
• Give serious consideration to the new proposal by the HRM as an alternative route for the Debe to Mon Desir stretch.
• Stop all further work on that segment of the highway in the interim which would mean that work could proceed apace on the San Fernando to Point Fortin section.

A Chinese national fell to his death at the National Tennis Centre construction site, Tacarigua. The Sport Company of T&T (SPORTT) confirmed the death in a release yesterday but said all safety protocols were in place at the time. The release said around 9 am, Yumao He, 49, fell 30 feet off a scaffold and landed on a pile of lumber and iron. Eyewitnesses said He, who died on the spot, was wearing a safety harness at the time.

Work at the site has been stopped until further notice. SPORTT said it was now working with the firm which hired He to investigate the incident. SPORTT said yesterday’s accident is the first at any project initiated by it since 2010.

Under the watchful eyes of police, protesters from Guapo marched through two construction zones in Golconda and Debe and interrupted work on the Debe and Golconda interchanges of the $7.4 billion Solomon Hochoy Highway extension. They started their protests at the Debe site before moving to Golconda and then to Mon Desir.

Some of the protesters chased excavators and ordered the operators off the site. Protester Natasha Fletcher jumped inside a dump truck transporting backfill and switched off its engine. Looking startled, the driver asked Fletcher what was going on, but she responded: “Doh ask no question. Just clear out of here.” 

Another protester, Clevon Vespry, climbed inside the bucket of a backhoe and sat down, while their leader Brennan Daniel told OAS Construtora country superintendent Rodrigo Ventura to send all the workers home. “We not taking this. We want we money... else there will be no highway,” Daniel shouted. The OAS workers seemed only too happy to leave the job site with a few commenting that they needed a break. 

Ventura pleaded with Daniel to allow the work to go on but he said they would disrupt every job site until they were adequately paid for loss of crops and lands. “We also want the Government to give us lands with titles of ownership like they did for the people in Debe, so we too can go to the bank and get loans,” Daniel said. 

He admitted that many of the residents had no deeds to the land as it was owned by Petrotrin but added that the land had been cultivated by Guapo residents for over ten generations. The protesters carried sheets of paper listing all the crops that they say were destroyed when OAS bulldozed the lands. Curtis Matthews, who wore a thick gold chain with his initials engraved on it, said he lost $30,000 in crops. 

“I have three acres of land at Cochrane planted with 37 breadfruit trees, 100 lime trees, 150 ochro trees and 200 sorrel trees, which they mashed down. I want money for that,” Matthews said. Asked if he owned the land, he said he had been squatting on it for the past ten years. Melissa Sarju, who said she had a deed, also called for relocation. Another resident with teardrop tattoos on his face, who did not give his name, said Nidco was paying too little for compensation.

“They owe us $40,000 and $50,000 but all they paying is $9,000 and $12,000. We don’t want that,” he shouted. The OAS workers returned to work after midday when the protesters left.

Nidco responds
President of Nidco Dr Carson Charles said yesterday there was an ongoing problem with the claims to the land, some of which could not be substantiated. “This seems to be an organised protest. They are going to different sites and are shutting down work. We are trying to complete the tasks ahead whilst dealing with these claims but first every claim has to be properly assessed,” Charles said.

Asked if the project would suffer cost overruns because of the work stoppages, Charles said: “We are managing the problem so right now we do not have any cost overruns.” He said the timing of the protests was “curious,” but added he did not want to speculate whether they were politically motivated. Charles and his staff were expected to distribute cheques to affected residents at the Guapo Community Centre at 5 pm yesterday.

Police: Our hands tied
Senior police said yesterday they could not interfere with the protesters as they were peaceful. Asked why they were being allowed to walk through a construction zone without protective gear, one officer said: “All we are here to do is keep the peace. Once they not breaking the law, we cannot do anything.” First Response Service Ltd’s Markaso Ullina, who is in charge of security operations at OAS, also said it was dangerous for the residents to walk through a construction zone without proper safety gear.

“We have tried to advise them to leave but they do not want to leave. We were expecting assistance from the police and we are still waiting. We are trying to be reasonable with them,” Ullina added.

A High Court judge has issued a plea for the revamping of the Prison Services which he says will protect the safety of both inmates and staff and prevent costly civil litigation over human rights abuses. Justice Frank Seepersad made the call yesterday as he awarded over $100,000 to two prisoners— Tesfer Jones and Fabian La Roche —who were beaten by prisons officers at Golden Grove, Arouca, on the same day in October 2007. 

