Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: You're tuned into the all new freedom 106.5. 106.5.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: I must turn my attention now to my interview this morning as I did promise you guys.
Very sad, sad moment today as well. Activists Wendell Eversley, uncle of slain acting Corporal Anoushka Eversley at the Municipal Police Station.
Wendell, good morning to you and condolences from us here at Freedom on a 6.5 FM. All our listeners, no doubt we want to extend our heartfelt prayer and condolences to you and your family at this time. Good morning.
You need to unmute your, you're still muted. I need you to unmute your, your mic.
Yes, you just need to unmute. Wendell, your end. I know you're hearing me, but on your end it is still muted.
Your mic. I'm seeing your mic muted here.
Right, there you go.
You're on mute.
[00:01:07] Speaker C: Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning. And good morning to all your listeners.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: Thank you very much for joining us on this sad occasion today.
I hate having to speak to persons when we, when things like this happen. I feel like we should be chatting with each other, you know, all the time and not just in these state of sadness, but good morning to you and thank you so much for joining us this morning. How are you?
[00:01:33] Speaker C: Well, I must say that it's painful.
We are trying to cope but with God we will get through this because in times like this the family would need all the support we could get because it's, we couldn't believe that this would have happened to Anoushka left for work and never returned.
And in the circumstances that, oh, she died, it's, it's really, really, really painful.
And I must say when I look at her three children yesterday, especially her eldest child, her daughter is 17 years writing keep examination in about two and a half weeks time.
And I, I watch her say all right saying yes, but deep down in her heart, I'm not a counselor,
[00:03:00] Speaker D: but
[00:03:00] Speaker C: deep down in her heart I know the pain is there.
I know how she's feeling.
But I keep, I keep asking God to give her the strength and the courage, you know, that she have two other siblings, 15 year old and a 6 year old.
[00:03:36] Speaker D: Hi.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: I know, I know, it's, it's, I know it's beautiful. Yeah, I could imagine. I mean when we get the circumstances surrounding this, in this incident, we see that a police officer has been held in the probe as the hunt for the stolen guns and ammunition continues. Now this officer is also attached to the San Fernando Municipal Police Station. And he's in custody.
You know of this how? What are your thoughts? Given the fact that the Prime Minister this morning indicated that it's a betrayal, but there is no real breach. They're not seeing this.
Those in authority. From my, you know, summary, in looking at various news articles, they're not seeing it as a. As an attack on national security or a breach per se that criminal organizations outside organize. They're just seeing it as, here's what one of our own set up the scene for people to come and take the guns.
What are your thoughts when the authorities can say, nah, we still solving crime, all is well, this is not a major breach.
How do you feel a life was lost, the heinous way in which the body was found and all these things. I don't want to rehash that right now, but I want to focus on the fact that the Prime Minister and those in authority, they're just seeing this as a betrayal. We're getting the officers in, we're going to investigate them and probably bring them to justice. But there's no real when people could go in the station. Boy, I don't care how organized it is. You going in a police station. What are your thoughts?
[00:05:23] Speaker C: This is an indictment on the state.
It's not no big. It's an indictment on the state. And we have to say it as it is.
The only time I can remember something like this take place is in 1990 when they went to the police headquarters. Blow up the police headquarters.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: And
[00:05:50] Speaker C: I was held hostage in the parliament chamber when the police of headquarters was blown up.
When you could say is a betrayal of one of your.
Of one of their own.
It's not a indict, it's not a indictment on the state.
Not only the security intelligence, but we have a minister of Homeland Security who says we are on top of intelligence.
And how come there was not on top of that intelligence that in a police station, 60 guns, we don't know what type of guns, and over 4,000 rungs of ammunition.
So the person who they're saying is one of their own, are they employing criminals to be part of the municipal police service?
What is guns taking out our station going to do?
Race war on who the state? Who is the state? Not the government.
We have a security council chaired by the Prime Minister and other members of the protective service.
Are they at top of their game?
Because when we could see something like this, this is, this is. People went into a police station, one of they said was one of their own, and then they wanted Distance and separate them from municipal to different from the regular ttps.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: This is what baffling me boy.
