Police are seeking the assistance of the public in finding a 14-year-old Pleasantville schoolgirl  who has been missing since Monday. 

According to a release from the TTPS, Mariah Modeste, 14, was last seen by her mother Diana Saroop on January 2, 2017. 

Saroop made a report to the Mon Repos Police Station on Tuesday and said Mariah was last seen in Salvia Lane, Pleasantville. 

Mariah lives at Purcell Street, Vistabella Road with her mother and is a student at the Pleasantville Secondary School. 

She is slim built, of mixed descent and five feet, five inches tall. 

Anyone with information on Maria's whereabouts is being asked to contact the police at 555, 999, 911, any police station or call Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.

RAY FUNK

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The number was featured in an over-the-top Busby Berkeley production number in the 1941 film, Ziegfeld Girl. The number is readily available to watch on YouTube and is still fun today. The movie is loosely based on the story of the famous Ziegfeld Follies Broadway stage shows from 1907 into the Thirties. Minnie From Trinidad may have been inspired by a song in the first Ziegfeld review in 1907, Miss Ginger From Jamaica, who was "Thoroughbred and undisputed, I'm Tobasco that's undiluted."

Minnie From Trinidad clearly sounds more Latin than calypso and offers a clever nod to the work of two actresses in Hollywood at the time, emphasising exotic Caribbean. The young Brazilian Carmen Miranda, who had just been featured in Down Argentina Way and was known for the "Aye, aye, aye" that starts Minnie, and Hedy Lamar, who is name checked in the song, had been recently featured in Lady of the Tropics.

The song's lyrics celebrate an independent young woman from Trinidad who was a dancer and won a contest that took her to Hollywood, but remained faithful to her true lover.

They changed her name to Minnie Lamar

And pretty soon she became a star

The siren of the picture show.

But one day Minne got awful mad

A guy got fresh and she said: "You cad!

My heart belongs to my Trinidad,

My Trinidad Calypso Joe."

So Minnie gave up her dough and fame

And she went back to from where she came,

But when she got there, she heard with shame

That her Calypso Joe was dead.

When Minne heard that, she almost died.

She took a gun to try suicide.

But as she started to shoot, she cried:

"I think I'd rather live instead."

Roger Edenswho had become a musical supervisor at MGM and wrote a number of songs for Garlandwrote the song. In a sense, it follows a number Edens wrote for Garland to do the year before, Do The La Conga, in the movie Strike Up the Band. Like Minnie From Trinidad, in each case there were nods to exotic Caribbean rhythms but the music had no resemblance to the original, in the same way that Cole Porter's 1935 hit Begin The Beguine had no relation to the French Caribbean music style.

Minnie From Trinidad went on to become popular beyond the movie. It was reshot as a "soundie", a film short in 1942 for the movie jukeboxes of the day, with the Latvian singer Luba Malina. The song was recorded by a number of singers, from Adelaide Hall in England to Helen O'Connell with Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra. It even became a popular song when sung in Italian by Gabriella Alciato, but that version gets rid of the contemplated suicide and Calypso Joe altogether, according to scholar Rosanna Masiola.

So came Trinidad to the attention of the American filmgoing public as World War II ramped up with Garlard, Lamar and Miranda all mixed in the character of dancer "Miss Minnie from Trinidad" who leaves Hollywood to return to her native land.

No one seemed to notice that there was a real Trinidadian dancer who started to make it big at just that time in the United Statesin New York City, not in Hollywood. And after a few years, despite dancing in Sam Manning soundies, despite replacing Carmen Miranda on Broadway, lecturing at Columbia and being the toast of the city, she did return to Trinidad. Her name was Beryl McBurnie.

Check out Garland's original at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip88WsCkYKg.

The soundie remake is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJqNoHLNUag.

For the second time in 54-years, Liston Aberdeen has suffered a life-altering injury, this time losing his right arm, from the elbow, when a container truck slammed into his car on Wednesday.

In 1983, when he was only 20-years-old, Aberdeen became completely blind in the right eye following an accident.

And while the grandfather of two was hesitant to rehash the circumstances of his previous injury, he recounted the moments leading up to his latest accident at the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday.

He said he was headed to his Rock Road, Penal home around 4.30 pm when the accident took place.

“I was driving east along the Penal Rock Road when the other driver swerved to avoid hitting a pothole and hit my car instead,” he said.

“I was off for the day and had gone to pick up my wife from her workplace on Penal Junction. She said she had to work late, so I was going back home when it happened.”

He said his hand was not hanging out of the car window as some media houses reported but his right elbow was on the door.

“My elbow was on the door and when he slammed into me, it just get cut off.”

Doctors at the hospital were unable to reattach the limb, as Aberdeen said it was ‘left outside’ for too long.

“They took me to Siparia (Health Facility) and the hand was still in Rock Road. When they send the hand to Sando, I was still in Siparia, so too much time had passed for them to put it back on.”

His arm was swaddled in bandages yesterday. He said it had been badly mangled by the accident.

Still under heavy sedation for his pain, Aberdeen said he was unsure how he would move forward as he was right-handed.

