Help Improve Personal Security In Tobago !! (

[W.Ransom]

I've read a few comments regarding the personal security situation in Tobago. I think we should all remember that a majority of crime is a result of either drugs or poverty.

Trinidad and Tobago is the richest island in the Caribbean, they are rich in gas (and i think oil) resources plus all that tourist income. A typical islander is very poor in relation to his countrys wealth, even schools, hospitals and general infrastructure is not funded properly. So when 'rich' foreigners come and visit and enjoy the Islands they should consider the level of poverty in relation to the richness of the country. Write to the politicians and western multinationals or do anything you can to help readdress this balance. There is enough money pumped out of those islands for everybody to have a decent standard of living.

(Message for Webmaster - can I suggest you provide contact names and addresses of relevant politicians and oil/gas barons your users could write to. Hopefully they will express there disgust of the current corrupt situaiton)

Billy
London UK

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Billy

Whilst I have sympathy with most of what you say, I feel that it would be wrong for myTobago to become involved in such actions. The site must not be considered a policitical instrument. Yes, I am not averse to expressing my personal views on these matters, but I do try to keep a balance.

Naturally there is nothing stopping you from posting contact addresses here.

[Sharon E]

Hi Bill

I agree with your comments to some degree, but surely this is the case in all countries you get the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Please don't make the mistake that thinking Tobogonians are poor, indeed they look on life that they are very proud people and blessed with their way of life. (Why should we put European values on their way of living!) As with all societies there is the criminal element (but as before in a previous post the recent spate of crime on the island has been down to sadly Trinidadians coming over). However the crime rate is exceptionally low for a holiday destination and most petty crimes are due to peoples carelessness. Tobago are taking crime very seriously and having just got back from there I have never seen so many police around in public places ever before.

We would not go on a public beach in the UK and leave belongings in a bag for an oportunist thief to take, yet we do when abroad. I think the real crime is the all inclusive hotels and tourists not moving from the free bar all day not seeing the island and not spreading the economy round the island but that is another story.

[Kevin Hampson]

Hi Bill,
Trinidad and Tobago are two very different islands. The oil and gas industry is all on the Trinidad side hence most of the revenue raised goes back to Trinidad (a long standing issue with the folks of Tobago), and most of the workers are from Trinidad so that where they spend thier cash.

Don't think that all the oil companys do is line the pockets of share holders. I work for one, and a lot of direct funding goes to shools and local communities on Trinidad.

Generaly people in Trinidad a better off than Tobago but there is a saying "Tobagos a nice place to go for a holiday, Trinidad is a nice place to get mugged" So don't make the mistake in thinking that just because they don't look that well off there not honest.

Regards
Kevin

[Joe King]

Every Person that we met while on Tobago seemed to have a smile on their face and a kind word in their mouth!! I don't recall seeing any beggars on the street or homeless people sitting outside KFC with a cup collecting change, both of which are common sights in any town/city in Ireland and Britain!!!

As for the schools funding in Tobago, I wish every school in Ireland had an almost new air conditioned bus to transport the children to school and back!! The standard of living may look to be poor on the surface, but maybe Billy, it is a case of being happy to live in less splendour than ourselves?! What I though was disgusting about the island were the horrible eyesores of houses which have been constructed by foreigners along the coastline of the island, and to make matters worse they are all surrounded by 10ft walls and fences.

I think you should pay another visit to Tobago and have a chat to some locals and see how they feel about 'their level of poverty'

[W.Ransom]

A good general website related to unfair trade activity would be maketradefair.com.

Replies

Sharon – just because the poor in most countries are getting poorer it doesn’t mean its ok if it happens in T & T. I am not saying we should impose European values on the people, I’m simply saying they should have a bigger slice of the pie. Currently 20% of the people live below the poverty line. So, every fifth person you walk past is living below the poverty line. If this is the case, crime should be expected.

Joe – you said “The standard of living may look to be poor on the surface, but maybe Billy, it is a case of being happy to live in less splendour than ourselves?! “ I understand what your saying here but I think it’s a little patronising to tell the 20% under the poverty line that because there happy enough they should not get there fair share. There is enough money to pull everybody out of poverty in that country.

I don’t want to harp on sounding like a militant but I think its important to understand the roots of security issues in T & T and the rest of the world. Most of the time it comes down to greed.

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Billy

I'm sure all of us understand and sympathise with most of what you say, but surely in this regard, Tobago is no different to anywhere and everywhere else in the world? Yes, politics and business ethics may leave an awful lot to be desired in Trinidad, but poverty is not a word that springs to my mind when I think of Tobago.

How does one measure poverty? Statisticians may argue forever about the figures but at the end of the day, it’s only a relative assessment.

Go and walk through the poorest areas in Tobago. Yes, you can actually do that as a visitor. I can’t tell you where they are, because I’m not sure myself – and I bet there’s not a square inch of Tobago that I haven’t visited over the years.

Your profile doesn’t tell us where in London you live or work. Let me know and I will reply within five minutes listing two or three areas within a mile of that location where you wouldn’t DARE walk alone without fear for your safety.

Go ANYWHERE in Tobago and study the faces of the children. Count the smiles and express that as a percentage of the total. Compare that with the same measurement in London or any other big city in Europe or North America. Maybe that should be the TRUE measure of real poverty.

[Rachel Crew]

Everything is relative... Yes, in Tobago you will rarely see anyone openly begging, but this is in large part due to the fact that the extended family and local (informal) community network means that those who are without can still depend on someone to help them out when they are 'down on their luck'.

If you take a drive around the island you will see for yourself that many people outside of the Crown Point area live on a subsistence level... and even those who have jobs in the tourist industry are not well paid - the minimum wage in T&T is TT$8 per hour, and I personally know of people working in hotels that are earning just that. That is about 80 pence per hour!! Many of the people serving you in hotels and restaurants will be earning less than 300 UKP per month.

While the culture of honesty and friendliness which Tobago is blessed with remains largely intact, it is almost understandable that some people succumb to temptation when they see people coming from other countries
carrying around sums of money, cameras etc that are worth far more than they can hope to earn. I am not condoning their actions in any way, but just want to remind that even in a 'tropical paradise', people will still want a little more for themselves and their families.