THEY CALLED US white devils
By Cecily Asson Wednesday, November 4 2015
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THE DREAM of retiring in sweet T and T has soured for an American couple who narrowly escaped with their lives from bandits who attacked them outside their Los Iros home on Monday.
Their encounter with the armed gang was the culmination of a string of bad experiences they have had while living here for some 14 years, including taunts from Trinidadians, describing the mature victims as ‘white devils’.
“There is no more sweet T and T,†said an angry Stanley Post during an interview with Newsday yesterday. “Here is like the wild, wild west and we have had enough.†After 14 years of calling this country their home, Stanley, 70, and his wife Barbara, 72, were yesterday packing their bags at their residence near the idyllic Los Iros beach as they planned to head back to America.
The Posts warned Government that if they do not get a handle on the rampant crime situation, which has seen 358 murders committed as of yesterday, this country stands the risk of being shunned by overseas investors and tourists.
Speaking in the living room of his heavily burglar-proofed Los Iros Road, Erin, home, Post said having a gun placed to his head, was the last straw.
“I don’t mind being robbed, I can live with that. But I don’t want to be murdered. I don’t think there is anything in this world that is worth my life. I love this country...it is a very beautiful place and the beaches are nice. But there is too much lawlessness and we don’t feel safe anymore.†Stanley and Barbara told Newsday that all they ever wanted when they moved into their dream home near the beach was peace, but they never found it and instead were targeted after standing up against noise pollution and pushing for a healthy and clean environment.
The attack on Monday was the latest in a series of robberies and other incidents that have left the couple frustrated “This house was our retirement money,†Stanley said. “I worked all my life and I resent that I come here with my wife to live and to have locals call us “white devilsâ€. They call us foreigners, they pelt at us, they threaten our lives...all because we complained about the loud music they play, the way they leave the beaches dirty and the general lawlessness of the people who come to the beach,†Stanley said.
Holding a stack of letters dating as far back as 2007, the Posts said they have visited and written complaints to almost all relevant agencies including the Siparia Regional Corporation, The Ministry of Tourism, Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) without success in having their problems addressed.
They have been victims of a number of robberies while loud music from trucks on the beach have shattered their window panes.
“We just went on the internet and the first place we found was here and we purchased an old rundown building and designed and built a new home,†he said.
The Posts said yesterday they had had enough of the negative side of Trinidad and it was time to pack up and leave. According to a police report, at about 12.30 pm on Monday, Stanley and Barbara had just returned home and were about to enter the driveway when they were confronted by three masked men, two armed with cutlasses and one with a gun. The couple told police they managed to get back into their car and drive to a nearby convenience store where they called the police for help. They were not injured.
“We have robberies. We have crimes in the United States. I have worked in some of the toughest cities, but I have never had a gun or a machete pointed at me. I didn’t live this long to have a bunch of callous people kill me.†The Posts believe if they had panicked, they would have been killed by the men who escaped in some nearby bushes.
Hours later, a couple was attacked by three men on the nearby beach, with the woman who is eightmonths pregnant, being raped in some bushes. (See story below) “If they (Government) don’t do something, this country is doomed! Americans will not keep on investing.
People are going to pull their business out of here. I spoke to my Embassy this morning and they are very unhappy. I have never taken a dime out of this country. We gave back instead. We volunteered in the Animal Shelter (Oropouche),†Stanley said. He recalled recently lying on the beach sunbathing only to be pelted with stones by several persons.“Where we are is on private property, yet visitors come here and get annoyed when they are not allowed to do as they please,†Stanley said, adding that a particular vendor had threatened their lives after they asked her to stop selling in front of their property.
When they were attacked on Monday, Stanley said the assailants surrounded their car with one of them pushing a cutlass through the car window while another pointed a gun at his head. Stanley is a retired educator who was once the Secretary for the Democratic State Party in New Hampshire. His wife Barbara, is a retired teacher. The couple have a son who is a marine officer. They said relatives have stopped visiting them because of the crime situation.
