Domestic Violence Impacts on Children

3-month-old baby girl found dead

By Alexander Bruzual and Carla Bridglal

Story Created: Apr 18, 2014 at 9:26 PM ECT

Story Updated: Apr 19, 2014 at 12:08 AM ECT 

 

DEATH HOUSE: The house at Sea Lots, Port of Spain, where

baby Akiela Gill was found dead. —Photo: AYANNA KINSALE

A Sea Lots family has been plunged into mourning after the lifeless body of a three-month-old baby girl was discovered at the home of a close male relative yesterday morning.

Police reported that at about 4 a.m. the E999 command centre received a report from a 27-year-old woman explaining that her youngest child, three-month-old Akiela Gill, was dead. A party of officers from the Guard and Emergency Branch including PC Dale Makoonsingh, PC Sean Warwick, PC Davidson and PC Lange, who at the time were on mobile patrol in the vicinity, responded and made their way to LP 33, Beetham Highway, Sea Lots, where the incident reportedly took place. 
The officers found the 27-year-old mother of four standing outside her residence, a small one-bedroom dwelling, crying, “Meh child dead! Meh child dead!” They disembarked from their vehicles and followed the woman inside and soon discovered baby Akiela’s body lying on her back on a bed in a bedroom of the home. 
Following protocol, the officers contacted the Emergency Health Services (EHS), as well as senior officials in the Port of Spain Division and the Homicide Bureau of Investigation, and a party of officers including Inspector Singh, Sgt Harry and PC Huggins visited the scene. Officials from the Armstrong’s funeral home arrived shortly thereafter.
Police sources noted that some time later, the EHS responders arrived and checked for signs of life on the child. Upon failing to find any, they contacted the District Medical Officer who eventually ordered that the child’s body be put in cold storage until an autopsy could be performed at the Forensic Science Centre in St James on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old woman reportedly told police that she had left her Sea Lots home at about 11 p.m. on Thursday after a disagreement with the male relative. She said that she needed to “clear her head” after the incident, and left her three-month child in the care of her 11-year-old son at her father’s home. When she returned at about 4 a.m. she could not find her daughter, and upon waking up her son, she was told that the male relative had visited the home during the night and taken the child. 
The mother of four made her way to the nearby residence of the male relative, and when she opened the door to the home, she observed her daughter completely covered by the man’s shoulder. She woke him up, and they both observed that the toddler had been frothing at the mouth and as a result, they both called the E999 services. 
The male relative, police said, remained at the home in a state of shock, and made no attempt to flee the scene. The officers eventually took the mother, as well as the male relative, to the offices of the Homicide Bureau at Riverside Plaza, and  Sackville Street, Port of Spain.
Police sources said it was expected that the two will be detained overnight, assisting with inquiries. A file on the incident is already being compiled and when completed, it is expected to be sent to Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard to determine what charges, if any, should be laid in this matter. 

Police sources also said that, up to press time, two of the 27-year-old woman’s four children, the 11-year-old boy and her three-year-old son, had been removed from the home in a bid to keep them safe. They said that her second oldest child, a seven-year-old boy, was at another relative’s at the time, and up to late yesterday, he had not been brought into the care of the State. 

When Express visited the scene yesterday afternoon, baby Akiela’s aunt Nikeisha Manswell, said that she was told that the 36-year-old male relative had taken the child from her mother’s home without permission. She said that the 36-year-old man and Akiela’s mother were having “frequent arguments”  which led to baby Akiela’s mother leaving her home on Thursday night. 

She said the family was taking the death with a heavy heart because baby Akiela was expected to be christened on May 4, and instead of a celebration of life, the family was forced to plan a funeral.
Manswell also wanted to stress that baby Akiela’s mother did not often leave her children at home unsupervised, but that night she had to get away from the “stress” that she was under.
“She loved her children. It was just that she was afraid of that man. She left the children home because she could not take it, and that is the only reason,” Manswell said. 
Besson Street police are continuing investigations.

Akiela’s death follows those of ten-month old Omari “Buba” Mayers and his sister three-year-old Keanna “Keke” Mayers, who were killed along Mora Trace, Matura, on Saturday night by their father, 33-year-old Barry Karamath.  Karamath, after killing his children, then killed himself. 
An autopsy on the bodies of the two toddlers confirmed that the children died as a result of asphyxia, however, blood and tissue samples have been sent for a toxicology screening to determine what exactly caused the asphyxia —whether the children were poisoned or smothered. 

