‘Hostages’ in Enterprise war
By Kalifa Clyne (Guardian).Residents of Enterprise are “hostages” within their own community as a vicious drug war continues to leave the streets bloody.
Police have few advantages in a community which has streets connecting stealthily and secretly, where residents are charged as voluntary and involuntary secret keepers, and gun and drug-toting criminals, mostly young boys, swallowed whole by gang life and its offerings.
For the hundreds of law-abiding citizens locked into the vicious battle, listening to the constant echoes of gunshots, leaving isn’t easy and staying is a nightmare.
This is the story of a young member of the Enterprise community (identity has been withheld), as told to Sunday Guardian journalist Kalifa Clyne.
There are sounds that have become as commonplace in Enterprise as a bird singing outside or a dog’s bark. I never thought I would ever become accustomed to the sound of gunshots. It is now almost an everyday occurrence. Police sirens and gunshots; those are the sounds that to me accurately sum up a typical day in my community.
My eight-year-old niece knows the difference in sound between a gunshot and a fire cracker. It breaks my heart to say that. She will never have the full childhood experience I had, playing cricket in the street and all the outdoor fun most children experience.
I won’t even risk sending her to the nearby parlour that is a few houses away for fear of what may happen. Last year, I took that risk. She wanted to go to the shop for a snack. She got home safely. Later that same day, we heard the sound of screeching cars, police sirens, gunshots being exchanged and a loud crashing sound that I will never forget.
Police were chasing a car whose occupants were shooting at them. The police were returning fire. The car with the assailants crashed into a galvanise fence. This occurred along the same path my niece walked earlier that day to the shop. I have not allowed her to go to the shop or even play in the street outside our home since that incident.
Violence has become almost synonymous with Enterprise. In earlier times, when the rivaling gangs first started murdering each other, I remember feeling shocked, sad and bitterly angry every time someone was killed.
Now I feel numb and exhausted.
It occurs too often.
Before I can wrap my head around someone getting murdered, someone else is murdered and I have to deal with new feelings of hopelessness. I am so fed up of this violence.
BEFORE THE VIOLENCEI have lived in Enterprise all my life. As a child I remember being able to play outdoors long after the street lights would come on. I had friends from all over the area and there were no concerns on my part or my parents whether or not it was safe for me to play with my peers, irrespective of which street they were from. My teenage years were no different. Enterprise people love to party and would find any excuse to do so. The entire community and environs would come together and there would be massive street parties or “blockos.”
I had so much fun when there were community events in Dass Trace, Crown Trace, African Grounds or Bhagaloo Street and I would attend these events without fear of being shot or hurt because rivalling streets “warring” or anything to that effect.
Like any other community, we would be hit with criminal activity, but it wasn’t the norm. As I’m older I now understand that there was always a drug dealing problem in the area however, I can’t remember there being this many murders at any given time back then. Gang violence of this magnitude only really erupted within the last three years.
I live on Bhagaloo Street. The epicentre of the current gang war is actually between Bhagaloo Street (the alleged Rasta City hub) and Crown Trace, home of the “Unruly Isis” crew. Most of the streets in Enterprise are connected and even I am at a loss sometimes since the lines are blurred as to where each gangs’ territory starts and ends. For instance, I know many self-proclaimed Unruly Isis members who live in Walcott Lane which is an offshoot of Bhagaloo Street. It’s all very confusing and very stupid.
I can’t remember the last time I felt happiness, excitement or any positive emotion that was the result of some experience in Enterprise. It actually makes me very sad to say that because I love my community and the people who live here however, nothing about Enterprise inspires me to smile.
Last year, I felt proud of my community when Nigel Paul, who is from Enterprise, represented our country at the Olympics. That was a good moment for our community. Other than that, I can’t recall feeling anything other than profound anxiety, fear, hopelessness, disappointment and sometimes anger.
WHEN ROBOCOP WAS KILLEDI am no longer shocked by anything that happens here. Things that I never thought would happen here have already occurred. Maybe the most shocking might be Robocop’s murder. As someone who grew up here, we all grew to be very wary of that man.
He was very charismatic but we knew he was dangerous. Everyone frequented his grocery store and we all thought the last place he’d meet his demise was there. It was his fort, so to speak. So when I heard he was murdered, along with his friend and the alleged Isis perpetrator, it was shocking.
