Ameen leads UNC walkout

ACCUSING the Government of callousness towards flood victims in not declaring a national shutdown, Opposition Senator Khadijah Ameen led her bench in a walkout from the Senate.

She was accused of politicking by Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus.

Moments earlier Ameen had implored the Government to adjourn the Senate budget debate for three days while relief is under way for flood victims, even as more rain was expected.

“Every member of the United National Congress (UNC) will be in the field today helping those most in need. You are invited to join us,” she said.

An unmoved Government Whip Franklin Khan replied, “The answer is, the Senate shall continue to sit.”

Opposition MPs audibly scoffed.

Ameen retorted, “I cannot sit and continue to be part of this sitting. I cannot be part of this exercise. As a patriot and a national, I will not be sitting any further in this debate.”

All six Opposition Senators then walked out, and spoke to reporters outside Parliament. Wade Mark dubbed the Government “brutal, cruel and absolutely insensitive” for holding Parliament while hundreds of thousands of people face devastation and have their lives endangered.

“We’ve never had the kind of experience of this devastation, and the Government ought to see there is a need for us to be out there,” Mark said. “I called Franklin Khan yesterday (Sunday), to appeal to his prime minister to approach the Senate President to adjourn the Senate sitting, but the PM said ‘It’s business as usual.’ They had already made up their mind.”

Anita Haynes said last Friday Mark had pleaded for Parliament staff to go home early, but to no avail. She lamented that despite last year’s bad flooding in south Trinidad, the Government had seemingly learnt no lessons.

Gerald Ramdeen said, “Sitting after sitting, the Opposition asked about money for dredging rivers. They (Government) never did the work.”

Saddam Hosein said he had personally felt the horrors of being flooded out, at his parents’ home and business place in Central Trinidad, where waters had reached shin-height.

“I felt hopeless,” he related. “It is now unconscionable for one to sit in the Senate while people are messaging me for help. I can’t sit in airconditioning, while people are in flood waters.”

The Senate must not sit amid the “frustration, desperation and anger” of flood victims, he added.

Minister of Local Government Kazim Hosein, talking to reporters, denied opposition claims that government ministers had been a no-show in flooded areas. He said he personally had helped lift residents to safety and admitted to now having a slight fever that had him trembling in the cold air of the Senate chamber, and for which he was seeking medication. Hosein said his ministry staff each fully knew their roles for flood relief, adding, “I am not micromanaging.”

Baptiste-Primus. in her speech. took a dig at Ameen, whose rescue work was displayed in a newspaper photo.

“Senator Ameen, if I listened to her, it’s as if she and the UNC alone had helped people.

"This is not about photo-ops, jumping in a boat, holding a child and getting a photo-op.”

Baptiste-Primus hailed “people helping people” under adverse conditions, even as she invoked a higher power to show mercy on the nation.

She supported Khan in continuing the Senate budget sitting. “If we were to act so recklessly and close the debate, where would we get money from the help the people?”

Saying everybody has chipped in to help victims, she said her weekend was spent rallying her local party group to collect relief supplies.

“Everybody’s heart in this chamber goes out to those people.”

Independent Senator Paul Richards respected the Opposition’s stance but took a different view.

“The machine of state doesn’t work like this. Because of the nature of this bill, it may be even more critical to pass it, to give funds. Just because I am here doesn’t mean we have abandoned people. We have multiple roles.”

Richards said people’s assistance to flood victims had made him extremely proud to be a citizen. He added, “This is far from over. I’ve never seen that kind of devastation, houses and cars submerged.”

However he said the Government must decide on the future of flood-hit Greenvale.

“This (flooding) situation is not going to be resolved any time soon.” Richards warned. “This was not a hurricane. What would happen if we had a hurricane, or a storm over Trinidad for ten hours? This is not an isolated event. It will happen again.”

New Independent Senator Dr Varma Deyalsingh said despite the flood, TT was still a blessed nation, where people help each other whatever their background. “I felt proud they can come together.”