Investigations into that incident are also continuing. 

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/3-month-old-baby-girl-found-dead-255835861.html

Psychologist: Children Being Used as Pawns

By CAROL MATROO Tuesday, April 15 2014

CHILDREN are being used as pawns between parents when relationships go sour. They are helpless and need society as a whole to take care of them. “Red flags” have to be noted, which may not have been the case when Barry Karamath strangled his daughter and son on Sunday.

“I still think we do not believe that children should be protected. All of us in society need to look out for our children. Once a man is in court for serious offences, the children would have to be taken from that person and placed in protective care,” Counselling Psychologist Anna Maria Mora said yesterday.

She said once a parent is before the courts for a serious offence and is out on bail, they should not have unsupervised access to children. “There has to be people taking note of all these little red flags. He had a vengeance against the mother and he took it out against the children. Those children should not have been anywhere near that man,” Mora said.

Mora, a member of the Child Protection Task Force established last year by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to promote the welfare, care and protection of all children in Trinidad and Tobago, said society feels children are expendable and do not need to be taken care of.

After the children’s mother separated from Karamath, he was accustomed to spending time with them.

On Saturday was the last and fatal time he took the children, telling the mother Okilia Mayers, he was taking them for snacks.

The bodies of Karamath and his two children Keanna, two, and Omari, 11 months, were found in a bamboo patch at Mora Trace, Toco, by pumpkin farmer Luke Hamilton. Mora, however, had questions about Karamath having the children and why didn’t the farmer alert anyone when he saw two young children with a man in a river.

“I read that he was in a Tobago court for $1 million cocaine possession. I don’t know if he was still in court, I don’t know what the story is, but obviously he was very angry at her (mother). I don’t know if she was the one who alerted the police or somebody else. But the point is those were the texts he sent for her,” Mora said during an interview yesterday.

Mora said if anyone was is in court for the kind of crimes Karamath was accused of, he should not have custody of the children. “He should not even have visitation rights. I am very sorry, but he should not have had access to these children at all. Once you are in court for those kinds of things...$1 million worth of cocaine,” Mora questioned.

She said people need to look out for all children and asked why a “red flag” was not raised when Hamilton saw Karamath with two young children at the river at 9 pm. “We don’t want to blame the farmer, poor thing, but you see a man in a forest with two young children at that hour of the night and no red flag was raised in your mind?”

Mora said people did not think that children were helpless and could not defend themselves.

She said these young children, who were initially thought to have been poisoned, but autopsy reports yesterday revealed they were strangled, paid the ultimate price. She said in these circumstances it was important that a case history was known and those so important “red flags.”


Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,193364.html

Home can be the most dangerous place—UN study

Published: Monday, April 14, 2014

Yvonne Baboolal

Home can be a dangerous place for a woman, and even children, says Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Director for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). He made the comment at the recent launch in London of the UNODC’s 2013 Global Study on Homicide. Lemahieu said, globally, men comprised 80 per cent of homicide victims and 95 per cent of perpetrators.

He said almost 15 per cent of all homicides (63,600) stemmed from domestic violence and more than two thirds of the victims (43,600) were women. “Home can be the most dangerous place for a woman. It is particularly heart-breaking when those who should be protecting their loved ones are the very people responsible for their murder.” The UNODC also reported that half of all homicide victims were under 30 years of age. Children under the age of 15 accounted for just over 8 per cent (36,000) of all homicides.

While men are mostly killed by someone they may not know, almost half of all female victims are killed by those closest to them, such as their intimate partners/family members, in domestic violence situations. The highest murder rates were recorded in the Americas and Africa and the lowest in Europe, Asia and Oceania. The consumption of alcohol and/or illicit drugs increased the risk of perpetrating homicide and, in some countries, over half of homicide offenders acted under its influence, the report said.

 The use of cocaine and amphetamine-type stimulants have also been associated with violent behaviour and homicide. Firearms were found to be the most widely used murder weapons, causing 4 in 10 homicides globally. A quarter of victims were killed with blades and sharp objects and just over a third died through other means like strangulation and poisoning. “Too many lives are being tragically cut short, too many families and communities left shattered.

“There is an urgent need to understand how violent crime is plaguing countries around the world, particularly affecting young men but also taking a heavy toll on women,” Lemahieu said.

