Trinidad and Tobago now a paradise lost?

THE EDITOR: I am anxious to hear from our renowned psychologists and psychiatrists about the phenomenon that is unfolding before our very eyes in this beloved country that we describe as paradise.

Some of us have faced the horror and anguish of home invasion and have survived.

At night-time many of us are cringing in fear at the sound of our barking dogs, or the unusual movements of plants and foliage.

Retirees are forced to suspend garden activities – important for our mental health – for fear of being butchered.

And we are advised to spend our meagre savings on security cameras, flood lighting, retrofitted doors and windows.

Yet we see on our television screens and print media snapshots of fetes and inclusive parties, displaying fun, revelry and joyful abandonment.

Even as I empathise with those exhibiting fantasy and feeling in the midst of chaos, I ask where are the few helicopters that we proudly display at our Independence Day parade as they are not in the skies providing solace to the challenged.

Where are our professional, uniformed police and army personnel? Are they patrolling in areas deemed hotspots and in communities cringing in fear of home invasions?

Where are the modern fire vehicles and appliances that we applauded and were expecting to bring prompt assistance if there are fires in these "cages" and "penitentiaries" we are asked to create in the name of safety and security?

Tell us, experts, are we taking the concept of “masking” to the extreme? Are we becoming a schizophrenic society? Is TT a paradise lost?

LENNOX BERNARD

via e-mail