Aberdeen is a security officer employed with the Ministry of Health.

“It will be very difficult to live like this, I don’t know if I will be able to do anything for myself...I don’t know how I am going to live with this.”

He said he has not heard anything from the police yet and no one has taken any statements from him since the incident.

The T&T Guardian contacted the Penal Police Station but was told that no information could be released on the accident.

Five-year-old Anna Seecharan was overjoyed yesterday as her father carried a mattress into their new home, less than a month after their old house was destroyed by fire. 

Sitting cross-legged on the bed she will share with her sisters, Anna was all smiles, as her father related the joy he felt to have his own home again.

On December 11, 2016, the Seecharan’s home was burnt flat, leaving them homeless and penniless. 

Robin said yesterday he had little hope for the future especially with seven young children and his wife depending on him.

But within hours of the fire, the T&T Guardian contacted founder of the Zahir Ali Foundation, Zahir Ali, who pledged to rebuild a home for the family. 

On December 12, Ali visited the family, taking food and clothing for the children-Brandon, 15, Antonio, 14, Jenel, 12, Christie, 11, Selena, seven, Anna, five and Crystal, three. 

Within a week’s time, Ali had a commitment from the Ricky Raghunanan Group of Companies to rebuild the house. Construction began within days but inclement weather kept the workmen away from the site, delaying the project. 

The promise of a new home came to life yesterday, as Robin moved the few belongings his family had been given into the 45 x 35 wooden and concrete structure. 

While the house was yet to be outfitted with windows and wired for electricity, Robin said he had made up his mind to move in. 

“I did a Hawan (Hindu prayers) with my sister and I said no matter what we are going to move in today,” he said.

“The windows might come in this week...I’m not worried at all, with everything we get already, I could try to help myself easy, easy too.”

The windows spaces will be temporarily boarded over and an electrician is expected to begin work in the coming week. 

“I am not worried, everything will fall into place. With the amount of help we got, I could never say thank you enough. Mr Ricky Raghunanan really blessed me this house, I hope God blesses him and his entire family.”

His two youngest daughters, Selena and Anna, kept him company while he mounted up their beds and placed vinyl on the bedroom floors while his wife, Raquel, and the elder children moved their belongings from the home of a neighbour where they had stayed since the fire. 

Thanks to another donor, the family also received a new refrigerator and stove which they can take into their new house. 

Seecharan said the walls were primed for paint, but he wants to allow his children to choose the colours for the house.

“I want to bring a paint chart and let them choose what colours they want for their rooms and we could decide together what colour the outside should be,” he said.

And when the school term re-opens today, Seecharan plans to take the morning off work to visit the schools his children attends to get booklists for each one of them. 

“Once I get the booklists tomorrow, they should be going to school within this first week.”

Seecharan said he was also given a television but needs a living room set to complete the house. 

Anyone wishing to contribute to the family can contact Seecharan at 316-6632.

A Chutney artiste has come under heavy fire for desecrating the grounds of a world-famous Hindu temple in Carapichaima by filming a music video for his 2017 Chutney song on the compound without permission. 

Rick Jacob (Rick J’s) 2017 Chutney Soca song ‘Roll Yuh Hips’ was relatively unknown until social media users began sharing the music video which showed the artiste dancing and singing in front of the Sri Dattatreya Yoga Centre’s Ashram in Carapichaima. 

The ashram’s 85ft Hanuman Murti was widely showcased in the video and Jacob was seen kneeling before the prayer altars in some parts of the video. The statue, consecrated in 2003, is the tallest in the Western hemisphere and second tallest in the world according to Destination Trinidad and Tobago’s website. 

However, with the lyrics inviting women to roll their hips, Hindus and non-Hindus alike were up in arms, accusing Jacob of disrespecting the temple and the religion. 

In retaliation on his Facebook page early yesterday morning, Jacob’s posted, “If ur a hindu and u hv a jande in yuh yard dont hold no partites in alyuh yard dont play no alkiline next to alyuh jande because thats a disrespect yuh feel meh after all my hard work this is how my indian ppl repay me by burning my name to the ground but i coming for all of alyuh wait i have alot to say also.”

A short while later he posted, “I want alyuh addess me on the streets when alyuh see me come and ask meh why i do the video dey and i go tell alyuh since alyuh dho believe we get permission.”

However, in a press release yesterday, president of the Yoga Centre, Ramesh Persad-Maharaj, said Jacob’s never got permission to use the compound. 

“The public is hereby informed that the video by Rick J who poses as a chutney singer was done on the sacred grounds of our Ashram without our knowledge. Apparently, he chose a day and time when the Temple was closed and nobody was around to prevent him from doing his mischief,” Persad-Maharaj said.”

“The video is a violation of the sanctity Hindus have for their deities and places of worship. It is disgraceful and an insult to all Hindus and persons who respect places of worship.”

He called on Jacob to remove the video and apologise to the Hindu community, adding, “I would like to mention that it is a criminal offense for any person to behave indecently in any place of divine worship at any time. I therefore request him to act promptly to avoid embarrassment and legal costs.”