 

Source: http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-04-14/home-can-be-most-dangerous-place%E2%80%94un-study

Single Fathers Body Saddened by Infant Siblings Murder

More professionals must get involved

Published: Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Yvonne Webb

 

Molly Castellano, left, consoles her daughter Akilla Myers

after family members viewed the bodies of infant siblings

Keyanna and Omari Myers, who were killed by their father

Barry Karamath in Matura on Sunday. Photo: ABRAHAM DIAZ

President of the Single Fathers Association Rondell Fields is once again appealing for more professional help for fathers who are under stress and pressure, saying this may be critical in preventing another tragedy involving children again. He also called for a return of spiritual values. Referring to the slaying over the weekend of infant siblings Keyanna and Omari Mayers at the hands of their father Barry Karamath, who then took his own life, Fields said many men are living under trying circumstances. 

However, he said taking the life of your own children should never be the final outcome. “I want to say to fathers, that could never be the last straw. Taking your children’s life, taking your life, that could never be the last straw,” he said. He told fathers if they cannot work with the mothers of their children, “let the women go,” but to continue to make their presence felt in their children’s life.

“It makes no sense whatsoever to deprive your children of yourself. It makes no sense to say I will take my life and let her keep the children. If you do this, you will be doing them a great injustice or worse, taking their lives,” Fields said. Karamath and the mother of the two children Okilla Myers were separated. Myers subsequently told the media that Karamath was possessive and abusive towards her, but had never shown any form of violence towards the children.

Fields is a member of the Child Protection Task Force, which was set up by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and has been mandated to find the cause of and increased risks of crimes against children. Fields said he has appealed to the PM for proper counselling and support for fathers troubled by domestic situations, but nothing has been done to date.

He said there are a few outreach officers who volunteer their services to the group, but there is need to expand the service and put preventative rather than punitive measures in place for people who are hurting.
  Also commenting on the tragedy, which rocked the Toco community on Palm Sunday, was Minister of Gender Youth and Child Development Clifton De Coteau, who said the national family support services will provide counselling for the bereaved families. He said they are also liaising with the Ministry of the People to see what other assistance they can provide to the families.

“It is a sad day for Trinidad and Tobago when such violence could be recorded,” De Coteau said, pointing out that they have to come up with some other alternative dispute resolution for domestic situations like what occurred at Toco. He said the ministry is currently working on treating with domestic violence against women, children and other individuals. He said only recently they got past the domestic registry, which monitors such acts of violence against these individuals.

But clearly, he said, this latest incident demonstrates the need for other ministries to continue working with Community Development on its mitigation centres, parenting caravan initiative and courses for defining male masculinity to find alternative ways to solve disputes.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-04-16/more-professionals-must-get-involved

 

The Pain of Being Abused by my Companion

Published: Monday, April 14, 2014

Yvonne Baboolal

 

“It is not my enemies who taunt me, I could bear that. It is not my adversaries who deal insolently with me, I could hide from them. But it is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend with whom I kept pleasant company...” Schoolteacher Sheila Stuart quoted this test from Psalm 55 to describe the horror of being abused by someone close to you. Stuart was speaking at a domestic violence seminar yesterday at the Tunapuna Community Centre hosted by the group Women on the Edge of the Tunapuna Community Council.

The seminar took place while the police and media were in remote Matura, on the east coast, to investigate a murder/suicide involving Barry Karamath and his two young children. Stuart said the Psalmist’s words vividly describe his personal dismay at being persecuted by someone he once trusted. “These words of betrayal and hurt are also a sad but realistic portrayal of the feelings of those who suffer from domestic violence. Such is the deceptive nature of abuse.”

Speaking on the spiritual dimension of domestic abuse which, in many cases, end in murder, Stuart said it is important women understand how much they are valued. “It is important they understand they are created in the image and likeness of God. God wants us to value ourselves the way He values us. “When we realise whose we are and how precious we are to God, we will not subject ourselves to any kind of abuse.”

Stuart, involved in social work, also quoted from the book Desire of Ages by Ellen G White, who said, “The Lord is disappointed when His people place a low estimate upon themselves.” She said the Bible describes God as one who hates violence and warned there will be punishment to those who offends little children.

Describing how families are supposed to be, she told participants, “God has positioned us in families so that we can grow in grace, develop Christ-like characteristics and build healthy, wholesome relationships. “Husbands and wives should avoid everything that creates contention and unnecessary conflict in order to preserve harmony and peace in the home. “God desires that husbands love their wives in the same tender, self-sacrificing way that Christ loves the church, not subject them to bullying and brutality.

