标签： Trinidad and Tobago

On a sweltering midday in Port of Spain, a massive crowd of nurses and midwives, dressed uniformly in blue, flooded the capital’s streets to stage a coordinated protest over deeply rooted grievances in Trinidad and Tobago’s public health system. Chanting “BODOE in the building, hiding, hiding, hiding from workers…Bodoe where art thou?”, the demonstrators demanded that Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe break his months-long silence and address their unmet demands for better pay, adequate staffing and improved working conditions.

Beginning just after 11 a.m. from the steps of Port of Spain General Hospital, the procession marched along an approved route to the Ministry of Health’s headquarters at Queen’s Park East, with many protesters using umbrellas to block the harsh tropical sun. The demonstration was officially authorized by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), even amid the country’s ongoing state of emergency, and a heavy contingent of officers was deployed to monitor the march, reroute civilian traffic, and ensure the event remained peaceful. Passing motorists slowed to observe the “sea of blue” that occupied major city thoroughfares as protesters raised placards and shouted their demands for a 10% wage increase and urgent government intervention to reverse what they described as a steadily collapsing public health system.

Two core demands anchored the protest: the immediate resignation of North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) chairman Dr Tim Gopeesingh, and sustained accountability from Health Minister Bodoe, whom protesters repeatedly accused of refusing to engage with frontline health workers. Chants grew louder and more forceful as the procession reached the Ministry of Health’s gates, with frustration boiling over at the minister’s repeated refusal to acknowledge the severity of the sector’s crisis.

Leading the march was Idi Stuart, president of the Trinidad and Tobago National Nursing Association (TTNNA), accompanied by other senior union leaders. Along the route and during a closing address at Independence Square, Stuart emphasized that chronic understaffing has created unsustainable pressure on remaining frontline workers, who are forced to cover excessive patient loads with limited resources. Messages on the protesters’ placards laid bare the depth of their anger and frustration: “Nursing is a profession, not charity work”, “Permanent nurses now”, “Enough is Enough”, “The Struggle is Rough”, and “Does the minister of health care about RHA workers” reflected widespread discontent over insecure employment status and stagnant compensation.

The protest came just 24 hours after Gopeesingh announced that 61 new nurses would be hired across NCRHA facilities, joining the roughly 1,000 registered nurses already working at sites including the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Arima Hospital, Mt Hope Women’s Hospital, Caura Hospital and multiple regional health centres. But Stuart dismissed this incremental move as wholly insufficient to fix the systemic gaps plaguing the sector.

In an interview after the march, Stuart noted that multiple major health facilities experienced significant service disruptions as a result of the protest demonstration. He also lashed out at recent comments Bodoe made in Parliament, where the minister denied that the public health system is facing any crisis. Stuart said the minister’s downplaying of the situation left frontline nurses “infuriated”, and insisted that the crisis is very real, arguing that the general public would not back Bodoe’s dismissal of the issue.

“I don’t think it was the perception of those persons who were turned away at health centres today. I don’t believe it was the perception of persons who were unable to receive surgery today. I don’t believe those hundreds of persons still in accident and emergency departments across Trinidad and Tobago see it from his perspective,” Stuart said.

With Parliament convening at 1:30 p.m. the same day, Stuart noted that the union did not have approval to protest directly outside the Red House (Trinidad and Tobago’s parliament building), but suggested that a small group of nurses might still pass by the site to make their presence known. The protest concluded outside the Treasury Building and the Eric Williams Financial Complex, where demonstrators chanted “We want we money, right now” — a clear signal that the union will continue industrial action until the government delivers tangible, measurable changes to address their demands.

Despite the widespread public demonstration, Bodoe doubled down on his position during yesterday’s parliamentary sitting, continuing to deny that Trinidad and Tobago is facing a national health crisis. Responding to a question from Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles, who raised the planned protest and called on the government to address a crisis that she said has now entered its third week, Bodoe told the Speaker of the House: “I wish to assure the population that there is no health crisis in our country at this time. Under this government, the healthcare system continues to provide services to thousands of patients on a daily basis.” He closed by thanking all RHA and Ministry of Health workers for their continued diligent service to Trinidad and Tobago citizens.

Local outlet *Trinidad Express* attempted to reach Gopeesingh for comment on Stuart’s claim that NCRHA facility operations were disrupted by the protest, but he did not respond to phone calls or a WhatsApp message seeking a response.

The fatal shooting of 37-year-old Tricia Marajh, a St Joseph-based businesswoman, has sparked public outrage after her family revealed she had filed multiple formal reports with Trinidad and Tobago law enforcement agencies about persistent death threats earlier this year – yet no protective action was taken before the targeted attack.

