Would Duprey have treated me like that?

THE EDITOR: Open letter to Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher.

Because of the voices rendered on the newspapers, positives for some and negatives for others, about deceased businessman Lawrence Duprey who died August 24, I find myself writing to you, since my knowledge of Duprey tells me that he in his lifetime as chairman of over 60 companies and Clico would not have treated me as another insurance company did last week.

For the records, two resident calypsonians from London, Alberto and Crusoe, invited me to give a talk to London’s carnivalists on the contribution of Trinidadians to Notting Hill’s carnival, which was held on August 26. Like Dr Rowley, I used the opportunity to have a medical check on my internal organs in London, and, as my mother used to say, “kill two birds with one stone.”

On my return to Trinidad on August 27, my grandson, who had driven me to the airport, informed me that the police stopped and questioned him on his return from Piarco for not having the insurance certificate in my car. However, he was able to supply the police with proof that the car was, nevertheless, insured; the missing certificate was obviously misplaced, but not lost.

To rectify the situation and not wanting to break the law, I immediately proceeded to the insurance company’s office to obtain one, since, having bought the car in 2018, this year is the sixth in succession that I paid the company for insurance services.

All motorists in TT know that getting an insurance certificate is a minor cost to a company and is simply a small piece of paper meant to inform the police that your car is insured, in case of an accident, whether it be a minor or a major one. An insurance certificate is neither an ID card, a driver’s licence, nor a certificate of ownership. Moreover, it is not an insurance policy.

Madam Commissioner, although it may not be the wisest legal approach, there are companies that issue three and four insurance certificates to owners, lest they find themselves in any “accidental trouble” with the police.

You could imagine then how distressed I felt when the clerks at the insurance company's office informed me that to get an insurance certificate I must first produce a police certificate from a police station to prove that I am the owner. They refused to accept my driver’s licence, my passport, and my ID card, all legal documents which I had in my possession.

The clerks there are robots. “The law,” according to them, “is to produce a police certificate.” In my anger, I called for the managers, who I felt would be more understanding, for I was afflicted by a stroke in March this year and, at present, I am yet unable to physically move around police stations to fulfil their demand. Worse, to obtain the police certificate which the company demanded called for the hiring of a driver and a car.

After an hour’s wait, two of the managers on duty informed me, through the said clerks, that I needed more than a police certificate: I must get an affidavit from a licensed, legal official and first take it to the police, who must first legalise it and give me the approval to come to company's office.

Commissioner Harewood-Christopher, my question to you is this: Do you believe that Lawrence Duprey would have treated me with such contempt? After being recognised as one of the 50 best teachers in TT by the Ministry of Education, after being recognised and numbered among the best 50 graduates of TT by the University of the West Indies, after being made a Professor of Carnival Studies by the University of TT (UTT), after being named among the best 50 calypsonians ever of TT by TUCO, after winning the Calypso Monarch contest in TT on nine occasions, one more than Sparrow, after recording over 300 calypsoes in TT, after teaching thousands of children and youths in TT, after being awarded a post-graduate certificate in philosophy by the University of Michigan, after graduating from the University of Michigan with a PhD in history and ethnomusicology, after being the first successful postgraduate in history from UWI St Augustine, after graduating with a master's degree in African history from the University of Michigan, and after being given the highest award in TT, the ORTT, do you think that Duprey would have shown me such shabby and contemptuous treatment?

According to Dr Fazal Ali, now attached to the IDB: “Who in the Caribbean has written more on calypso and culture than Hollis Liverpool?”

Do you think, commissioner, that such an onerous policy by this insurance company is fair to the citizens of TT? I shudder to think what would have happened to an ordinary citizen who lost or misplaced his/her insurance certificate that a company could have printed from the system in thousands, nay in millions.

Do you not think, commissioner, that this circumstance is an opportunity for the police and the insurance companies to meet and eke out a simpler and fairer policy to deal with misplaced and lost insurance certificates? Do you understand, commissioner, why crime is the number one scourge in our nation?

I grieve for Duprey, and I pause and anxiously await your response.

HOLLIS “CHALKDUST” LIVERPOOL

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