“There is no room for tyrannical control and abuse of power and authority. Both are to submit to each other. “We must accept males and females as equals and acknowledge that every person has a right to respect and dignity. “Failure to relate to others in this way violates their personhood and devalues human beings who were created and redeemed by God.”

Other presenters at the seminar included former government minister Dr Emmanuel Hosein, who helped draft the domestic violence act, and a representative of the police’s Victim and Witness Support Unit.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-04-14/domestic-violence-seminar-tells-pain-being-abused-my-companion

 

Killer Dad was ‘Abusive’

Published: Monday, April 14, 2014

Bobie-lee Dixon

 

Undertakers remove the body of 10-month-old

Omari Mayers who was found dead along with

his two-year-old sister Keyanna Mayers and father

Barry Karimath in bushes off Mora Trace, Matura

yesterday. PHOTO: ABRAHAM DIAZ

Twenty-four-year old Okilia Mayers held her stomach and wailed in grief as she watched the bodies of her two children being removed by undertakers from behind a tree, near a pumpkin garden at Mora Trace in the quite village of Matura, yesterday morning. “Oh God, why he do this? I want my children,” she screamed as relatives tried to console her. The bodies of the children and of their father laid at the scene on blankets for more than six hours before they were taken away.

33-year-old Barry Karimath of Cipriani Avenue Morvant, allegedly drove the children to the location on Saturday night where he reportedly gave them a poisonous substance to drink, before ingesting it himself. The murder-suicide took to five the number of similar killings for 2014, this being the first involving children. (See timeline below.)

According to District Medical Officer (DMO), Verintan Okolo, who spoke with the T&T Guardian at the scene, ten-month-old Omari and his two-year-old sister Keyanna Mayers, drank a herbicide, as they displayed the classic symptoms of herbicide poisoning. Bottles of herbicide were also found at the scene, he said.

“On examination of the bodies, it was obvious it was a case of suicide. The man himself, who also had something tied around his neck, was frothing from the mouth. And when I examined the children it was also consistent with poisoning because the girl had epistaxis, which is bleeding from the nose and frothing from the mouth,” explained Okolo. He said the children’s bodies bore no marks of violence.

The grieving mother told the T&T Guardian that Karimath was possessive, obsessed with her and she was often subjected to physical abuse during their three-year relationship. Mayers, who lives in Barataria, said was expected to pick up her children sometime this week from their father’s home, where she  dropped them off on Friday night before going to work. “I know I should not have left my children you know. Oh God, but I had nobody else to keep them and I just get a work so I had to go,” she sobbed.

She explained it was not the first time he made threats to her, but it was the first time he threatened to hurt the children. “He always threatened me and I would just not take him on sometimes, but I was always very afraid he might do something really bad some day to me, but not the children,” she admitted.

“The whole point in this, is that he wanted to be with me still and I did not want to be with him anymore because he was real possessive. He would bully me and beat me. He used to monitor all my movements and always watching who I talk to,” revealed Mayers. She said she could not even go to visit her six-year-old daughter from a previous relationship because Karimath would think she was going to reunite with the child’s father whom she lived with.

“I used to have to hide and go and see her behind his back,” she said. Mayers said Karimath would find her anywhere she went. “Before he moved to Morvant he was living in Woodbrook and he left Woodbrook and moved up in Barataria just to monitor my movements,” she added. When asked to describe her children, she said they were so loving and calm…always quiet. She recalled her last conversation with her children was when she dropped them off at Karimath’s home on Friday.

“I remember Keyanna asked me where I was going and I told her I was going to work and she smiled. Then I kissed her and Omari and told them I would see them after work. That never happened,” she said shaking her head. Mayers said, if she had only got out of the relationship earlier, her children might still be alive, but she was so afraid of him, that if she left completely, he would try to kill her. “But look any which way I chose, I would have lost. It was either me or them. But it should not have been them,” she cried.


Five murder/suicides in four months
There have been five murder/suicides in the first four months of the year, four of them involving men killing women in crimes of passion.

January 4—Shastri Roop­­narine, 24, and his girlfriend Amanda Persad, 22, are found dead in their Ramcharan Drive, San Juan apartment. Police believe it was a murder/suicide but have not found a motive. The incident reportedly occurred around 12.30 am when residents said they heard something like fireworks. At 3 pm, when they did not see the couple, they called the police. Persad was shot several times while Roopnarine had a single gunshot to his head. A gun lay next to Roopnarine’s body.