Marajh was gunned down just after 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday in what her relatives confirm was a pre-planned hit, not a random robbery. The killing makes her the sixth woman to be murdered in the country so far this year.

When local outlet the Express visited Marajh’s family compound off Riverside Road on Thursday, the entrance of the property was marked with a sign reading “D Duck Ranch Poultry Depot”, with the family home sitting up a gentle incline from the road. A close relative of Marajh, who requested anonymity to speak publicly, described her as a loving wife, devoted mother of three, and generous community member. Marajh leaves behind two daughters aged 18 and 19, and a nine-year-old son. Beyond her poultry business, she ran a successful dessert and cake brand called T’s Tasty Treats and also operated a small used car buying and selling business.

While the family remains uncertain of the motive behind the attack, the relative confirmed that the killing was not a robbery or extortion attempt. “Since the start of the year, she was being threatened with death. But Wednesday was not a robbery, it was a hit,” the relative stated. When asked about potential links to illegal money lending, the relative added that to the best of the family’s knowledge, Marajh did not owe money to any lender. The individuals who threatened her never even demanded money, he added.

Following the first threat against her life, Marajh took formal action by filing a report at the St Joseph Police Station. She did not stop there: she submitted multiple additional reports to the specialized Extortion Unit and even reached out to officers from the national Task Force, according to the relative. “She made numerous reports to all of them… and nothing was done,” he said.

The family’s grief is mixed with deep anger over the lack of intervention from authorities. “What’s justice for a life lost? We as well as our entire community are upset about this, as justice cannot bring any life back,” the relative said. “Everyone who knew her, loved her. She had a soft heart and she was the kind of person who helped anyone who asked.”

On Thursday afternoon, one of Marajh’s daughters shared a heartfelt public tribute to her mother on social media that laid bare the raw pain of her loss. “I love you so much and I can’t believe this right now. Just yesterday you were here with all of us and now you’re gone in seconds. It’s so sad and it hurts a lot. I hope we can get you the justice you deserve and need,” the post read. The daughter described trying to stay strong for her father and younger brother, but struggling to cope with the sudden loss. “You were not ready to go and you were still young with a lot to live for but they took that from you and they took you from me,” she wrote.

Details released by police confirm the attack was carefully orchestrated. Around 4:35 p.m. Wednesday, Marajh was called out of her home by an individual who asked her to inspect a gold-coloured Nissan Tiida, a common part of her used car business. While she was examining the vehicle, a masked gunman exited the back seat, approached her, and fired multiple shots at close range. By the time shocked relatives inside the home heard the gunfire and rushed outside, the attacker’s vehicle had already sped away from the scene. Family members immediately transported Marajh to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope, where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival.

The Express reached out to multiple senior officers with the Northern Division of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service to verify the family’s claims that Marajh had filed repeated threat reports, but no official response had been received as of Thursday night.

A devastating beach accident has cut short the life of a promising young elementary student in Trinidad, leaving her school, family and entire local community grappling with overwhelming grief. Seven-year-old Angelica Saydee Jogie, a top-performing first grader at San Fernando TML Primary School, was killed Wednesday afternoon after being struck by an out-of-control jet ski at Tobago’s popular Pigeon Point Heritage Park.

The tragedy unfolded around 5 p.m. as Angelica swam in a designated bathing zone alongside her father, Arnold Jogie, and uncle, Darren Jogie. Both adult relatives sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the collision, while bystanders and family members immediately administered first aid to the young girl. Despite rapid emergency response efforts, Angelica was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Scarborough General Hospital that same evening.

In an official statement sent to all parents and guardians Thursday, acting school principal Wahida Mohammed-Narine reflected on Angelica’s bright life, remembering the child as an exceptional A student who brought warmth and kindness to every corner of the campus. “Angelica was bright, beautiful, exceptionally well-disciplined, and brimming with untapped potential,” Mohammed-Narine wrote. “Her gentle spirit and positive energy touched the lives of every classmate, every teacher, and anyone who had the chance to meet her.”

To support the community through the grieving process, Mohammed-Narine confirmed that regional and national education bodies have stepped in to provide specialized mental health resources. The Ministry of Education, the Victoria Education District, and the Student Support Services Division have all committed to offering on-site counselling for students, teachers and school staff, with targeted support for peers in Angelica’s classroom and the class of her older sister, Angelina. The school has also shared public photos of Angelica, capturing her constant warm smile during class activities and playtime with friends. Messages of condolence have poured in from staff and parent groups across the school community, all directed to Angelica’s heartbroken family, who affectionately called the child Saydee.

