Remembering Romain
Talented sprinter gone too soon
Donstan Bonn
Joel Mark Romain was a talented 19-year old national junior track and field athlete. He represented Trinidad and Tobago at the Carifta Games and the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior Championships.
Romain had great dreams and a bright future, and was touted as a London 2012 Olympic prospect. That was all shattererd on the night of October 1, 2009, when he was shot to death by members of the North-Eastern Division Police Task Force.
Born on January 21, 1990, to Clint Jules and Joanne Romain, the Cipriani Avenue, Morvant youngster shot to prominence as a result of his track and field exploits.
Joel joined the Morvant Jets Athletics Club at the age of eight and immediately he began to display his immense potential.
“He was a special young man,” says Jets head coach, Frankie Francis.
“His achievements were testimony to his dedication and commitment,” adds Francis, “and he always worked hard at our training sessions.”
When he was 14, Joel produced an incredible 10.90 seconds timing to dominate his 100 metres age-group event at the 2004 Hampton Invitational Games, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
He went on to don the national red, white and black colours at three regional meets – Carifta 2006, Carifta 2007 and the 2006 CAC Junior Championships.
At the 2006 Carifta Games, in Guadeloupe, Romain combined with Joel Dillon, Kendal Bacchus and Shermund Allsop to produce a 42.22 seconds clocking in the boys’ under-17 4x100m relay, which was good enough to earn bronze for T&T.
The quartet would go one better at the CAC Junior Championships, held later that year at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, claiming silver in 41.90.
“It is my belief that he possessed the ability to follow in the footsteps of Hasely Crawford, Ato Boldon and Richard Thompson, and become an Olympic individual medallist in his pet event,” Francis declares.
“Joel was a very soft spoken, quiet individual, who never spoke much but smiled quite often. He was also very easy going and was well liked by his clubmates.”
Romain picked up an injury in 2008 and was being assisted with his recovery by Ian Andrews of UWI SPEC. Unfortunately, Joel never made it back to the track.
“I really don’t know what happened during the past year or so (2009) but I began seeing less and less of Joel. He would rarely come down to our training sessions,” Francis explains.
Romain had developed such an emotional bond with his clubmates that after his death many of them stopped attending training sessions at the Morvant Recreation Ground.
“His death had a definite impact on the club and we lost a lot of good athletes as a result. However, I understood how they felt and the emotional pain a lot of them had to deal with.”
Under the initiative of club secretary Kelvin Roberts, Morvant Jets has taken steps to develop a programme that will provide assistance to troubled athletes.
Roberts has had talks with Member of Parliament for the area, the Honourable Donna Cox, and is also seeking the assistance of National Association of Athletic Administration (NAAA) president Ephraim Serrette and former NAAA boss Ken Doldron. Romain’s grandmother, Olive Romain echoes Francis’ description of her grandson.
“He was quiet, obedient and very respectful. I never had any problems with him.”
She told Express Online that Joel even went to church with her whenever she attended Daybreak Assembly, on Poinsettia Drive, Coconut Drive, Morvant.
Joel’s mother, Joanne suffers from meningitis, which has affected both her hearing and speech, leaving her incapable of seeking employment. The expectation was that her only child would, at some point, take care of her.
Joanne has not been the same since her son was killed.
“Joel excelled in the sporting arena,” says his aunt, Marion James. “This made him a role model to his peers, while he was showered with respect by some of his elders.
“We did not pursue his death further because of the fear of victimisation,” Marion adds. “I have a son Joel’s age and he began to suffer harassment from the police after Joel’s death.”
Justice, says the family, will come from God.
“I can vividly recall the day he died,” says a vocal Olive. “It was a Wednesday evening and Joel took a bath, dressed and said to me, ‘Granny, I am going down the road to come back’. It was the last time I saw him alive.”
Romain was killed along with two of his friends, Kerwin Joseph and Akee Caballero. Was the talented sprinter leading a life of crime? Was he in the wrong company at the wrong time? Or is it a case of all three men falling victim to a senseless act by the police?
We may never know the answers to these questions. What we do know is that the life of a talented young man, a man with a future, was brutally cut short.
Joel Mark Romain. Gone too soon.
donstan.bonn@trinidadexpress.com
Comments: Remembering Romain
CHANGE BEGINS WITH ME Posted: 2010-04-01 04:57:00 AM
I had the privilege of growing up under the same roof with this young man for all of his life, my cousin/little brother and believe me it is a dificult task and not everyone is able to reach to the point where they could afford to leave an area such as Calidonia whose reputation precedes it. It is disheartening to know that in such a small nation like Trinidad and Tobago proper systems cannot be implemented to ensure that the talent and wealth of knowledge which areas such as Morvant possess is harnessed and uterlized before incident like these occur again. I hope this serves as a lesson to all that for this cycle to CHANGE in a positive way it must begin with YOU the individual.
NJAC, This one's for you.Posted: 2010-03-31 5:22:00 PM
Black power is not ONLY about seeking power thru the politucal process and Kaiso concerts. Where is NJAC in the Black Community?
VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCES Posted: 2010-03-31 9:13:00 PM
THIS IS VERY SAD A VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCES.IT IS CLEAR THAT THE YOUNG MAN WANTED TO MAKE SOMETHING OF HIS LIFE,SOMETIMES OUR ENVIRONMENT IS LIKE A HELL WE CAN'T ESCAPE FROM. MAY GOD TAKE CARE OF HIS MOTHER A SICK WOMAN WHO NOW LOST HER ONLY CHILD.WHATEVER THE REASON FOR THE SHOOTING BY THE POLICE, AS A HUMAN BEING AND A PARENT THIS SHOOTING BY THE COPS WAS HEARTBREAKING UNDERSTANDBLY THEY HAVE TO DO THEIR JOBS THINGS ARE TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL IN A SMALL ISLAND AS TRINIDAD.IT IS STILL SAD WHEN A YOUNG PERSON LOOSES THEIR LIVES SENSELESSLY.
Another sad story. Posted: 2010-03-31 7:47:00 PM
This story left me feeling a bit emotional.I can only wonder if Romain was living in a different area, if he would be alive today.Was he a victim of his environment? I guess we will never know but he is another life snuffed out to soon.
