As the official vehicle of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar pulled into the front entrance of the Parliament at the Waterfront Complex in Port-of-Spain, on Friday, Cita Humphrey called out to a government minister, begging them to “spare a minute.”
Humphrey, who began a solo protest outside Parliament on Monday, continued last Friday, saying she has been given the runaround by the Education Ministry for nearly four years after her son’s left eye was damaged when he was struck with a pencil during an altercation with a classmate at Belmont Boys’ RC.
The incident occurred on November 3, 2011, and since then her son, Shemarion, has had trouble seeing. He needed six stitches in the eye and has since undergone several extensive medical procedures.
Carrying a placard demanding justice and with a photo of her son wearing an eye patch, Humphrey said her family’s life was now turned upside-down. She said she was heartbroken when she was told that her son was now unable to play most sports. “His eyes itch ever so often. He can read but with the help of glasses. Without glasses he could read but nothing small, so every year he has to change the glasses.
“But as he grows the scar which is on the left cornea could shift towards the pupil causing him to get partial vision. He has to live very careful and cannot get any trauma again because that would be the end of the eye,” Humphrey added. Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh and Works Minister Suruj Rambachan briefly spoke to Humphrey before making their way to Parliament Friday.
The ministers promised the “matter would be looked into” and promised assistance for Shemarion. But Humphrey, a resident of Laventille and a kitchen assistant, said she was not assured. “I see all of this as a push around because if I was from a different neighbourhood, a different hair colour, they would have taken me more serious. Why they keep on pushing it around?” a frustrated Humphrey asked.
She added that the education ministry’s insurer, the Reinsurance Company of T&T (Trinre) had offered no help. “The Ministry is saying to go to Trinre and Trinre says they cannot cover me since it was not an accident. So they say to go back to the Ministry. All they have to do is just compensate the child because it hard on me,” Humphrey added.
She said an optician from St James had offered to supply free spectacles to her son. But while she acknowledged her gratitude, Humphrey asked, “Who would help with glasses the next year and the following year and after then? I have to come outside Parliament and beg every year?”