The T&T Guardian tried contacting Jacob via social media but he did not respond to questions. 

Checks for the video on Youtube revealed it’s content had been blocked and it was listed as private. 

A Freeport woman and her teenaged daughter are nursing injuries at hospital after they were knocked down while trying to cross the street yesterday.

According to reports Salisha Jadunanan and her 14-year-old daughter Samantha were waiting for a taxi on the corner of Tewarie Circular South street and Arena Road Freeport around 7.30am yesterday when the incident occurred.

After stopping a taxi the pair tried to cross the street but a woman driving a green Toyota Yaris registration number PDG 3798 tried to overtake the taxi at the same time and hit the two.

Salisha was flung into the air and landed onto the vehicle's  windshield while her daughter was flung onto the roadway. 

Eyewitnesses said the female driver said the sun was in her eyes and she did not see the pair crossing the street.

Salisha' s son Shawn to do the T&T Guardian that his mother and his sister, who is a pupil of the Saraswati Girls Hindu College were both taken by ambulance to the Couva District Health Facility.

The Freeport police responded and the driver was taken to the station however it is unclear whether she will be charged.

Within the next six months, San Fernando will see the start of construction of a 120-room Hilton hotel at South Park.

The project was announced by chief executive officer of Rahael Holdings Ltd (RHL) Group of Companies, Anthony Rahael, during a meeting with San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello at the San Fernando City Hall.

“We are introducing an internationally branded hotel, we are in discussions with the Hilton brand and we have an agreement in place, so hopefully in the near future we will be breaking ground to build a new hotel, a Hilton-type hotel,” Rahael said.

“It will probably be a Hampton Inn by Hilton that would be coming to San Fernando, and keep in mind this is the first internationally branded hotel in San Fernando.”

Hampton by Hilton, formerly known as Hampton Inn, is a brand of motels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. The Hampton hotel brand is a chain of moderately priced, midscale hotels with limited food and beverage facilities.

Rahael said the South Park hotel will be built close to the mall on a two-acre piece of land and will be complete with conference rooms and all amenities.

This project will be the second international hotel for the country, as the Sandals Group has announced its intention to build a 750-room hotel at No Man’s Land, Tobago.

That project has been marred with controversy as there have been environmental concerns raised over the use of No Man’s Land.

During a meeting on Sunday in Tobago, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley once more threw his support behind the project, saying it is a very important one for the island and it would bring tourism on the island into the 21st century.

The Sandals project is expected to employ thousands during the construction period and in the course of it’s operations.

Rahael said yesterday the South Park hotel will also create jobs in San Fernando.

“The staffing of the hotel is going to 100 per cent local and when I say local I mean San Fernando locals as the case with most of the tenants we have now (at South Park.) During the construction period, you’ll probably have about 150 people employed and after the construction period, the staff members should range from 50 to 60 people.”

Rahael said while he could not say yet what the hotel might cost, the preliminary designs have already been completed.

“We have designers in collaboration with Hilton, the preliminary design is already done, we just now need to finalize the designs and get the necessary finances.”

He said once the construction begins, it is expected to last approximately 18 months.

He also announced that the company would begin discussions on creating a residential community on another two-acre plot of land close to South Park. He said that project would be targeting middle-income earners.

Regrello praised him for the initiatives, saying South Park has already contributed vastly to San Fernando and pledging the support of the city corporation.

Incensed over the murder of Talparo teen, Rachael Ramkissoon, a San Fernando radio personality has embarked on a one-man walk from San Fernando to Port to Spain.

Terrance Guevara, 33, is armed only with a National Flag and the conviction that something needs to be done about the country's spiraling crime rate. He began his walk outside his workplace, on Coffee Street, San Fernando at 6am and intends to finish at the Brian Lara Promenade in Port of Spain.

In an interview with the T&T Guardian this morning, Guevara said although he is not a fitness buff, he felt the need to do something drastic in the hopes of highlighting the crime and brutality that is poisoning the land.

"I am trying to make people aware that we have to do something more than talk about the crime situation," he said. "Everyday we see things getting worse and no one does or says anything- and they won't feel the need too unless it happens to them or their family members."

At 10.30am, Guevara had reached Couva, a four-and-a-half-hour journey. 

He intends to walk to Chaguanas Flyover where a shuttle will pick him to take him to Mt Hope where he will continue his walk along the Eastern Main Road to Port of Spain. 

Terrance Guevara, who embarked on a one-man march to Port-of-Spain from San Fernando yesterday over the murder of Talparo schoolgirl Rachael Ramkissoon, was not able to complete the journey.

Guevara said his attempt may have been a bit too ambitious, as he ended up injuring both feet before ending his mission.

Guevara, 33, a radio personality at Wack 90.1 FM began his walk outside of his workplace on Coffee Street, San Fernando and had intended to complete it at the Brian Lara Promenade. San Fernando is roughly 56 kilometers from Port-of-Spain.

Dressed in all red and carrying a national flag, Guevara attracted the attention of many motorists and residents as he walked along the Southern Main Road.