Describing the current rules and regulations governing the Prison Services as archaic, Seepersad called on the Government to address urgently the situation, as he warned it had the potential to spill over prison walls if left unchanged. 

As part of his recommendations for reform, Seepersad suggested besides more intensive training, prisons officers should undergo periodic physical and emotional assessments to ensure their harsh working conditions were not having a detrimental psychological effect on them. “It may very well be that if these officers were properly trained they would not allow themselves to overstep the parameters of their authority,” Seepersad said. 

Seepersad also said once reforms had been instituted for the entire prison system, the Government might consider forcing prisons officers, who use unreasonable force against inmates, to foot the bill in prison litigation cases. “At the end of the day, it is taxpayers who bear the brunt of these awards. Funds that could be used for healthcare, education and national security are being diverted to pay damages to prisoners on whom unjustifiable force is being inflicted,” Seepersad said.

In his oral judgment, Seepersad awarded Jones a total of $60,000, with La Roche receiving $70,000.  Jones is awaiting trial for murder, while La Roche is serving a 17-year sentence he received when he was convicted of manslaughter in May last year. Although Jones’ injuries and beating were worse than La Roche’s, Seepersad ruled he was entitled to less as there were inconsistencies in his claim and there was evidence that his beating was provoked. 

According to the evidence, on October 16, 2007, Jones was reportedly involved in an argument with prisons officer Joseph Prieto, when he hurled a bucket containing urine and faeces at the prisons officer. Jones’ beating began when the baton-wielding members of the Emergency Response Unit were summoned to force the defiant prisoner to clean up the mess.

While Seepersad ruled that the officers’ attack on Jones was justified when he initially resisted them, he ruled that their actions were excessive in continuing the beating for over five minutes. “There was evidence that he was still struck on the ground when he was cleaning up the mess,” Seepersad said. A short while after Jones was beaten, La Roche claimed he was attacked by the same group of officers, who were searching cells for contraband items. 

National Security Minister Gary Griffith is inviting Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs Minister and his Opposition counterpart to join him for talks. He said so yesterday after the Jamaican Government and Opposition officials criticised his statements on 13 Jamaicans who were denied entry to T&T recently. 

Jamaican Foreign Affairs/Trade Minister A J Nicholson called on Griffith to “refrain from continuing to muddy the integration waters” in his comments that the influx of thousands of illegal Jamaicans into T&T was putting a strain on its resources. Jamaica’s opposition spokesman on foreign affairs and foreign trade, Edmund Bartlett, also criticised Griffith’s statements. 

Griffith said his proposed talks would be “aimed at arriving at amicable resolution in the best interest of both countries and all their citizens at the earliest possible opportunity.” Last week, Griffith supported the immigration officers who deported 13 arriving Jamaicans last month, saying the authorities cannot act as a rubber stamp when it comes to allowing people into the country. 

He said there were more than 19,000 Jamaicans in T&T who entered at legitimate ports of entry but over 8,000 had remained illegally and could not be accounted for. Griffith said yesterday the Jamaican Foreign Minister’s comments showed that the latter didn’t “get it”.

He said it demonstrated “an unfortunate posture in a situation where efforts toward diplomatic resolution should be a priority, especially in circumstances where the restrictions placed on entry by citizens from specific countries were as a direct result of overt breaches against T&T’s immigration parameters.” He said the passengers who were refused entry were in breach of local immigration laws by providing conflicting information on the reasons for their visit.

Griffith said T&T had spent $2.3 million between October 2012 and September 2013 to send non-nationals back to 11 states. The cost of sending back those of Jamaican nationality over that period was $39,204.60. 

He added: “The accusation of me attempting to ‘Muddy integration waters’ by ensuring that the rule of law is applied to all persons who have demonstrated a reasonable breach of T&T’s immigration guidelines begs the question as to whether such integration is pegged on member territories conveniently breaching their own internal rules of law to accommodate other member territories. 

“As National Security Minister, I will not expect any of my regional counterparts to assume any such posture that has the potential to impugn their sovereign territory and national safety and security.” Griffith added the longstanding immigration issue “should be treated in a responsible and non-emotive manner by governments, without the unwarranted and personalised condemnation of neighbouring Caricom partners.

He said: “Full clarity must be sought in all matters before pronouncements are made. “Statements were made by the Jamaican officials, based solely on the accounts received from the persons who were legally refused entry on very specific grounds, whereas when the issue is being clarified by the relevant Minister of National Security, it is seen as ‘unacceptable.’”