In a heartfelt social media post, Angelica’s aunt paid tribute to her niece, describing her as a vibrant young soul that turned every ordinary moment into something special. “She had an infectious smile, and a spirit as bright as the sun on the beach that she loved so deeply,” she wrote. “She taught all of us to find magic and wonder in the smallest things. Even though her time with us was far too brief, the warmth of her love and the sweetness of her personality left a permanent, indelible mark on our family that no one can ever take away.”

Calling Angelica a precious gift to everyone who knew her, she added: “We are absolutely devastated by our loss, but we are also deeply grateful for the seven years of pure light she gave to all of us. Whenever I was feeling down, she was there to bring me joy. That is the gift she leaves behind.”

A devastating fatal accident at one of Tobago’s most popular coastal destinations has reignited long-simmering calls for a total ban on personal watercraft across the island, after a seven-year-old vacationing girl was struck and killed by a jet ski while playing in shallow water.

The tragedy unfolded on Wednesday at Pigeon Point Heritage Park, where Angelica Saydee Jogie, a primary school student from Barrackpore who was visiting Tobago for the Easter holiday with her family, was hit by the watercraft while swimming. The young victim was just two weeks away from her eighth birthday.

By Thursday morning, law enforcement officers from the Tobago Divisional Task Force had taken a man from Canaan Feeder Road, Tobago, into custody in connection with the incident. Investigations into the girl’s death remain ongoing, and the jet ski involved in the crash was seized by police on Wednesday night and is currently held as evidence at the Crown Point Police Station.

In an emotional interview with local outlet *Express* on Thursday, Salisha Jogie, the victim’s heartbroken mother, made an urgent public plea for sweeping policy change to prevent other families from suffering the same devastating loss. Alongside demanding full accountability for the incident and public disclosure of the detained man’s identity, Jogie called for a permanent ban on all jet ski operations across Tobago’s coastal waters.

“I don’t want anyone else to have to feel the pain I am carrying right now,” Jogie said. “This tragedy must be a wake-up call. It is not just about holding the person responsible for what happened to my daughter accountable. It is about protecting every child that comes to these waters after her. We cannot let this happen to another family.”

Jogie emphasized that the incident has exposed unaddressed risks of unregulated jet ski use in high-traffic public swimming areas, stressing that policy action is long overdue. “My request is that these jet skis be removed from Tobago’s popular recreational areas,” she said. “This death must leave a legacy that saves other children’s lives.”

Reginald Mac Lean, head of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, joined the call for an all-out ban on Wednesday, framing unregulated jet skis as a persistent public safety threat that has already caused too much harm. “Jet skis are ticking time bombs along our coasts,” Mac Lean said. “Too many people have already been seriously injured, and too many lives have been lost. If operators cannot abide by existing rules that keep them out of designated swimming areas crowded with beachgoers, they should be banned completely across Trinidad and Tobago.”

Mac Lean added that there is no shortage of safer alternative water activities for tourists to enjoy, making a total ban a reasonable and necessary step to protect both visitors and local communities.

A fatal shooting has shaken the quiet community of Vistabella in San Fernando, Trinidad, claiming the life of a well-known local construction businessman and leaving investigators untangling the circumstances of a deadly confrontation between the victim and an unidentified woman early yesterday morning.

Thirty-seven-year-old Steve Ghany, a married father of two with 11 years of marriage, was deeply embedded in his family’s multi-project construction business and was also a prominent figure in the local jet-ski community. According to initial police accounts, the conflict erupted shortly after 8:30 a.m. inside Ghany’s residential property, when a verbal argument between Ghany and the woman escalated rapidly into a physical altercation.

After several minutes of back-and-forth struggle, law enforcement reports indicate Ghany retrieved a firearm and fired shots toward the woman, who emerged from that exchange unharmed. Investigators were later told by a Ghany family relative that the woman then seized a second weapon and returned fire, striking Ghany multiple times. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene before emergency responders could intervene.

Crime scene processing teams recovered two functional firearms and 11 spent bullet casings from the property as key evidence. The woman involved was taken into custody at the home immediately after the shooting; she was transported to receive mandatory medical assessment before being moved to a holding facility at the Southern Division police station.

Multiple law enforcement units, including Region Three Homicide Detectives, the Southern Division Task Force, and the San Fernando Criminal Investigations Department, have launched a full probe to map out the full sequence of events and identify what motive sparked the deadly confrontation. Attorney Prakash Ramadhar, who visited the Ghany residence to meet with family members and law enforcement shortly after the incident, declined to comment on the case when contacted by local outlet Express. “It is too early at this time to make a statement on behalf of the family,” Ramadhar said via phone.

