Vandals took Columbus's hands

THE HANDS of the statue of Christopher Columbus in Port of Spain were not broken off during last week's storm, as originally believed.

They were cleanly severed and taken away over three months ago by a vandal, who may have also made off with the sword.

Newsday reported on Tuesday that workers from the Port of Spain City Corporation noticed the hands missing from the statue while removing debris from a tree which fell on it during a freak storm a week before.

Workers did not finish removing the fallen branches until Wednesday. Some had suggested the hands could be underneath.

Port of Spain mayor Joel Martinez said on Tuesday he was unaware the statue had been further damaged, and until he was able to discuss it with his council, he could not commit to whether or not the city corporation would consider repairing or restoring it.

A reader, however, messaged Newsday after the report was published, saying she got a phone call on June 29 from someone who told her the statue had been further vandalised, and the hands and sword were now missing. She said she also visited and took photographs.

The Columbus statue has been constantly unsightly after decades of being defaced by vandals. The corporation has repainted the 119-year-old numerous times in between to cover graffiti.

Columbus's statue carries a negative association with colonialism and social movements globally have lobbied for the removal of statues with similar associations.

Indigenous groups, including the Warao Nation, believe the statue in Columbus Square, Port of Spain, and a similar monument in Moruga should be removed, as they say it is an insult to the First Peoples, who were decimated by European arrival and conquest.

Earlier this year, the Warao and the Cross Rhodes Freedom Project, an activist group headed by Shabaka Kambon, delivered a petition with 8,000 signatures asking the city corporation to consider removing the statue.

The mayor met with the council, but reported that they had collectively decided not to make a judgement as wider public discussion was needed.

The Cross Rhodes Freedom Project said it recently put certain projects, including the campaign against the statue, on temporary hold, owing to the pandemic.