Roopnarine was arrested as a robbery suspect and later released due to a lack of evidence.


January 9—Sanjeev Rambaran and his ex-wife Dian Paladee, 49, are found dead in his Bedassie Street, St Augustine home in what was believed to be another murder/suicide. Paladee, a teacher at the El Dorado South Hindu School, was an heiress to the Pennywise chain of cosmetic stores. She was divorced from her husband but had been secretly visiting him. She was found on his bed with one shot to her head.

Rambaran lay a few feet away with a gunshot wound. Police found a rolling pin between the two bodies and said Paladee appeared to have been beaten.


March 4—One day after allegedly murdering his common-law wife Marilyn Murggan, Cepep worker Harold Ali, 55, dies after drinking poison on Carnival Tuesday night. Murggan was found in her Carapichaima bathroom in a semi-conscious state with marks on her neck. She died on arrival at the Couva District Health Facility Two hours later, Ali was found by passersby on a Gasparillo roadside two hours after strangling Murggan. He died the following day at hospital from poisoning.

Ali and Murggan were reportedly involved in an argument over money

March 31—Pastor Vishnu “Kitty” Lutchmansingh, 54, kills his brother, Kishan Lutchmansingh, injured his nephew, attempts to kill two other nephews and then reportedly commits suicide. This murder/suicide theory is being carefully investigated, however. The body believed to be his was found inside his house which relatives said he set afire after he killed his brother. The autopsy found this person was shot from behind, inconsistent with suicide and sent the remains of the body for DNA testing.

The cause of the killing remains unclear. Relatives have denied it had to do with a land dispute but admitted the two brothers had differences.


April 13—Barry Karamath kills his two children in remote Matura. Police yesterday said their mother was in shock and was not saying anything. (YB)

Source: http://www4.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-04-14/killer-dad-was-%E2%80%98abusive%E2%80%99

 

Academics: Women Speaking Out More on Abuse

Merle Hodge

By COREY CONNELLY Sunday, April 13 2014


 Romantic liaisons involving politicians, top public officials and celebrities, presumed to be happily married, are not a new phenomenon. Some might say that such trysts appear to be part and parcel of the experience, given the power that minisiter s wield in the society.

What recourse, though, do women have when there is evidence of high-handed behaviour against them, where there is a threat to their means of livelihood, or when such a relationship, for whatever reason, turns sour?

Could this have been the case in the recent incidents of alleged inappropriate behaviour with three women naming now former Government ministers and with all three instances under investigation.

While all of the incidents speak to an alleged abuse of authority, experts contend that they must each be viewed on their own circumstances but stop short of commenting whether the decision by the women to speak out signalled a breakthrough for abused women, generally.

University academic Merle Hodge said the women who have spoken out publicly against the former ministers should be thanked and congratulated, if only for the message of drawing greater awareness to abuse against women in the society.

“It takes a lot of courage to do what they have done,” she said in an interview on Wednesday.

“Such action helps in the struggle against abuse, for it emboldens others not to accept it. Abuse thrives and flourishes in the silence of the abused.”

Hodge, who is currently working in Women and Development Studies at the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies, could not say if there has been an upsurge in reports of women speaking out about abuse.

“There have always been women brave enough to take this step,” Hodge observed.

“If, to some, it looks like a sudden, new trend of women reporting abuse from powerful men, it might just be that there is more misbehaviour taking place in the corridors of power today than we have ever experienced before.”

On whether there may be potential backlash to the women’s actions, Hodge was non-commital.

“For these women, just the act of coming forward provides some protection from possible victimisation,” she said.

“Once allegations are made publicly about persons with high visibility, especially persons entrusted with managing the country’s business, then everyone is watching and the accused might think twice about any retaliation.”

Hodge, however, lamented that female accusers often take the flak in such scenarios.

“One kind of backlash is that some public opinion resorts to blaming the female accuser so that she becomes the accused,” she said.

Hodge said although this is countered in the current situation by broad public approval of these women’s action, hurtful words can be damaging to one’s peace of mind, and can cause pain to a person’s family. She advised that women who are affected by such criticism should seek counselling.

Hodge also noted that women who speak out against abuse, can be dismissed on the principle of “Her word against his.”