At 10.30 am, he had reached Couva, where he was given bottled water and juices from members of the public. He said he received a lot of support from onlookers, as they agreed with him that crime was out of control in T&T.

“People were bringing me things to drink and when they heard why I was walking, I got a lot of support,” he said.

However, on reaching Charlieville around 2 pm, Guevara could go no further.

“Stones from the road got into my sneakers and both of the soles of my feet are bloody now. I can’t walk right now and I had to turn back.”

He said he intends to attempt the walk a second time as he believes it would send a strong message.

“I want people to wake up and understand the role in which we play in this country, we have power to make changes. Every day people see things happening and staying silent about it and every time we see it keep getting worse.”

“People don’t want to wake up and see what is happening and they won’t bother to until it comes home to them.”

He said his next attempt at the walk will be better organised and he hopes that other citizens will join him as well.

“I am hoping that more people will come out, when I first made up my mind to do the walk over this weekend a lot of people contacted me and promised to come out, but people were making promises and not keeping them. I am hoping the next time more people responded.”

Cross over artiste Rikki Jai has come out in support of Bollywood melodies being used in the Chutney/Soca competition.

Jai (Samraj Jaimungal) said while he is not contradicting the right of other artistes to question the use of this music in the competition, this is the direction in which it is evolving and the industry is going.

Saying that this blend of music reaches a wider audiences Jai, a nine-time winner of the Chutney Soca Monarch title, said this will ensure the Chutney/Soca genre does not die.

Last Thursday, a handful of Chutney artistes protested in front of the offices of CSM producer, George Singh, calling for a ban of Chutney songs with Bollywood melodies from the competition.

“I don’t want to get too involved in this controversy but these artistes need to recognise that Bollywood melodies are what the people want,” he said.

“Most people now prefer to listen to Bollywood music and stay away from Chutney but when you have a mix of the two, you appeal to a wider cross section of people.”

Noting that CSM is a privately run show, Jai said Singh has the right to design it to suit his business.

“At the end of the day, he has a business to run and showcasing original Chutney songs only is not going to attract patrons. What if in any given year we don’t have any popular traditional Chutney songs, how is the competition going to run?”

“Now if George Singh wants to say in 2017 the Bollywood melodies are allowed and in 2018 only original songs are going to be permitted, the artistes will be able to prepare themselves properly.”

Jai said one of the main agitators for originality, Kenneth Supersad was also guilty of using the melodies in songs he writes for other artistes.

“Omardath’s song ‘Balkissoon’ was written by Kenneth, if he is to win the CSM with that song Kenneth is going to collect royalties from that song, so he shouldn’t be so quick to put it down.”

“People should also note that most modern day Bollywood songs use the melodies from other songs in the years gone by. Soca artiste Destra Garcia also did it with her song ‘Carnival’ using the melody of a Cyndi Lauper song.”

Balkissoon singer Omardath Maharaj agreed, saying the new wave of Chutney music has brought it a bigger audience.

“These songs are played in everything, for Christmas, Carnival...all of the time,” he said.

“Look at Ravi B’s song ‘Budget’-that song is big with every audience because people can relate to it.”

“I don’t disagree with them but to say that people don’t want the mix of music is true.”

Weeks after she became a Facebook meme for her sassy line—Dat making any sense? — mother of four, Neisha Wattley has appeared in a promotion video for a fete.

Dressed in a promotional vest for the cooler fete Bikini Bottom, Wattley encouraged viewers to go to the fete, saying to stay away “‘Not making any sense.’”

Within hours, the video went viral with many users commending Wattley for using her fame to benefit herself and her family. At 4 pm yesterday, the video had been shared over 1,300 times and had been viewed a whopping 67,000 times. 

Wattley shot into the national spotlight in the days leading up to Christmas 2016 when she made a tearful appeal for a home for her family.

At the time, she lived in a small wooden shack just a few metres off the riverbank that runs parallel to the southern side of Woodford Lodge in Chaguanas with her husband Chris Rambahal and their four children.

On Christmas Eve, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell moved Wattley and her family into a HDC house in Eden Gardens, Freeport. In an interview with a reporter, Wattley vowed to return to the shack as she complained she had no transportation to send her children to school in Chaguanas. 

Her husband later said he and his family would stay in the house but by then Wattley’s statements had already been immortalised on social media. 

There have been hundreds of memes, parody videos and even t-shirts with Wattley’s face on the front. 

Now, she seems to have taken advantage of the hype behind the statement to benefit herself and her family.

The T&T Guardian reached out to Wattley but she declined to speak. Dj Isso, the Bikini Bottom promoter, told the T&T Guardian he hopes Wattley uses the ‘start’ his team gave her to her full advantage.
“There is positive in every negative situation but not everyone has the mental capacity to see that, I honestly think she will be the next big thing once she has the willingness to move forward in life,” he said. 

Wattley’s move is similar to that of Ellis Reid, popularly known as Uncle Ellis who shot to fame in the run up to Carnival 2016. He was recorded dancing in front of KFC in Port-of-Spain and has been able to overcome drug abuse and has released a soca song for Carnival 2017 titled “I doh mind.”

