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The banners yesterday bore ‘Angel’ before Christopher Mohammed’s name. Building T&T (BTT) chairman Ravi Ratiram says Mohammed was an angel to his family and fell to the ravages of crime.
He was speaking to reporters at the beginning of a peace walk held in memory of Mohammed, an Uber driver. The event started at the corner of Ethel Street and Mucurapo Road, St James and ended on the steps of the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain.
Ratiram said: “The main issue here is really having the matter solved. It’s bringing justice for Chris and his family because we all see how much crime is affecting our country on a daily basis. It is so unfortunate that every single day another family is going through pain and suffering.
“We are not hearing of anything being solved or any kind of justice, families continue to grieve on a daily basis for their loved ones.
Angel Christopher Mohammed, as we refer to him in this walk, we at BTT recognise our unsung heroes, the persons who contribute towards building T&T and making it a better society.”
He said they recognised Uber was his second job because he worked offshore, noting he contributed significantly towards supporting and providing for his family in different ways and had a plan for his girlfriend Farah Mohammed and his family.
Ratiram said there were so many other taxi drivers out there who were like angels to people who relied on them to take them safely home, adding it unfortunate that Uber pulled out of T&T after this incident because of how unsafe the country had become.
Regarding the Government’s recent crime plan, Ratiram said it was good PR but at the end of the day, a crime plan must be more than that. He said the group was working alongside police youth clubs and other organisations that were not really given the resources they required to roll out their programmes.
Among Mohammed’s family were his parents Kayam and Alison, sister Elena, brother-in-law Kishan Ali and niece Rebecca Ali.
On the steps of the Hall of Justice, former Senate president Timothy Hamel-Smith told the audience of friends, family and supporters that unless they acted collectively, each person will be taken one by one by crime. He said crime was now touching each person and no one was left unscathed.
Hamel-Smith said they must not let the life of Mohammed be snuffed out without it being a testimony and the beginning of a period that they started yesterday to make a difference.
He said the internet website Building T&T.org will soon be online and he implored the audience to share their ideas and to like and share the Building T&T Facebook page and put their solutions there.
Mohammed’s girlfriend, Farah, said the peace walk was not only for their family alone but all families of other murder victims whose cases remain unsolved.