[00:07:51] Speaker C: That's the part what uniform there is
[00:07:54] Speaker B: same police issued uniform Police. It marked police. Some of them mark municipal police. But police same red, blue and white, same lining sticker police.
They have the same powers of arrest. They go to court. One person was messaging me and saying them this handle vendors only. No, they are police officers.
[00:08:19] Speaker C: They have police officers and they man the city, the corporations, the borough.
And we see some of these same police officers who are senior superintendents and superintendents.
They take them from the police service and put them in charge.
And put them in charge. We have others who, who are senior superintendent of police for San Fernando and put them in charge from the regular police and put them in charge of the city corporation.
Today in Trinidad and Tobago the blood is flowing in our on the streets.
And we have a minister of homeland Security. Anytime you hear him speak is a lot of regular wiggler wiggle away.
And, and, and sometimes I ask myself if we take over the job of special branch, do we have a special branch in this country?
[00:09:22] Speaker B: Well, as far as I know, yeah, we do, right?
[00:09:25] Speaker C: But sometimes when we see the minister of homeland Security look like he doing a bodyguard job and if we have people who cannot do the job because I remember calling on Fitzgerald Heinz on many times to go he should be fired because as you rightly said a lot of murders was under their their watch. Also I know what is most hurtful thing that we've seen in this country here today. We are instead of we stand up for what is right. We want to pick side while our country is hurting by our country is burning.
We will want to study how to get the weight of the Secretary of Caricom. We will want to study how to get involved in other country internal affairs.
And while our internal affairs here in Trinidad and Tobago is not being attended to and is a law is a runaway horse. Are we seeing citizens in this country free?
Are we seeing this citizen in this country safe citizens? They're telling us trust the police, work with the police. But what the police doing right now, how we could trust them?
How we could trust them the public. And if you all, if you all don't want to notice it, you go on the street right now, you do a survey. You will ask the people, people that trust the police, what they will tell you.
They will tell you no.
And it's and it's facts. And we have to get the people who could do the job. Our our is our Security, intelligence fall down.
Do we have the right set of people governing this country?
Different portfolio, different ministries.
When you listen to the debates in our parliament, it's like a fish market. Sometimes I ask myself David Rather sing a song about 20 years ago the madman rant. You ever listen to that song?
[00:11:34] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:11:38] Speaker C: You never listen to words.
And he says somebody promising this. Somebody promising to fix the crime. Somebody for instance human rights. Somebody promising more job for all. Are we seeing this today?
Sometimes I ask myself, it's best to take the parliament and carry them sentence and let them operate there and. And someone will jump up and say look at performance.
Give them performance.
This probably lapsing in this country. I'm here to say it as it is don't matter if you love a party, yes, love a party. But love your country first.
Love a party, yes. But make sure that the people who we elect do the work.
If you cannot do the work, be honest to yourself.
Tell the head of the the cabinet which is the Prime Minister.
This job too big for me.
Thanks.
Get somebody who's. Who's the expert in the field.
Because when you look at what we going on today.
Blood flowing in the streets of Trinidad Tobago every day is murdered.
You're here only lately wrong. How much poor person including a child.
[00:12:53] Speaker B: Mass murder.
[00:12:54] Speaker C: Including a child. In a state of emergency.
In a state of emergency the prime minister tell the population if a little behave. I'll give all the next state of emergency.
And if you get an extra emergency and what happened is he crime solving.
[00:13:10] Speaker B: But outside of what the Prime Minister said, I also have where the.
The commissioner said that there is not much to worry about due to the fact that we in isoe. He says we don't feel like we in isoe but we are working and we are getting results.
So even he those in authority have agreed that that under this SOE we still feel like it's business as usual. You don't get that real sense that we are in an SOE unless it comes home to your doorstep in the sense of well, maybe you getting arrested under a PDO or some family member or somebody real close to you get arrested and detained under a pdo. Then you realize, hey, really in a state of emergency.
But with so many persons held it's less than 30% actually charged.
So I say to the Eversley family this morning, do you think that this SOE has failed us? Let's take a phone call. Hello. Good morning.
Good morning.
[00:14:17] Speaker D: Morning, Mr. Murray. Morning, Mr. Eversleigh. Princess Tong.