Despite the challenges he faced trying to walk from San Fernando to Port of Spain in protest of the spiraling crime rate, radio personality Terrance Guevara intends to complete his journey on Saturday. 

His march had been spurred by the death of teenager Rachael Ramkissoon.

On Monday, Guevara's story went viral when he embarked on a solo journey from Coffee Street San Fernando with the intention of walking to the capital city. 

However he had to stop when he got to Charlieville as both the soles of his feet were blistered and bloodied by pebbles from the road which had gotten into his sneakers. 

Yesterday, Guevara said he is hoping to complete his mission this time around and he is calling on other citizens to join in. 

"I am trying to plan this leg of the march a little better and I have written the Port of Spain City Corporation seeking permission to use the Brian Lara Promenade on Saturday," he said.

"We intend to begin the march at Mt Hope and go along the Eastern Main Road into Port of Spain."

He said his feet are still sore and his cuts are not healed but he intends to rally through as he believes this effort can awaken the consciousness of the population about crime.

"Yesterday (Tuesday) we had seven murders in 24 hours, it is an issue that is eventually going to come home to you. Don't let that happen before you decide to take a stand and let the powers that be see we are not prepared to sit by and watch our nation deteriorate ."

A father of one, Guevara said he hopes to set a good example for his nine-year-old son.

"We have to show the youths that we are not sitting down and watching our country go down the drain, at the end of the day-I think a lot of people are continuing to live in bubbles thinking that what goes on in other parts of the country do not affect them. They need to let go of that ignorance before it's too late."

If you want to join Guevara on Saturday, you can contact him at 732-7676 or find him on Facebook. 
 

In the wake of Angelo Bissessarsingh’s death at his Siparia home yesterday, his father Rudolph announced plans to transform the house into a museum dedicated to his son’s work.

Describing his son as a man whose personality transcended all prejudices, Rudolph said Angelo, 34, had made friends in every circle of society and was a true son of the soil. 

The beloved historian, author and Sunday Guardian columnist was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in 2015 and died at his Brooks Garden, Siparia home around 10 am yesterday, surrounded by family members. 

When news of his death spread, social media was flooded with tributes as Angelo was hailed for his contributions to T&T and for preserving the country’s heritage.

President Anthony Carmona and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar were among those who shared tributes to Angelo.  He was a Hummingbird Gold Medal recipient in 2016. 

When his body was removed from the house by undertakers around 1.20 pm yesterday, loud screams could be heard from inside the house and cries of “Angelo, don’t go.” Speaking to the media soon after, Rudolph said the pain of losing Angelo had stunned him.

“I have never experienced pain like this in my life,” he said. 

He said he was angry that his son’s life had been cut short as he said before Angelo was diagnosed doctors ran tests on him for four years without finding a cause for his excessive weight gain.

“When he started to put on weight so rapidly, people were unkind to him and I paid thousands of dollars to doctors so they could tell us what was wrong — they took all of the money and found nothing wrong with him. I had to pay $43,000 for them to put a fibre optic cable in his stomach and tell him he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer.”

He said he believes if Angelo had been diagnosed sooner, he may have had a chance at beating the cancer. “And when Angelo found out he was going to die from the cancer, he turned to me and said ‘Come Pa, let’s go from here, I have my work to do.’”

And it was his indomitable will to document the history of the country that cemented Angelo’s place in the hearts of both those who knew him and those who only knew his story.  Rudolph said Angelo was not aware at the end, as he had been in and out of consciousness for the past two weeks. 

“He was being given morphine for the pain and he was not lucid when he was taking it, as it is a very potent drug, the last time we have a proper conversation was about two weeks ago,” Rudolph said. 

Rudolph said in that last conversation, Angelo made two requests, “He told me he wanted Winston ‘Gypsy’ Peters to sing his extempo and for me to finish a series of paintings I started about women bathing in the cocoa estates.”

He said Angelo counted Carmona, and his wife Reema, and many politicians as his friends.

“He never saw politics or skin colour or religion or class, Angelo was a man who transcended all those things. He cut through all prejudices and the only measure he divided things by was their value to the national identity.”

“It was his life’s goal to ensure that we have a national identity —he was redefining history and the way we see ourselves, how we treat each other and how we speak to each other.”

He said all he wishes for now was that Angelo be remembered by his work. He also thanked a number of people including former Guardian editor-in-chief Judy Raymond for giving Angelo an opportunity to delve deeper into his work through his weekly column in the Sunday Guardian. 

In addition to being awarded the Hummingbird Gold Medal in 2016 Independence Day awards, Angelo was also given the keys to the city of San Fernando by then Mayor Kazim Hosein (now Local Government minister.)

His books, Walking with the Ancestors—The Historic Cemeteries of Trinidad, published in 2013; Snapshots of the History of Trinidad and Tobago, Virtual Glimpses into the Past; and Pancho’s Dilemma, all published in 2016, have also earned him many accolades.  

Angelo was the founder of the Virtual Museum of T&T and has been lauded by many as a guardian of the country’s history. 

