May 03, 2021
The headline read: “It was a bloody weekend across Trinidad and Tobago”.
The news story announced: “From Friday night into yesterday, eight people were killed, pushing the murder toll for the year so far to 113. Victims were found dead in St James, Arima, La Horquetta, Valencia, Curepe, Embacadere, Tunapuna and Petit Valley.” (Express, April 26.) Two more people may have been murdered on that weekend.
All victims were black. There is no evidence that the murderers were black. However, all of these murders took place in black communities which suggests that there might be a lot of pain in those communities. The question remains: what can we do to relieve these communities of this constant trauma of hurt and ineffable loss?