Former IRO president: 'Parents be aware of cults in TT'

Former President of the Inter Religious Organisation Archbishop Barbara Gray-Burke is warning parents to be aware of cults in the country seeking to recruit their children.

“Parents, you have to be aware. You have to be careful!” said Gray-Burke, who believes that missing 16-year-old Shindlar Cuffy has been lured away by a large cult which she said is prominent in Trinidad and Tobago.

In an interview with Newsday on Monday, Gray-Burke said only prayers can save Cuffy.

“No religious organisation would take away a 16-year-old girl, so this girl was not taken by any credible religious organisation. No religious group would go down that road to take a child from her home, from her mother, no,” she said. She said there are many cults in the country and some have a large number of followers. “But I believe there is a God, a true and living God. And as parents we need to warn our children to be aware of these groups which are false.”

“We have to point our children in the right direction so that no one would come with these false teachings around them and fool them and take them away. They must be able to know the difference,”

She believed that Cuffy was fooled into believing that the group was genuine. Gray-Burke said any child could fall victim if they were not aware.

“Parents be aware of these cults. Be aware!” she warned.

“Many young people fall for them because they don’t know right from wrong.” Gray-Burke said that she would continue to pray for Cuffy. She has also called on the nation to pray for her now more than ever. “This girl need strong prayers. I know prayer has the power to move mountains.” Cuffy has been missing for over a month. On November 26, she and mother Shondel Shallow, left their home at Rosehill Street, Claxton Bay and walked to the Southern Main Road to wait for a taxi to take Cuffy to school. A few minutes later, a white AD wagon taxi stopped with two other passengers, and Cuffy got into it be taken to the Marabella North Secondary. At about 3.30 pm, her mother became worried when her daughter had not returned home. She called Cuffy’s cell phone but the call went to voicemail. She went to the school and learnt her daughter had not shown up for classes. Cuffy is described as having albinism and her hair is blonde. She was last seen wearing her school uniform – a white shirt and blue skirt and tie. She also had a coloured knapsack containing her schoolbooks.

Police sources said since her disappearance, no one has called the family to demand any ransom or to indicate where Cuffy is. On Christmas eve while tidying up her daughter’s room Shallow found a letter which she says was written by her daughter and addressed to the family. The letter is now in the hands of the police. In the letter, Cuffy wrote that the Lord had sent her on a mission.

“I can’t disobey him. I just want to let you know that I will be okay. I am safe. Please don’t worry about me,” Cuffy wrote.