Tributes pour in

As news of the death of beloved local historian and author Angelo Bissessarsingh spread yesterday, many people poured their hearts out for him, including those who hold this country’s highest offices.

Bissessarsingh lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at his Brooks Garden, Siparia home around 10 am yesterday. 

President Anthony Carmona, in a release yesterday, hailed Angelo as a remarkable human being. Carmona presented the Hummingbird Gold Medal to Angelo in 2016 for his contribution to History and Education.

“I am devastated by the loss of a remarkable human being who was trying to save us from ourselves. We owe him a priceless debt of gratitude for championing the greatness of our culture, history and heritage and the goodness that lies within us all,” the release said.  “To his loving family and dear friends, my deepest condolences and may God give you all solace, strength and peace in this trying moment of great grief.”

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who Angelo’s father Rudolph Bissessarsingh said shared a good relationship with his son, also expressed his condolences, describing Angelo as a shining example of a citizen. 

“Angelo will be remembered as a man driven by his passion to explore and share the rich history of Trinidad and Tobago and for his national service he was awarded the Hummingbird Medal Gold in 2016. His work as a cultural archivist and author shows us that the task of preserving our country’s history is not the work of academics and formal institutions,” a release from the Office of the Prime Minister stated. 

“He has proven that people with curious minds and a love for knowledge can be some of our most shining examples of citizenship.”

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar also expressed her sorrow at Angelo’s death.

According to Angelo’s father, Persad-Bissessar’s husband, Dr Gregory Bissessar, supported Angelo financially during his battle with cancer. 

“I share the hope of his father, that Angelo’s “consciousness will live on” and that he will “never die”. Indeed, Angelo’s immortality is ensured through the work he has done in creating the Virtual Museum of Trinidad and Tobago, his many books about us as a people and his writings in the press,” Persad-Bissessar wrote.

“Angelo’s wit and charming smile brought joy to anyone who interacted with him, and he will truly be missed. Angelo possessed a strong will and thirst for knowledge, and devoted much of his lifetime to exploring and documenting this country’s rich history. His work did not stop there, he sought to impart as much knowledge as he could to his fellow citizens.”

She also issued a call for Angelo’s books to be included in schools so that future generations can learn from his work. 

A 36-year-old Gasparillo businessman was murdered in the wee hours of this morning while on his way home.

Naim Caliph was shot in his Range Rover vehicle at the Tarouba link road around 1 am today.

 Initial reports state a white wagon intercepted the vehicle and its occupants opened fire, hitting Caliph who was in the front seat passenger.

The driver of the vehicle was also wounded during the shooting.

The driver whose identity is yet unknown, drove to the Mon Repos police station where Caliph died.

Caliph lived at Lumsden Road in Gasparillo. His driver is currently at hospital nursing gunshot wounds.

Police say the side of the car had nine bullet holes.

Father of two, Naim Caliph did not live to celebrate his 36th birthday on Tuesday.

Caliph was shot multiple times inside his white Range Rover where he was seated in the passenger’s seat. His friend, Fiaz Mohammed was the driver.

The two reportedly went to the opening of Steel Restaurant and Lounge at South Park on Friday night and while driving along the Tarouba Link Road, the vehicle as intercepted by a white AD wagon.

The wagon’s occupants opened fire on Caliph’s vehicle, hitting him and Mohammed several times. Although Mohammed received gunshot wounds to his thigh and stomach, he managed to drive to the Mon Repos Police Station, some 2.5 km, about five minutes away. Mohammed, 28, of Hubert Rance Street, Vistabella, was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was said to be in stable condition up to late yesterday.

Caliph’s social media account listed him as an employee of Xovaa Enterprises. The Sunday Guardian visited his home in Palmyra and his parents’ home in Gasparillo, but no one was at either house.

In a brief telephone interview, a female relative said Caliph’s wife was not able to speak to the media and asked that the family be given time to grieve.

Southern Division Police said they are yet to establish a motive for Caliph’s murder. While officers could not say how many times Caliph was shot, the Sunday Guardian was told 12 spent shells were recovered from the scene.

Ishmael: Bring out the army

Meanwhile, Islamic Broadcasting Network founder and activist, Inshan Ishmael called on the Government and Opposition to put their differences aside to deal with crime.

Ishmael said National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams were incompetent.

Ishmael said he rushed to the scene when Caliph’s father called him around 2 am and told the media that the crime situation was totally out of control.

“Something has to be done, we have to stop playing politics with crime, both sides have to get their acts together,” said Ishmael.

“I have called for it before and I think that the National Security Minister and the Police Commissioner are abject failures.

“Up to last night I posted pictures of police cars parked up by the bars and when you need a police vehicle, you can’t get it.

“And unfortunately that is not reflective of all the police, it is reflective of some and we are seeing that the National Security Minister is inept, he can’t function, he is a failure and I think we need to get serious with crime, not because this is my friend it is because we have been making this call for a long time now.”

Questioning whether the country is at war, Ishmael called for the Defence Force to be called out.