Good morning, Mr.
Listeners. I don't I will ask Mr. Eversley if he could comment on the.
One of the issues we have here with crime is the cultural component to crime in Trinidad and Tobago where we are seeing generations after generation, from father to children going down the line. Whatever you've seen, this culture of crime and whether the strategies we are using is in any way seriously relevant to treating with this problem, it is more than just the ordinary. Trinidad and Tobago is a unique kind of place with all these convergence. I would like to hear, Mr. Eversley thought on that, how we can address this problem. Because you have the whole question of dependency syndrome. And to me crime is one of the spin offs of that, that, that, that dependency culture that our leaders have, have foisted upon us.
[00:15:30] Speaker B: Okay, thank you so much.
Would you like to respond, Mr. Eversley?
All right. He seemed to be frozen there. Hello. Good morning.
[00:15:46] Speaker A: Good morning.
Possible that he's not hearing you.
Let me just say this to you. I just want to follow up on Princess Tong here.
Princess Tong. There is a culture of crime in this country and the culture of crime doesn't stop.
You see, there are several persons and organizations which are involved in massive white collar crime. These people still billions of dollars annually from the state coffers. They steal it from the economy and they take that money and they do whatever it is they want with it. And when that money is withdrawn from the economy, people who have to get medical attention, people who have to get social welfare benefit. When you want to use money in order to lift a community up, to retrain your human resource to redirect them, you do not have it.
So you see that white collar crime princess tongue which the political directorate protects by not putting institutions in place in order to treat with it. It is the bedrock of our disease in this country.
Once we get rid of that, we can eliminate all of the violent criminal conduct that we see taking place. And this dependency syndrome that you speak about, a country must be able to take care of the least in the society. And no one can say that if it is a state, assist people in giving them a hand up, it's a dependency syndrome. Thank you,
[00:17:20] Speaker B: Mr. Eversley.
I think we had a little disruption.
Yeah, we had a little disruption. I drop. Yeah.
[00:17:32] Speaker C: Syndrome.
We had a lot of institutions where some people, when they couldn't cope with the theory of the education, we had the practical.
And we see all that was taken away, all that was stopped. You remember the trade schools, the trade centers, the youth camps.
Where are all these things today?
Where are all these trace todays? It is no More long time. We had great trade men coming from these institutions.
You remember John Donaldson Technical Institute.
We had students who could have gone part time in the evening on Saturdays.
You remember also San Fernando Technical Institute.
Remember also that those who could not have cope with the common entrance after that they send them to where I trade school.
Even in junior senior comprehensive and even junior sex.
Right. Used to have trade teachers teaching trade.
And we used to see people more in a dependency syndrome in. In terms of they are qualified trade men and this will go about getting jobs and all these things. Are we seeing this today?
No. So, so the, the, the. You have PRDCPEP and the.
The forestry.
These was relief programs for those who you say come out from a system where they could not have cope.
And we are seeing today the dependency syndrome is equated by who? By politicians.
By politicians. And now they say that's how it is. No criminal entity controlling it.
So they create a system that embedded in criminality.
[00:19:54] Speaker B: You know, I mean it. Let me just get this voice note for you as well.
[00:20:00] Speaker D: Good morning again.
I just want to get opinion. Some people, you know, they have.
This is our reality check, right?
Is this not a reason to flee this country?
Right. You have 60 guns plus the guns that was already there.
Right? Those people and them didn't take that gun to export it.
They take that gun to create chaos, to make crime, to do crime in this place.
One of those guns kill or kills a family member of somebody.
[00:20:47] Speaker B: All right. As we continue with our discussions this morning, Mr. Eversley, you know, one has to ask, you know, you in the papers this morning, you said that you demand justice. And I said this morning, I remember saying very early as I was going through the headlines on page seven of Our Guardian.
The uncle of slain police officer demands justice. How do you purport that we the government go about getting this justice for your niece this morning? What ideas do you have in mind? Do you see the removal of the sitting Defense Minister and Minister of Homeland Security as part of that justice system that you are calling for
[00:21:26] Speaker C: now?
Justice. When I say we demand. Just when I say we demand justice not only for her.