She added: “But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. An abusive person seldom has only one victim. What works best is for more of that person’s victims to come forward.”

Sociologist Dr Ronald Marshall said the recent events surrounding the abuse of women, physically and otherwise, should not be interpreted as a new phenomenon.

He argued that women have always been quietly complaining of abuses meted out to them by their partners and persons in influential positions.

“In years gone by, women were reluctant to speak openly of their ordeal to strangers or professionals because they felt that it was a private affair,” said Marshall, a senior lecturer in Sociology at the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies.

“Within recent times, however, spousal abuse as a health hazard has surfaced in the literature and for good reasons.”

According to Marshall, research has shown that the abused tend to suffer from low self-esteem and morale, leading to psychological outcomes that are played out in the home, the workplace and the wider society.

“What is observed is that we are seeing a trend of persons of high status, themselves falling victim to abuse. This means that the society has grown to the extent where structures have been put in place to address the issue and victims are no longer afraid of victimisation or retaliation,” he said.

Marshall stressed that no one should tolerate abuse.

“Too long exposure to same could lead to mental health problems,” he said, adding that the best solution is to get away from the environment or situation.

“But this is easier said than done since some individuals are endowed with neither the inner strength, economic resources, nor social support to alter the outcome. In this regard, constructive dialogue might be another option.”

Although she observed that abused women are more vocal, today, as compared to years gone by, Patricia Mohammed, Professor of Gender and Cultural Studies at UWI, St Augustine, says there still exists “a collusive silence around some issues, especially those related to sexual harassment and sexual abuse.”

Mohammed told Sunday Newsday:

“In the past, revelations of such indiscretions had usually targeted the woman as sexual aggressor or tempter and the man as a victim of her ploys of seduction. What we have here, however, are the conditions under which women have actually been empowered to confront a situation.”

Mohammed said she hopes the incidents continue to empower women to speak out honestly and openly and pose a deterrent to men from taking liberties, especially on those who are in less powerful positions.

She noted, however, the women who spoke out in the matters involving the Government ministers may not remain untarnished by the fallout.

“On the other hand, there seems to be now more buy in with the cliche that no publicity is bad publicity for both men and women,” she said, lamenting that such incidents are often treated as “humorous interludes”.

“The resulting notoreity seems to work in favour of those who are implicated,” she added.Mohammed said apart from the empowerment of voice that resulted from the Prime Minister’s decision to dismiss one minister, there are also sufficient high profile cases — including Bill Clinton’s infamous affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and French President Francois Hollande’s recent disclosure about his mistress — that are influencing the climate of local sexual politics and women’s increasing courage to defend their rights.

Mohammed contends that despite their “apparent dependency, whether emotional or economic,” women have far more support agencies at their disposal now than they did in the past.

On whether the ex-ministers should relinquish their position as MPs, Mohammed said, “We do not have a tradition of those in political office resigning on the basis of principle. It would be interesting to see who will set this precedent and do the manly and honourable thing.”

Mohammed gave a flippant response when asked about the potential fallout for the women as well as the ministers to the respective scenarios.

“Nine days wonder, notoriety, sweet man — how seriously has the society taken on questions of infidelity or the abuse of women by those in positions of power?” she asked.

Mohammed said, however, that the situations offered an avenue for reflecting about the responsibilities of both sexes to each other, “not to paint all men as aggressors and all women as victims.”

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,193277.html

Children Impacted by Domestic Violence

DAD POISONS TWO KIDS

By RACHAEL ESPINET and RALPH BANWARIE 

Monday, April 14 2014

No one knows what possessed Barry Karamath, 33, to kill his two young children — three- year-old Keanna Mayers and her ten-month-old brother, Omari, who was fondly called “Bubba” by his family.

The toddlers were poisoned by their father, who later drank the same poison. All investigators have to go on are seven blood-curdling text messages Karamath sent to the children’s mother Okilia Mayers, detailing the murders.

“All unfair games do get played out. Live your life Killa to all the best now. I hope afterwards its you would chase but at the end is up to you was the biggest mistake of my life, but say what that police thing I know was yours,” one message said.

“In time to come be straight and honest with those who are with you. I gone,” another message read.

“Remember what I said from before don’t cry for me girl.”

At that time the messages became disturbing.

“Anyhow I deal with Bubba after how you sent the police by me tonight. I going and deal with Kele and myself now, and just remember is you cause that. I did it knowing that, fair well,” one message said.