“I think we have the army sitting down doing nothing, feeding them everyday, clothing them everyday, what purpose do they serve? Are we at war? The army needs to be on the road everyday.​​

Ronelisa Peters knows first hand the struggles of growing up without a mother and she is desperate to keep her six children from that life.

Peters, 28 is begging for a home to call her own. She currently lives in a dilapidated one bedroom house left by her late mother in Pleasantville, south Trinidad. The floorboards in the tiny wooden structure are badly rotted and her children, ages 12 to two years old, cannot live with her because of the conditions and lack of space. 

She said she has had Housing Development Corporation (HDC) application pending for more than ten years and is appealing to her Member of Parliament, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell, for assistance. 

When she was 10 years old, Peter’s mother died of breast cancer, leaving her, along with five sisters and one brother to fend for themselves.

When she was 17, she was expelled from the Pleasantville Secondary School and left her home to move in with a man in La Brea. The relationship produced three children and lasted until 2011 when Peters discovered a lump in her left breast.  Because she was at a high risk for developing cancer, doctors at the San Fernando General Hospital warded her and performed a lumpectomy.

While she was in the hospital, her common-law husband moved in with another woman.

Peters moved back to her mother’s Blitz Village, Pleasantville, home. However, a male relative objected to her return and tried to evict her, starting a battle that ended with a High Court order in November 2016 and a protection order against the man.

While that was ongoing, Peters met and fell in love with another man and had three children with him. She said she tried living with the man at his home Tableland but could not get along with his extended family so she moved back to her mother’s house full time. 

She said she tries to find work in and around the area as a house cleaner but cannot do heavy lifting so she is limited in the jobs she can take. 

Her younger children spend weekends with her.

“Their father brings them every Friday and comes back for them on Sunday, I wish they could live with me but the place here is too small and the circumstances not nice for children to grow up in,” she said. 

“All I want is a place I can call my own where my children can live with me comfortably and have the love of a mother I didn’t have growing up.”

SHARLENE RAMPERSAD

sharlene.rampersad@guardian.co.tt

Students of the Parvati Girls' Hindu College in Debe had to be evacuated on Tuesday when several of them experienced breathing difficulties after the building was sprayed for mosquitoes.

According to reports, the school's compound was sprayed around 6 am by the Ministry of Health's Insect Vector Control Division and by the time classes began around 8 am, several students had reported feeling ill.

The students were then evacuated to the nearby Debe Market where they remained until their parents could pick them up.

One parent, speaking to the T&T Guardian on the condition of anonymity, said the parents were shocked their children had been sent to the unsanitary market compound.

Around 9.30 the school was dismissed and students were being sent home.

The grandmother of one student said she was alarmed the school would be sprayed hours before classes were supposed to start.

"By doing that (spraying) they have put the children at a great risk, there are quite a few children who suffer from asthma and were getting sick with the residual scent this morning," she said.

The woman knocked the school's administration for not informing parents of the spraying exercise.

"They (the school) were notified on Monday that the school would be sprayed, so why didn't they tell us something? They would rather risk having the children fall ill then?"

However, one teacher, who asked not to be named, said the administration was not aware of the exercise.

"They were supposed to come over the weekend to spray, nobody knew they were coming today. There was a little delay in sending home the children this morning because proper protocol needed to be followed. The principal had to call the school supervisor before school could be dismissed," she said.

The teacher said the teachers were supervising the students and making sure every parent or guardian sign out their children before leaving.

Contacted yesterday T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) president Lynsley Doodhai said there are usually clear guidelines on how schools should be sprayed.

"You do not spray a school the day before classes start, schools are usually sprayed on a Friday evening so the buildings have time to air out," Doodhai said.

A Couva man was fined a total of $4,500 for larceny by trick and ordered to compensate his victims in the sum of $13,500 after he took money from them for vehicles he never delivered.

Tajmool Mohammed, 54 of Preysal, Couva appeared before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John in the San Fernando Magistrates' Court.

He pleaded guilty to three charges read to him by Forde-John.

He was charged that on August 16, 2016 at Debe, he stole $6,500 from Sunil Jairajsingh. He was also charged that on the same day at the same place, he stole $3,500 from Gary Persad and he also stole $3,500 from Darren Ganness.

Mohammed, who said he makes a living buying and selling used vehicles, pleaded guilty to each charge.

Forde-John also read four other charges to him- one that on November 11, 2016 at Penal, he stole $24,500 from Devanand Seepersad. That matter was transferred to the Siparia Magistrates Court and will be heard today (Thursday.)

He was also charged that between November 18 and November 24, 2016 at Point Lisas he stole $53,000 from Kelvin Landoo.

He was also charged that between November 5 and November 8, 2016 at Couva he stole $4,000 from Mahadeo Girwar. Those matters were adjourned until Friday and transferred to the Couva Magistrates Court.

He was also charged on November 20, 2016, he stole $10,000 in the form of a cheque from Vanessa Sookhai.

That matter was also adjourned until next Monday and transferred to the Chaguanas Magistrates' Court.

He was not called upon to plead on any of those charges.