Justice for all is to be justice for all. Not for one person.
We have, we have the ssa. Remember? The ssa. Yep.
Yeah.
What ministry that fall under right now?
[00:21:48] Speaker B: I think that was disbanded.
[00:21:50] Speaker C: No, it's on. It's under the Attorney General.
[00:21:52] Speaker B: Attorney General. SSA then. No. So it was disbanded. Okay. The ssa.
[00:21:57] Speaker C: Why, why, why, why they move it for the Ministry of Homeland Security.
Why they didn't put it under the Ministry of Defense then after right? Because when you look at it and we say the the minister of Homeland Security told us that how.
American intelligence give them names of certain individuals.
Right? Individuals.
Remember Candice Bond a former ambassador who said. Who said to us that people sitting in government and when she mean government you mean opposition and the ruling party involving human trafficking.
Remember a former commissioner of police Tellers they have that on active investigation.
I wrote a letter concerning the what the American former American band ambassador said that investigation ongoing.
Ongoing.
A lot of high profile investigation carrying out by the TTPS is still ongoing.
We see and witness Joshua Samaro was murdered by who we the whole world see what took place.
The city files will reach the death of the director public prosecution soon.
But we see a domestic affairs where a wife kill her husband in twinkling of her eye.
The files reach on the desk of the director of public prosecution A decision was made the mother back out to see about her children. But who will see about that five year old girl who mother was paralyzed in the incidents with the shooting where she come law husband was murdered.
Who will see about that five year old girl. So have you seen in this country those who are more corns could feed more foul now what we're seeing in this country so justice.
If we have a minister telling the population at large that he's mourning for his businessman friend this morning face businessman friend I didn't say this. He stated his own words and we all know the circumstances Joshua Christopher Christopher Summer who is Joshua Samawu father he mourning for his son.
A mother is grieving.
It's common love. Mother is grieving for her daughter who paralyzed who is who is studying about there.
So if you know you can't do the job and I'm saying it and I don't care who get vexed with me. We need somebody who's more qualified to do the job as Homeland Security minister.
And if you go out and you do a survey right now the population you'll come back with about 80 to 90% saying yes it's time to get a new Homeland Security minister.
A lot of people in that be the same UNC party membership might be saying also to yes it's time but who listening.
[00:25:52] Speaker B: All right. I seem to have lost you again.
I seem to have lost you again.
[00:25:57] Speaker C: Listen our country, our citizens right now our citizens we are listen to better people right now. Like we are living in fear.
You know are we seeing right now politics are fear. If you come out and talk you'll be Victimized.
You'll be victimized, will be prosecuted.
We should be able to talk freely and leaders should be able to listen.
And leaders, when they listen, act on it.
And that's the only way we could get a. A country where we will see leaders listening and that nobody will be frightened to talk and say, when I see a wrong, talk out about the wrong.
And when the wrong come, you dealt with the wrong.
And that is the only way we could move forward.
The truth, that's hurting us and the truth has hurt badly.
But the main thing, you're bringing out the truth
[00:27:07] Speaker B: and that's the facts.
Once you're bringing out the truth, that is it.
I want again to say thank you. I'm out of time, but I want to thank you for waking up this morning.
Again, please extend a heartfelt condolence to all of your family, including the three children.
This is really a sad story and I am on page seven with you this morning demanding justice for everyone that would have fallen victim to murderous intents, especially if they was not involved in anything and they were innocent bystanders.
I'm not talking an abaya senator. Not the one to involve. You see the. The nine year old you mentioned the Andrea Barrett. Now we have the latest installment here.
Anoushka Eversley and others like her, like those we demanding justice for this and you as you rightfully say, our focus now on Dr. Carla Barnett in Caricom Secretariat. But we not studying right here. We have a crisis unfolding that demands commands our urgent and prudent attention.
I thank you very much, Wendell. And again, be safe and please, we will chat with you as the funeral arrangements are made available going forward.
Tell us what's happening. We will probably reach out to you by the end of the week to see what's the developments. Thank you and have a safe and great day. Take care, buddy.
[00:28:43] Speaker C: Bye.
[00:28:44] Speaker A: You're tuned into the all new freedom 106.5. 106.5.
