The surge of departures is growing as many of us in the GTA begin heading to the Caribbean in the coming weeks for Carnival-related celebrations next month, particularly to Trinidad and Tobago. It is an important reminder these locations contain crime hotspots, and that we need to be cautious and vigilant during our visit.
The need for caution cannot be emphasised enough, especially in recent weeks where visitors in the normally peaceful island of Tobago have been attacked, injured, and robbed. While Tobago has mostly remained below the radar for such criminal attacks, recent episodes have since come into prominence in international news.
In one episode, UK retirees Mark and Rosemary Petherick of Ducote Wells were violently attacked and robbed at the Arnos Vale beach after they were approached by a man carrying what appeared to be a firearm wrapped in a bandana. The wife was assaulted, with the attacker stealing cash, cell phones, and a camera. The couple were guests at the Blue Waters Inn Hotel in Speyside.
A few days earlier, Ian and Neena McMullin from New Brunswick, Canada, were assaulted and robbed while sun-bathing at Grafton Beach. According to the reports, two men approached the couple, robbing them of (US) $15, a cell phone, and two credit cards. Police have detained two suspects, and both men now remain in custody.
Trinidad has not been without its recent attacks on visitors either. Late last year two cruise ship visitors, a husband and wife, were violently assaulted and robbed while exploring Port-of-Spain. The victims, a 74-year-old man and his 72-year-old-wife, arrived on the vessel MSC Preziosa on Boxing Day, and were sightseeing when they were attacked. The wife sustained a gash to a hand, which required hospitalisation and surgery. The attacker took her bag with a cell phone and two credit cards. As a result of the injury and hospitalisation, the Preziosa left the couple behind, forcing them to cancel the trip celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
The latest attacks in the past weeks on the visitors in Tobago were enough to elicit commentary from Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Keith Rowley, who called on residents to frown upon crimes against tourists. Rowley told the media he remains disappointed whenever he hears about crimes committed against visitors.
Said Rowley: “When we put so much effort into trying to make the place attractive for visitors, and then some idiot goes and does something like that, and undoes everything that we have done… it gives the place a name that we don’t want.”
For Rowley to publicly deplore these attacks is reassuring; also, that suspects have since been apprehended following police investigations offers some relief for those of us who are heading to our homelands in the coming weeks.
However, reassurance from the prime minister can only go that far. The growing attacks on visitors is one small part of the bigger picture of unease being felt abroad; when added to the growing numbers of murders that are taking place each day, what emerges is an image that is dark and foreboding. It is important to note that in the first six weeks of this year, already 71 murders have taken place in Trinidad alone, adding to its already tarnished image abroad.
That crime remains a significant, negative factor to Trinidad and Tobago’s reputation was noted last week by Trinidad-born international tourism and technology expert, Dr Auliana Poon, who issued the call to nationals at home to rethink the realities, and to make effective plans to enhance the quality of living as a way to entice visitors.
Additionally, Poon advocated for a national effort to enable more hands in cleaning up the country, and making the streets and communities clean, safe, and welcoming – this is sound advice.
Meanwhile, for the many of us heading to the homelands, our keywords are caution and vigilance.