Life in the Wild West – Trinidad Style

I waited with abated breath the verdict. I could feel the beads perspiration rolling off my forehead, one by my temple down across my cheek and pool at the underside of my chin with each perspiration ball feeling like a ball of acid painfully engraving it’s unpatterned passage along the exterior of my face.

That was my body’s reaction while listening to the November 6th 1995 General Elections results. Ironically, I did not vote, so I was in support of no party. But whom would become Sheriff of this once peaceful town of ours was important to me, because, it has become dangerous to trod along the dusty trails of Trinbago without being robbed, shot at, murdered or dry gulched.

At the end of the showdown- all ballots counted and all dust settled, cowboy “B” was elected sheriff and cowboy “P” demoted to Opposition Leader.Sheriff Basdeo and his band of Bounty hunters now had the job of ridding our town of the vicious breed of outlaws, at present, unleashing capital punishment on the law abiding citizens of this nation.

The humble citizens of Trinbago had shown that they were dissatisfied with the way in which Sheriff Patrick and his posse dealt with the crime epidemic that has gripped our “island in the sun” or should I say “island ruled by the sun”. Our “PARADISE” at the time (at present also) was being subverted by murderers who were devoid of any morale and respect for law and order.

Crime, is not endemic, but during Sheriff Patrick’s reign, we the law abiding citizens of Trinbago were forced to turn our homes into prisons and lived under self-imposed curfews because at one time there was a frightening 10 murders in 6 months, most of them vicious, cold-blooded and senseless. All of this coming on the heals of the 1990 Attempt Coup-that, is another story.

But it was not until the quiet district of Westmoorings was awakened by a double murder, that made the financially secured stop, and realise that they are no longer secure and could only then, alien themselves with the lower orgasm of Trinbago in the fight against crime by protesting in front of the Sheriff’s residents – that caught the attention of a Sheriff to busy to care about the lawlessness in our humble town.

Then, to add insult to injury, Sheriff Patrick and his posse first affronted our intelligence with ludicrous statements and sophism’s, then pacifying us with the hanging Glen Ashby which at the time, I thought was the commencement of infallible legislation, but eventually turned out to be a scapegoat and not a solution.

So, instead of a deterrent from murder, which interalia, might have morally improved the criminal element in our society, Sheriff Patrick and his caring posse only succeeded in boosting outlaws confidence and making murder become virtual.

Now, with outlaws having free reign to terrorise, loot, rob, dry gulch, shot at and kill citizenry of this humble and peaceful town- their crimes being executed with brilliant success, Sheriff Basdeo and his Bounty hunters set out to bring to justice those wanted outlaws and at the same time obviate this epidemic that has placed us under siege. But after 9 months in office it seems that Basdeo’s Chief of Staff and Deputy in Chief Ramesh, is only interested in rewriting the Constitution of Trinbago and muzzling the PRESSURE. While he Basdeo is still ‘consulting and consensusing’. The saga continues. So you can understand now, why I was sweating while listening to the results of the General Elections.

Gerard Wilson