In court yesterday, court prosecutor Sgt Cleyon Seedan said the victims Ganness and Persad paid Mohammed the money as a downpayment towards the delivery and purchase for John Deere tractors.

Seedan said Jairajsingh paid the $6,500 as a downpayment towards the purchase and delivery of a used Nissan vehicle.

None of the vehicles were ever delivered and when the victims tried contacting Mohammed, their efforts proved futile. When Mohammed was questioned by police on February 6 about the matters, he said, "I have nothing to say about that-they get back their money and I pay back Sunil $6,500."

Mohammed's attorney, Sasha Singh told the court he is a father of three adult children and he is married. She said there was a third party involved in the transactions but Mohammed is remorseful for what he has done.

Singh said Mohammed intends to refund his victims in one month's time.

Forde-John fined him $1,500 for each charge and ordered to repay the full amounts he stole from the three men. If he fails to pay the fine for the offenses, he will face six months simple imprisonment on each charge. If he fails to repay his victims he will face six weeks simple imprisonment on each charge to run consecutively.

Triplets Niah, Aaliyah and Emma-Lee Charles are now one-year-old. The adorable infants were born on Carnival Tuesday, 2016, two months prematurely. 

Yesterday, as the girls crawled, gurgled and played with balloons, their parents, Jason and Shinette Charles, tried to explain how life with triplets had changed them. 

The two had been married for ten years when Shinette became pregnant and they were both first time parents. 

Shinette said her days are now overflowing with activities for the girls, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“I am always busy. It’s a very difficult job but it is totally worth it,” she said. 

She said the girls usually wake up before dawn and she dresses them for daycare, where they stay from 8 am to 4 pm.

“I started bringing them when they were eight months old, before that we got support from both of our mothers,” she said.

And while Jason jokingly admitted that sometimes they can’t tell the girls apart, Shinette said each girl has her own unique characteristics. 

“Aaliyah will show more warmth to strangers, Niah and Emma hold back. Aaliyah will also smile first and reach out to someone. Niah is the analytical one - she will always find a way to figure things out. Emma is the link between them both. She is the one who will leave whatever she is doing to find her sisters if one of them is crying. She brings them together.”

Aaliyah was operated on when she was just eight days old after doctors discovered an infection in her intestines, but Shinette said none of the girls have any health issues presently.

“Although Aaliyah is more warm she is also the more cautious baby. She doesn’t take the risks her sisters take, you can see her taking her time to turn or crawl. She also has not started walking yet. I think it’s just a fear of taking the first step, but she does stand on her own,” she said.

Veteran chutney artiste Omardath Maharaj captured his first Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM) title, tying with three-time winner Ravi B to dethrone defending champion Kris Persad (KI).

The 22nd CSM competition was held on Saturday night at Skinner Park, San Fernando, with 20 performances by various artistes in two categories-the World Ultimate Chutney Challenge and the Chutney Soca Monarch.

Another veteran artiste, Chris Garcia took the Ultimate crown with his 1996 hit Chutney Bacchanal, walking away with the $100,000 first prize.

Maharaj and Ravi B will share the $500,000 first prize in their category.

Maharaj's hit Ramsingh has been a popular tune at Carnival fetes and Ravi B's 2017 song, Budget, has also been getting good audience approval on the Carnival circuit.

KI placed third with his song Make me do it as his elaborate performance which included building a mini-stage on the CSM stage and zip lining over the crowd.

Maharaj, who is no stranger to the CSM stage having performed in seven previous competitions, was ecstatic to capture the crown. He spoke to the T&T Guardian minutes after the results were announced early yesterday morning.

"I've been fighting right through with my other songs and I've lead the platform for people to love me my music is being loved all over and the people came out and showed their support for originality and for true chutney," he said.

His performance sparked the audience into a frenzy as it featured a bare chested man with horns on his head being pulled between two women.

He said he was still shocked by the win although he recognised the power of his song. Maharaj's 2016 Chutney Soca Balkissoon has also earned him high praise from chutney lovers.

Maharaj, who founded the band Spread Pal Crew 14 years ago said: "Ramsingh was launched about 30 or 31 days now and we have nearly 500,000 views on YouTube right now. We were in Ladies Night Out on Friday and the whole crowd was chanting that Ramsingh."

Asked to comment on statements made by Ravi B during his performance about songs in the competition disrespecting women, Maharaj said: "This is not disrespecting women, every village had a ram We create characters like Balkissoon and Ramsingh and when people hear the music they smile."

Big things seem to be in the cards for Maharaj as he said he had already been booked for several international tours.

For Ravi B, this win took him to four CSM titles under his belt and he said he knew from the onset the competition would be between Maharaj and himself.

"The people called for me to come back so I did, I knew coming in it would be between me and Ramsingh."

Ravi B went all out for his performance, with his team throwing travel-sized bottles of rum into the audience and a canon spewing dollar bills into the crowd when he was finished.

The T&T Guardian also caught up with Garcia who described the win as "the ripe fruit" of his efforts.

Southex Promotions chief executive officer George Singh said the winner of the Ultimate Challenge title cannot re-enter the competition and each song in the category must be older than seven years to qualify.