A Ghany family employee, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, described the chaotic moments after he arrived for work yesterday. The worker said he first heard a series of loud bangs around 9:15 a.m. but did not immediately recognize the sounds as gunfire. “I went to check the work we were supposed to do today on the house, when we heard a few noises like ‘Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!’ My son asked me if that noise was galvanise pounding. About five minutes later, a policeman came into the yard and asked me what was happening. I told him I didn’t know what was going on. It was a while after I realised that something had happened,” the employee recalled.

The worker spoke warmly of Ghany, describing him as a fair, approachable employer who treated his staff like family. “Steve treated all of his workers very good, and he was understanding. He would call those fellas on the phone and talk to them normal. He said we were part of his family, and he trusted us, his workers,” the employee said.

The shooting comes just months after a separate high-profile gun violence incident that rocked the Ghany family. In December 2024, Ghany’s stepmother Monica Ghany was killed in a targeted ambush, and his brother Matthew was wounded. The attack unfolded as Monica and Matthew left San Fernando General Hospital, driving along a major commuter route near the water taxi ferry terminal on their way back to the family’s San Fernando home. Gunmen in an oncoming vehicle pulled alongside and opened fire on the driver’s side of their Nissan Tiida, striking Monica multiple times in the upper body. She was pronounced dead at the scene, while Matthew survived a gunshot wound to his right hand. The attackers fled the area, and the killing remains an open, unsolved case. Monica Ghany’s husband — also named Steve Ghany — died just a few months after the ambush.

Speaking to reporters yesterday at the formal handing-over ceremony for the new Penal Fire Station, Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander offered public condolences to the Ghany family, noting he had met with Steve Ghany just over the weekend during a visit to a local rifle range. “I hope the good Lord bless his soul, and that the family will be able to live again after this incident,” Alexander said, confirming that investigators are still working to piece together all details of yesterday’s shooting.

A senseless tragedy has cut short the life of a young primary school student at one of Tobago’s most popular coastal destinations, leaving a family shattered and prompting local authorities to promise sweeping safety reviews for public beach operations.

Seven-year-old Angelica Sadie Jogie, a resident of Barrackpore and student at San Fernando TML Primary School, was swimming with her family inside the designated bathing perimeter at Pigeon Point Beach on Wednesday when an out-of-control jet ski smashed through the safety rope and struck the group. The incident happened mid-day as the family enjoyed a day out at the Heritage Park, a top tourist and local recreation spot.

Darren Jogie, Angelica’s uncle, who was among the group caught in the collision, recalled the chaotic moments after impact in an interview with local media outlet *Express*. “We were bathing inside the roped-off area, not even far from the boundary, and this jet ski just came out of nowhere. It hit me, it hit my brother, and it hit my niece. Two of us were knocked unconscious instantly. Sadie took the full force of the crash — her entire face was mangled,” Jogie described. The uncle himself suffered visible head injuries in the collision.

Bystanders and family members immediately pulled the injured child from the water and administered emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene to try to restart her pulse. She was rushed to Scarborough General Hospital for urgent medical intervention, but despite the best efforts of first responders and hospital care teams, the seven-year-old succumbed to her injuries during treatment.

In the hours after the crash, Farley Augustine, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), addressed the tragedy during an emergency press briefing, confirming the details of the incident and outlining the ongoing response. Authorities confirmed that immediately after the collision, the jet ski operator fled the Pigeon Point area, leaving the injured group behind. Law enforcement has already seized the abandoned watercraft, and teams from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) are conducting a full manhunt to locate the operator.

Augustine described the young girl’s death as a profoundly unfortunate incident, noting that conversations about improving safety management at Pigeon Point Heritage Park have been ongoing for years, with a stated goal of prioritizing visitor safety above all other concerns. “This collision happened in a zone explicitly cordoned off for swimmers. The jet ski breached the perimeter and hit a mother, father, and uncle, and we lost a little girl as a result,” Augustine said, extending official condolences to Angelica’s parents Arnold and Salisha Jogie and the entire extended family.

The THA Chief Secretary added that parallel investigations are underway beyond the TTPS’s criminal probe. The local governing body is reviewing whether park staff and licensed jet ski operators adhered to mandatory safety protocols, and whether post-incident emergency response aligned with established operational standards. Augustine confirmed the Executive Council will move forward to implement stricter safety oversight for all activities at the park to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Shortly after the incident, THA Tourism Secretary Zorisha Hackett, Assistant Secretary Nikita Percy, and other senior local officials traveled to Scarborough General Hospital to meet with the grieving Jogie family and offer official sympathies and support on behalf of the Tobago House of Assembly. As of Thursday morning, the family remains in shock, struggling to process the sudden loss of the young girl, with no update on when the operator will be taken into custody.