Black Immigrant Daily News

L’ombre du 49.3 n’a pas fini de planer sur l’Assemblée nationale: après l’avoir déjà dégainé trois fois en une semaine, le gouvernement pourrait à nouveau engager rapidement sa responsabilité pour clore…

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The Barbados Police Service indicates there has been major progress in solving this year’s murders.

Assistant Commissioner of Police David Griffith disclosed that 24 persons have been arrested in connection the 35 murders which occurred thus far for 2022.

“For this year we have recorded 35 murders, 26 of those 35 murders have been committed by the use of firearm but we have made some encodes. We have arrested 24 persons in connection with those 35 murders and that is through the diligent work of our committed officers,” Griffith said on Friday during a press conference held at the police’s Roebuck Street, Bridgetown headquarters.

He revealed that ten cases were solved, which resulted in 13 persons being charged – one individual was charged for two murders.

Griffith noted that this year156 persons have been charged and appeared before the court for firearm-related cases such as murder, possession of a firearm and ammunition, use of firearms, endangering life and aggravated burglary by the use of a firearm.

The assistant commissioner of police with the responsibility for crime lauded the “commitment and dedication” of the Service’s police officers.

“I don’t think we could have achieved this were is not for the commitment and dedication of those officers who are daily called upon to investigate these heinous crimes,” Griffith remarked.

“We are extremely committed to what we are doing and there is no let up on the part of our investigators,” he continued, while also encouraging the public “who see something to say something.

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Acting Snr Supt Earl Elie, head, guard and emergency branch, left, Tobago’s Snr Supt Junior Benjamin, centre, and Snr Supt Oswain Subero of the Inter agency Task Force, at the Shirvan Police Station on Friday. Photo by David Reid

Tobago police are keeping a close eye on repeat offenders during the island’s inaugural carnival celebrations, which officially started on Friday and ends on Sunday.

In a joint press conference hosted by Tobago’s Snr Supt Junior Benjamin, Snr Supt Oswain Subero of the Inter agency Task Force (IATF) and acting Snr Supt Earl Elie, head, guard and emergency branch, at Shirvan Police Station on Friday afternoon, the officers vowed to do all in their powers to keep the festivities incident free.

Over the past two weeks, a team of officers from the Mounted branch, IATF, guard and emergency branch and air support unit were stationed in Tobago to assist with increased patrols and other police operations.

Benjamin said, “We would be looking at our priority offenders. All those involved in firearms, robberies, drugs, larceny offences, we are targeting these persons and we are looking and ensuring that safety and security must be a priority in Tobago.

“We are having a J’Ouvert celebrations, people are going to see the police will be out doing exercises, searching vehicles and persons coming in, because we want you to know you can feel safe going and coming.”

He encouraged all visitors to reach out to any police officer or visit any police station for help.

“We are begging you to stay in groups and if you have any problem, contact any police stations – we are here to enhance public safety.”

Benjamin said there are areas for policing to improve, even though the island has a high detection rate and solve rate.

“We realise murders have escalated; where we have nine murders, five of which have been solved. Our detection rate is nearly 55 per cent, which means one out of every two murders is solved.

“This is one of the highest of all divisions.”

He said four of the nine murders happened as a result of altercations, two from domestic violence, one gang-related and two happened after robberies.

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Tobago

Grammy-winning afrobeat star Burna Boy on stage at the TOMAC festival, early Friday morning, at the Plymouth Recreation Ground, Plymouth, Tobago. Photo by Leeandro Noray

TORRENTIAL RAIN, thunder and lightning marred the grand finale of the Tobago Music and Cultural (TOMAC) Festival, but Grammy-winning afrobeat star Burna Boy, inspired by his drenched but vibrant fans, lifted the dampened spirits at the Plymouth Recreational Grounds with an electrifying performance.

Thousands ignored the Met Office’s upgrade of the adverse weather alert, from yellow level to orange, hoping the bad weather would hold up enough to enjoy the show.

Two hours into the concert, it was clear this was not going to happen.

Rain fell throughout performances from soca stars Nailah Blackman, Ricardo Dru and Shurwayne Winchester.

The concert started around 8 pm and by then hundreds were at the venue guarding themselves under umbrellas and tents.

Donning their best attire for the highly anticipated show, some were seen wearing garbage bags, which they bought for $5 at the entrance gate, as vendors capitalised on the opportunities presented by the bad weather.

The garbage bags were sold after umbrellas and raincoats were sold out.

By 10 pm, the downpour became heavier, but the crowd grew larger.

An hour-long interval between the last performance and the headline act left the crowd agitated and eventually disgruntled.

