Weekes said many have beset us with dismal stories, “telling us that T&T is currently close to the point of no return…crime, corruption, racism, a dismal public services and an ineffective judicial system” and “other problems are so thick on the ground” that we feel all is lost “if we are not there already… a failed State however defined.”
Responding to those commentators, however, Weekes said our citizens have two choices, “We can lament, blame, criticise and allow despair to overwhelm us, or mobilise forces and resources to step out boldly and make T&T a better place.”
Weekes over the course of her life she has never lived in “an ivory tower” nor “wore blinkers.”
“I too drive with my windows up or doors locked in broad daylight…or at least I used to. I have lost two cars to thieves and have waited hours for medical attention for a relative at our hospital.”
She said she was also painfully aware of the country’s current murder count, noting that many victims are “women and children slaughtered in acts of domestic violence.”
“We speak all the time about how violent our society may become,” she said, adding such violence has been embedded in everyday talk and is now common place in interactions at schools, markets, businesses, rum-shops and homes.
But Weekes said citizens need to speak to each other pleasantly to increase one’s persuasiveness and if someone has a difference of opinion it can be expressed without savagery and attacks.
She said she was also cognisant of the volatile tension in East Port-of-Spain, while she has seen people affected by mental illness and sleeping on the streets due to homelessness.
“And if I needed to get to Tobago in a hurry, I could not be certain if or when I would arrive. So I comprehend fully the state of the State and so understand why I think you have every reason to despair.”
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2018-03-19/president-weekes-appeals-citizens-nurture-seeds-love
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