Wid all de tings happenin, I prefer tuh come at de question about security in T&T from ah different angle. Dat way I eh have tuh depend orn nameless sources wid all dey sudden knowledge ah what goin orn after it done.

Ah tired read about all de information dey does get from out of the blue. Why dat information doh be available before shit happen? Why is always some unnamed expert parsing it orn? Just because dey unnamed supposed tuh make what dey say true? Why de wrong doers identified by de revelation doh get arrested? Ah have mih own revelation: Ah tink ah know de answer tuh dem questions.

Mih angle start in 1990.

De newspapers ah was gettin from home about Bakr coup attempt was mih link tuh places ah did still know like de back ah mih hand.

Long after he fail, ah would siddong in ah quiet place tuh relive de events as best as somebody who wasn’t dey could. De closest ah could come was rememberin what it was like when Rex LaSalle, Raffique Shah an company did try dey own ting two decades earlier.

Well de 25^th anniversary of dem dark 1990 days come an gorn. Now, wid elections arong de corner, de stakes high fuh who allegiance is tuh party. Recent events provide de perfect scenario fuh dem tuh use tuh dey advantage. Eef ah still had dem papers from 1990, ah would be usin dem tuh remind me of not only what could happen but did happen when madness take over.

Ah watch ah anniversary video ah Bakr coup attempt. Fuh who eh see it, de recent jailbreak an coup attempt memories have people orn edge. Since my startin point is 1990, de two questions I keep askin mihself is eef de madness back an does dat mean what happen in 1990 could happen now.

Yes tuh de first question. Orn de second one ah have tuh say ah tink so.

Please, no story about no illegal shipment ah arms an ammunition reachin de country. So de hand grenade was supposed tuh blow up de prison officers quarters? Fuhget about how dat was tuh signal tuh udders was time tuh cause havoc wid de smuggled arms an ammunition. Stop ting before it happen.

Based orn 1990, ah determined group could try ah ting an mash up tong. Not because de security forces in de same shape as back den. Is more because I not convinced dey able tuh take ah threat serious an respond forcefully. Plus I question de seriousness ah present an past govahments tuh de fight against lawlessness.

De onlyest evidence ah have fuh sayin de first part is de CCTV footage ah what happen outside de jail. I watch it several times.

I give dem TV6 reportin sleuths credit fuh pointin two tings: De poleece jeep did just just pull up tuh de jail; is two escapees dat fire orn de jeep. Udderwise me eh care how often dey say dey analyzin dat tape. I still see ah officer jump out de jeep an run no arse from ah man firin ah pistol. Analyze dat fuh me so ah understand why. He didn’t have ah assault rifle wid him in de jeep?

As fuh de second part ah mih reasonin? Dat come from general observations. Like, when go police officers be mandated tuh wear bullet resistant vests? Dat hard? Why de constant comparison tuh murder numbers from larse year?

While I doh need dem newspapers ah had tuh show mih just how much tong get damaged in 1990, parts ah de anniversary video was still hard tuh watch. De narrator say people tief microwaves tinkin dey was TVs. Dat show how tuned in looters was. Dey wasn’t interested in joinin Bakr’s political statement buh dey didn’t mind lootin. All over de world people is vultures. Anyting of value dey could snatch, dey takin an de best time fuh dem is when law an order break dong. Helpless people equal sittin ducks.

I remember dis big blackout one summer. People breakin into supermarkets an comin out wid chicken, ham an udder meats from de freezer. Who dumber between dem an microwave tiefin looters? Maybe one group was ah sack ah rocks an de next group fuhget tuh take de chewin gum out dey mouth before tryin tuh walk.

Everybody must ah hear how den Prime Minister, ANR Robinson, tell de Regiment tuh attack wid full force even doh he was ah captive ah de rebels. Maybe eef he circumstances did get better publicity tings could ah be different now. Maybe more people would put de country first. De video say dem rebels advantage de man beatin him fuh so. Was cuff an when he fall dong, kick tuh he face. Dey ultimately shoot him. Durin all dat what he say?

“I would die fuh mih country.”

Dem words an he actions make him ah hero unacknowledged as such by his countrymen. Since he, which politicians would use dem words as dey mantra while gettin licks? De country need more who tink like he did an not fraid tuh say it widout hopin it go get dem (re)elected.

What about people leakin privileged information tuh de press. Dem is heroes? Unless dey show dey face an could explain why de average Trini need tuh know de poleece have credible information about ah possible attack orn de prime minister residence, I say dey not no damn hero. Especially how dey eh release de information dat de poleece did know it had ah possible jailbreak attempt. Dey didn’t have dat? Steups. Is all fuh political gain oui.

How would I prevent someting like ah Bakr style coup or, ah attempt tuh cause panic, from happenin?

Dat is such ah damn good question. Ah was hopin ah wasn’t goin an ask it.

Tings change in 25 years, for de worse in too many instances. Even doh I only mention 1970 in parsin, dat was when T&T lorse whatever innocence it had left. When de powers dat be show dey wasn’t willin tuh evoke de ultimate punishment fuh de ultimate crime against de state. Nineteen ninety only reinforce dat unwillingness. De genie out ah de bottle. Ah good start in puttin it back in would be eef de spirit ah nationalism take hold.

It cyar be like de story ah hear dat happen when Obama was in Triniland fuh de Summit ah de Americas in ’09. Ah TTPS officer supposedly look at de US Secret Service in action an say someting about dat is how security does move. I eh know which was more dotish; he makin de statement or it gettin reported. Assumin it did happen.

Triniland is ah country wid ah abundance ah guns. I dey wid guns de security forces have. Eef you join de poleece or whoever only because yuh was lookin fuh ah wuk den me eh know how committed you go be eef is time fuh de ultimate test.

Can you say what ANR say? Or will it be, “not me, I gorn”?

Ah wish dat jailbreak tape had audio.