“That was her last breath anyhow. In time to come be straight and honest with those who are with you. I gone... Remember what I said from before don’t cry for me girl...Don’t answer, I going and deal with Bubba first...Bubba like a like a little stupid but Keke has a little idea something’s wrong, but say what is a fed up scene,” read the remaining five messages.

“He is a demon. He had to be a demon to do that to them,” a relative of Mayers told Newsday yesterday.

“The children lived with their mother at Ninth Avenue, Barataria. Karamath, who lived in another part of Barataria, in 2011, appeared in a Scarborough, Tobago, court charged with possession of $1 million worth of cocaine. The couple were separated. Karamath had the children for the day and at about 7 pm on Saturday, kept sending text messages that he was going to kill the children and then kill himself,” a relative at Mayers’ Barataria home said yesterday.

The relative said Karamath was abusive towards Mayers and the children.

“We told him to bring the children if he does not want to keep the children. He said that how if he is going to dead then he is going to take his children with him. After eight he started to send texts,” the relative said.

The bodies of the three were found in a bamboo patch at Mora Trace, Matura, Toco, by a pumpkin farmer.

The two children were found on a pink blanket. Omari was found lying in a fetal position in her pampers and a multi-coloured vest while Keanna was on her back, clad in a blue skirt and top.

Karamath was discovered lying on his stomach, dressed in a blue t-shirt, pink pants and black and yellow Nike sneakers on his feet.

Police found a gallon bottle of “All Grass” weedicide next to the three bodies.

Luke Hamiliton, the pumpkin farmer who found the bodies, told police he last saw Karamath and the two children wandering around Mora Trace, at about 9 pm on Saturday.

He said Karamath told him he came to meet someone for a bush bath, but was told that the person he came to meet had died.

Hamilton said Karamath told him he was waiting on someone to take them home. Karamath admitted he was having personal problems and did not know what to do.

Hamilton left the three and while looking out of a window from his home, saw Karamath spreading a blanket for the children after they had a bath in the nearby river.

He said when he woke up at about 6 am yesterday, he saw the three lying down on the blanket and a bottle of liquid next to them.

As he approached the bodies, he saw they were frothing from the mouth.

He immediately called the Matura police, who responded within minutes.

Mayers, who came with other relatives about four hours later, begged to see the bodies and was asking the names of the children. She said Karamath was very possessive. She screamed for her children and had to be taken away by her mother, Molly Castellano as she begged to hold her children.

Castellano said very little, only that she was in shock.

A party of police officers led by ASP Aroon Ramkahelawan, Ag Insp Lutchman, Cpl Hernandez and PC Mootoo were on the scene of the murder/suicide yesterday.

Cpl Mohammed of the Homicide Bureau is continuing enquiries. 

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,193310.html

Where Kids Can Be Kids

By Martin Daly

Story Created: Apr 5, 2014 at 8:58 PM ECT

Story Updated: Apr 5, 2014 at 8:58 PM ECT 

 

 The Domestic Violence Act was passed in October 1999. The preamble to the act states that: “Incidents of domestic violence continue to occur with alarming frequency and deadly consequences.”

The preamble also states that: “It has become necessary to reflect the community’s repugnance to domestic violence in whatever form it may take and further influence the community’s attitude and support social change in respect of this social ill”. It goes on to say that the legislation is one way to achieve these goals.

The preamble begs the question, what else besides the legislation has been done to influence attitudes and support social change to mitigate domestic violence?  What social development policies have been put in place as instruments of mitigation nearly fifteen years later?

Regardless of the political motives, it is useful that it is now this Government’s policy that alleged abuse of women is a disqualification for holding public office, even when the alleged victim is not a member of the abuser’s household.  One hopes that it remains as a disqualification when general elections are not close-by.

Of course, I feel obliged to repeat that the objectives of attitudinal and social change will not come about without pressure and action from those best placed to apply such pressure and to take action within their power.

It was disappointing that the comments of two business organisations following the departures of Messrs Sharma and Ramadharsingh on account of alleged disrespect to women were mostly confined to worry about continuity in tourism and who should hold Ramadharsingh’s former portfolio.
I do not accept the fear of being branded “political” because it is not partisan or party political to press for standards and for objective justice.  These are basic requirements of a civilised society to which we should all give priority.