By Cecily Asson Wednesday, November 4 2015
THE DREAM of retiring in sweet T and T has soured for an American couple who narrowly escaped with their lives from bandits who attacked them outside their Los Iros home on Monday.
Their encounter with the armed gang was the culmination of a string of bad experiences they have had while living here for some 14 years, including taunts from Trinidadians, describing the mature victims as ‘white devils’.
“There is no more sweet T and T,†said an angry Stanley Post during an interview with Newsday yesterday. “Here is like the wild, wild west and we have had enough.†After 14 years of calling this country their home, Stanley, 70, and his wife Barbara, 72, were yesterday packing their bags at their residence near the idyllic Los Iros beach as they planned to head back to America.
The Posts warned Government that if they do not get a handle on the rampant crime situation, which has seen 358 murders committed as of yesterday, this country stands the risk of being shunned by overseas investors and tourists.
Speaking in the living room of his heavily burglar-proofed Los Iros Road, Erin, home, Post said having a gun placed to his head, was the last straw.
“I don’t mind being robbed, I can live with that. But I don’t want to be murdered. I don’t think there is anything in this world that is worth my life. I love this country...it is a very beautiful place and the beaches are nice. But there is too much lawlessness and we don’t feel safe anymore.†Stanley and Barbara told Newsday that all they ever wanted when they moved into their dream home near the beach was peace, but they never found it and instead were targeted after standing up against noise pollution and pushing for a healthy and clean environment.
The attack on Monday was the latest in a series of robberies and other incidents that have left the couple frustrated “This house was our retirement money,†Stanley said. “I worked all my life and I resent that I come here with my wife to live and to have locals call us “white devilsâ€. They call us foreigners, they pelt at us, they threaten our lives...all because we complained about the loud music they play, the way they leave the beaches dirty and the general lawlessness of the people who come to the beach,†Stanley said.
Holding a stack of letters dating as far back as 2007, the Posts said they have visited and written complaints to almost all relevant agencies including the Siparia Regional Corporation, The Ministry of Tourism, Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) without success in having their problems addressed.
They have been victims of a number of robberies while loud music from trucks on the beach have shattered their window panes.
“We just went on the internet and the first place we found was here and we purchased an old rundown building and designed and built a new home,†he said.
The Posts said yesterday they had had enough of the negative side of Trinidad and it was time to pack up and leave. According to a police report, at about 12.30 pm on Monday, Stanley and Barbara had just returned home and were about to enter the driveway when they were confronted by three masked men, two armed with cutlasses and one with a gun. The couple told police they managed to get back into their car and drive to a nearby convenience store where they called the police for help. They were not injured.
“We have robberies. We have crimes in the United States. I have worked in some of the toughest cities, but I have never had a gun or a machete pointed at me. I didn’t live this long to have a bunch of callous people kill me.†The Posts believe if they had panicked, they would have been killed by the men who escaped in some nearby bushes.
Hours later, a couple was attacked by three men on the nearby beach, with the woman who is eightmonths pregnant, being raped in some bushes. (See story below) “If they (Government) don’t do something, this country is doomed! Americans will not keep on investing.
People are going to pull their business out of here. I spoke to my Embassy this morning and they are very unhappy. I have never taken a dime out of this country. We gave back instead. We volunteered in the Animal Shelter (Oropouche),†Stanley said. He recalled recently lying on the beach sunbathing only to be pelted with stones by several persons.“Where we are is on private property, yet visitors come here and get annoyed when they are not allowed to do as they please,†Stanley said, adding that a particular vendor had threatened their lives after they asked her to stop selling in front of their property.
When they were attacked on Monday, Stanley said the assailants surrounded their car with one of them pushing a cutlass through the car window while another pointed a gun at his head. Stanley is a retired educator who was once the Secretary for the Democratic State Party in New Hampshire. His wife Barbara, is a retired teacher. The couple have a son who is a marine officer. They said relatives have stopped visiting them because of the crime situation.
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