I was lying on a couch when I fell into a doze. My mind raced to last year's State of Emergency (SoE). The last time I was in a state of emergency was when I couldn't find a toilet in Port-of-Spain. Don't laugh, I am serious. However, I am thrilled by the ongoing debate about the SoE and what it has achieved. The trade unions said it was an attempt to put a spoke in their wheel after they announced plans for a general strike, and from henceforth they will be marking the anniversary of the event every August 21. This week they staged a silent protest, which is strange for trade unions. They are not known for silence, but making loud noises. They had me in stitches when they paraded in all black with black scarves marked CENSORED around their mouths. You got the feeling they were in Burma. There is never a dull moment in Trinidad and Tobago. Life in Trinbago is real kicks I tell you. However, the jury is still out on the achievements of the SOE. But one thing I know, was every zandolie and bandit found a hole.
Crime took a nosedive-some say a holiday. It was the only time I felt safe in years, never mind I was under a curfew. It was no big thing as I have been under a curfew with crime. I don't go anywhere in the night anymore, as I am much more acquainted with my bed. Like a fowl, I climb up a tree by six o'clock. I can't stomach the idea of being held up by a gun-toting bandit. I am sure I will release the contents of my stomach. I am not sure what percentage will come down. It could be three per cent, or 100 per cent. During the SoE there was quite an amount of suffering. Musicians had to pull aside and park, midnight doubles vendors and ladies of the night too. Night life took a beating like a bobolee. The protective services were out in full force. Young men with their pants under their bottoms were arrested, or made to pull them up. Curfew breakers were hauled before magistrates, and there was no carnage on the roads. During the SoE I slept like a baby. When it was lifted in December, the country reverted to the same old, same old. Now as I awake from my doze, I find that nothing has changed, not even the crime figures. You see me, I gone!