UNC defends Chris Must List: 'He's giving a voice to people PNM neglected'

OPPOSITION Senator David Nakhid is defending Canadian YouTuber Christopher "Chris Must List" Hughes, saying he is simply "giving a voice" to young people in the ghetto. These same people, he added, have been neglected by the government.

Hughes, 45, was arrested and charged with sedition last week after a police investigation into some of his vlogs in Trinidad and Tobago which featured alleged gang members.

He is set to appear in court on June 3.

Speaking at a press conference on June 2, Nakhid told police instead of "shooting the messenger," they should "get (their) bloody job done.

"Chris Must List provided an ear to the people the PNM has discarded and I see all these articles appearing and actually blaming people who came to highlight (this).

"That is the nature of the world today. You have great food in a country, you see YouTubers coming in talking about food content, you have great tourism in a country like Maldives, you see YouTuber coming and talking about tourism...You have horrific crime, graphic crime, it will have YouTubers coming (to show this)."

Hughes is one of a few YouTubers who have done this type of content in Trinidad and Tobago.

On some people's belief that this content is sensationalism, Nakhid said yes, but that owing to social media, the world itself is now sensationalised.

He said the PNM has created "ghettos of the mind," and that young people from impoverished areas know they are being unserved.

"It pains me when I see these people in Sea Lots and Beetham and the hills of Tunapuna and Mt D'or and Sangre Grande...All they wanted was an ear. All they wanted was someone to listen to them. They poured their hearts out..."

He said the East-West corridor has become "a cancer on our nation because it is suffering."

Those communities, he added, can be revived by jobs and education.

"We are living in a dystopian reality. Crime is the leader of the day.

"Boys who cannot afford a bottle of water have access to guns that are $15,000 and $20,000. How is that possible?

"It's easier for (young boys) to find a space in the mortuary than to find a space in the employment line."

He urged the government to listen to the cries of people from these areas instead of burying their heads in the sand.

"Where you get this level of crime in a society, it's when the people in these so-called ghettos see a level of income and social inequity that is unfathomable...For them, looking down from the hill and seeing people they know have access to capital, have access to government contracts, while they are given, by a caring government, some small money."

He said more medium and long-term solutions to crime must be posed by the government.

He added he believes there is incompetence in the areas of education, health and national security.

Echoing his colleague's sentiments, Opposition MP Davendranath Tancoo said there is incompetence in every sector.

Recalling the ongoing saga involving Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass, he told the public not to allow the PNM to "mislead and misguide you into illegality."

He said Finance Minister Colm Imbert must identify who he sought legal advice from and the total cost.

Tancoo also spoke on the topic of YouTubers documenting gang culture.

He said, "They will arrest a man who reported on gangsters but take no action against the gangsters themselves."

He added that this government is about "talk, image and misdirection."

Hughes has said he believes his arrest was politically motivated and alleged two police officers and two politicians threatened him.

He previously told Newsday he is simply documenting reality.