When Edwin Pouchet died last month many members of Silver Stars did not merely lose a musical director.  Bravo, the drillmaster about whose accomplishment I have written, described the loss this way: “Pouchet was our mentor, our teacher and our father”.  I stayed in touch with Bravo in the aftermath of his loss. He and others were deeply hurt because Edwin was a source of affection and respect.

In my column last week I made the link between the violence that children witness and the violence that they express. I have also made the case for the promotion and support of panyards and other arts communities as antidotes and positive instruments of affection and of social change. Prize money and hampers are not a substitute for love and affection or for putting those who are willing to help themselves on a basis sustainable beyond the politically laced subsidies.

I will never disclose the extent of my own modest involvement with persons in conditions of disadvantage, but I have been richly rewarded with an understanding of the positive effect of giving a little headstart and follow-up on the many talents that abound in our Republic. I can confidently state that the goodwill contained in a head start has a profoundly beneficial effect on the psyche of those who are mentored.  It is quite wrong to assume that the young and ambitious want only money.

Readers may recall a column in which I asked a young woman named Yetunde to write for me what she had told me about her belief in self-determination. She wrote in part “Even if we don’t have the support of our family, we must be able to surround our self with friends and mentors who can give us youths the encouragement, discipline, focus, love, courage and experience that is needed to support us. We must believe in ourselves because it’s up to us to make that difference in our life. It starts and ends with us, for no one can do it for us excepting us”.

Way beyond the politically laced subsidies, we have to create a land “where kids can be kids”. I learned this phrase from Shakira. She has used the wealth of her stardom to have schools built in her native Colombia with the object of having available to disadvantaged children an environment where they are free to be children, less marked by the violence and squalor around them.
Shakira is acting in the philanthropic tradition that helps to build great institutions and productive nations. Her building effort and presence at the schools was the subject of a recent segment of CBS 60 Minutes.

In passing, readers might also know that Rihanna has used her wealth to donate $1.75 million to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, in the memory of her late grandmother Clara “Dolly” Braithwaite through her Clara Lionel Foundation, which was used to purchase equipment for the hospital’s radiotherapy department.

Congratulations to Sirlon, Donella and Natasha of Right Start and all those in Trinidad and Tobago who are building or maintaining places or providing opportunities for kids to be kids.

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/Where-kids-can-be-kids-254060201.html

Does our Society Love its Women?

Story Created: Apr 1, 2014 at 8:40 PM ECT 

Story Updated: Apr 3, 2014 at 9:12 AM ECT 

 

Two men holding public office are alleged to have perpetrated abomi­nable acts of violence against women in the past few weeks. These incidents are symptomatic of a deep sickness that pervades Trinbagonian society at all levels. 

A deep lack of love for our women and girls is manifested time and again, and little is being done to change it.

In 2012, there were 2,517 female victims of violent crimes in Trinidad and Tobago (rape, assault, etc). For the 2009/2010 law term, 12,106 new domestic violence applications were filed in the magistrate’s courts. These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, due to the fact that most of these crimes are not reported.

As a society, we must work toge­ther to combat this problem and mitigate its effects. This requires both the Government and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to implement strategies to combat this violence.

UNIFEM’s (United Nations Devel­opment Fund for Women) “National Accountability Framework to End Violence against Women” recommends a holistic approach, combi­ning Government services, such as public health and law enforcement, with educational institutions and other actors such as trade unions and NGOs.

In effect, everyone has a part to play in ending violence against wom­en. We must continue to develop a no-tolerance policy towards this problem. Violence against women must not only be condemned but punished at every opportunity. I urge everyone reading this to become your sister’s keeper; if you know of a woman who is abused, do not turn a blind eye but rather offer a helping hand.

Trinidad and Tobago, since 1996, has ratified the Inter-American Con­vention on the Prevention, Punish­ment and Eradication of Violence Against Women. Why is it that 18 years later, we are still struggling with this problem?

Article 8 (b) of the convention provides for the undertaking of programmes to modify the social and 
cultural patterns of conduct to counteract prejudices which legitimise violence against women. 

In truth, the very culture of Tri­nidad and Tobago needs to change. It seems to me that we have a full-blown culture of violence that must be transformed into a culture of peace and loving kindness.

Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies, and people ought to love their neighbours as themselves. Do we truly love our women as a society? Then we must protect them. 

Jonathan Bhagan
via e-mail

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/letters/Does-our-society-love-its-women-253475051.html