Chants of “Burna, Burna,” were eventually replaced by “refund, refund,” as DJ music kept the show going without an announcement.

One patron was heard saying: “They could at least come out and say what’s happening, instead of leaving us wondering if the show will go on.”

Scores of disappointed patrons eventually left the venue, but many stayed to get their money’s worth.

Midnight had passed and the stage remained in darkness with its instruments covered with polythene plastic.

However, around 12.40am, Burna Boy took the stage, much to the delight of his fans.

The energy from his performance sent the crowd wild, forgetting their soaked clothes, hair and shoes.

Burna delivered hit after hit, including Toni Ann Singh (his collaboration with Popcaan), Jerusalema, Ye, For My Hand (a collaboration with Ed Sheeran) and Last Last.

Song after song, the crowd screamed in excitement, singing his lyrics word for word.

Burna told the crowd this was his first time in Tobago and he was excited to visit an island “only heard about in the movies.”

Even as the rain continued, Burna Boy connected with his fans, performing for an hour to thrill his patient and appreciative fans.

Burna Boy ended his performance just at 1.30 am with the same energy and hype he started with.

‘Burna fed off crowd’s energy’

TOMAC organiser Arlene Lyons acknowledged the challenges with the weather but felt satisfied with the overall outcome and impact of the festival.

In an interview with Newsday, she said, “For the first time attempting to do something of this magnitude and significance, we are happy to have given this gift of Burna Boy to the people of Tobago.

“To me, it has been a very challenging and inspiring experience and it’s almost a perfect manifestation of the resilience and struggle of the African spirit. I feel like we have had to draw on that to be able to come to this point and pull off this event.

“We have had a lot of (challenges), and some of them were natural, but some of them were ones that are put in front of us by people who may not have the best interest of what we were trying to do.”

She praised the crowd for the energy during Burna Boy’s performance, which she described as scintillating.

Patrons get low while dancing in the rain on the closing night of TOMAC festival at Plymouth Recreation Ground, Thursday night. Photo by David Reid

“The crowd loved it. According to his (Burna Boy’s) team, it was one of his best performances. He fed off of the crowd. His team said he has never seen anything like this where people in this kind of inclement weather give off so much energy – and they said it was one of the things that inspired Burna to do a great performance.

“They said any other place might have cancelled the event with weather like what we had.”

Asked if TOMAC considered cancelling the event as conditions worsened into the night, Lyons said it was never an option.

But there was a major concern. “There were concerns of whether or not Burna’s team would want him to perform in those conditions.”

She thanked the patrons for showing up despite the heavy rain.

“I must also thank Burna Boy and his team for pushing through despite the weather challenges.

She said the hosting of the event was not a perfect experience but a lot was learnt.

“It literally took a village to pull this off, so we want to thank everyone who supported what we wanted to do. It was well worth it and my soul and I bet everyone else’s soul was fed.”

She said there are plans to keep the momentum going with the rediscovery journey of what it means to be Tobagonian.

Speaking to Newsday about their experience, patrons had mixed feelings.

Adrian Howe of Chaguanas told Newsday, “I enjoyed the show. The weather was out of our control and if we put that aside, we would see how excellent this event would have been. Overall, I enjoyed it.”

Joshua Lashley told Newsday he felt disappointed with the time allotted to local performers. “The soca artists should have performed longer. The festival said it’s about culture, soca is part of culture. While I was here for Burna Boy, the circumstances needed soca to get people mind off the bad weather.”

Shaquille Sylvester praised TOMAC for the work put into bringing the festival together.

Soca artiste Nailah Blackman performs at the TOMAC Afrofusion Celebration Concert experience featuring Burna Boy at Plymouth Recreation Grounds, Plymouth Village, Tobago, Thursday. Photo by David Reid

“I got the same quality I hear on YouTube and on radio from Burna Boy. It was proper feedback and good endgame between crowd and artiste. His performance was just too short.”

Steven Purity of Washington DC said he only came to Tobago after reading a Newsday article on Burna Boy’s scheduled appearance. He was disappointed by the delay in Burna Boy hitting the stage.

“I paid for a concert that starts at 8 pm, ends at 11 pm – and it was after 12 am. That’s the next day, so I left.

“They just keep saying he’s coming for over an hour, and that wasn’t reassuring.”

One woman added: “People standing in the rain was one thing but having to wait for him was another thing. I left the venue at 12 when I was already on my way out. I hope they hold to their word when they promise the performer would be there.”

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Rédaction web

La semaine dernière, l’eau était interdite à la consommation dans certaines communes. Le SMGEAG a levé cette interdiction.

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