You see, all those Unruly Isis members were at some point under Robocop, we all knew it. Most of Unruly Isis were known to be liming at Robocop’s. I saw them myself. When they split from Robocop because of conflicting ideologies I never expected that they would garner the power to do what they did.
Everyone underestimated their strength and how radicalised they were in their ideology. When they murdered Robocop, who I and everyone else thought was untouchable, we knew that no one was safe here.
At least I knew that. Robocop, who many consider the most dangerous man in Enterprise, was murdered by an Unruly Isis member and it was at that point I stopped being nalve and acknowledged how strong the Unruly unit really was. I think this even made me finally accept that there was a real war occurring in my community and that Enterprise was under siege. I started being a lot more afraid for myself, family and friends after that.
STREETS FILLED WITH DRUGS AND GUNSEnterprise is a known drug hub. There are blocks set up in all the major streets in the area like Bhagaloo Street, Crown Trace and Enterprise Street, just to name the more popular blocks. Hence, it is no surprise that these three areas have seen the most gang-related violence. Drugs have been one of the main contributing factors to the violence in these areas. All these gang members represent their block and their turf. They all want to be the top selling block because that would mean more money to spread around. Bhagaloo Street’s block was very popular and, from what I observed, would make a lot of money when I observed the calibre of people going to purchase marijuana and whatever else. Crown Trace gang members felt disenfranchised because they were not getting enough “bread” from the amount Bhagaloo Street was making and tensions began to slowly rise on their end until things eventually exploded. In those initial few months it was like a real war zone. Men would walk around boldly with guns and it was terrifying.
Another reason there is so much violence is the availability of guns. Young men have easy access to weapons in Enterprise and are certainly not willing to part ways with them especially now when this war is at its peak. Also, these guys prefer to stay home and lime on the block than look for a job and attain an honest dollar to support themselves. My father personally tried to help one of those young men get a job and the morning for him to go the interview he did not show up. That young man was shot recently. He escaped unscathed but is currently hiding, he is fearful for his life.
Another major contributing factor is the so called “community leaders” in Enterprise. Most of these “leaders” are actually the drug bosses who are recruiting teenagers. They start indoctrinating those boys at a young age and advertise the benefits of the fast life culture that typically involves money, cars, drugs, guns and sex. My brother was caught up by this façade as a teenager, too. He eventually got some sense and left that life and is now gainfully employed, thank God. But it wasn’t easy for my parents to convince him to abandon that lifestyle.
TERRIFIEDI am afraid in my own home, so it goes without saying that I am extremely fearful walking through my community. On a daily basis, I would walk out Bhagaloo Street to get transport because it is easier for me. On my way home, I have resorted to paying a taxi to drop me straight home and I usually direct them through Crown Trace instead of Bhagaloo Street.
The reason for this is because the Government recently opened a new HDC housing scheme (Lion’s Gate) and taxis are more willing to drop passengers there than they are to go in Bhagaloo Street.
I’ve resorted to deceiving taxi drivers this way—they think I am dropping off at Lion’s Gate and when I direct them otherwise and they find themselves on the outskirts of Bhagaloo Street they are usually quite annoyed with me. I’ve grown accustomed to being cursed by them.
Before I leave home I pray and ask God to protect me. Whenever I see a young guy riding a bike I get scared sometimes because a lot of the gang members use bikes to escape after they shoot up the place. Also I hate when cars are passing next to me and I can’t see the occupants of the vehicle because of the dark tint. I get really scared when that happens.
I tell myself all the time that I need to leave this community, not only for my sake but my family’s as well. I want my niece to grow up in a “safe” area. I want her to feel a sense of pride about where she comes from. Unfortunately I do not have the financial ability to do so. My family and I have made a life here.
NO TRUST IN THE POLICEIronically, my family and I have been put in danger because of a gun but it wasn’t at the hands of gang bangers, it was actually due to the irresponsibility of police officers.
A few years ago, the police were conducting an operation in Bhagaloo Street which resulted in them chasing a guy (a known drug dealer) who was attempting to escape to avoid being arrested with a quantity of drugs.
In Enterprise it is almost impossible for the police to catch anyone on foot because all the streets are connected and the criminals who are from the area know the best escape routes and hiding spots.
That day, the drug dealer decided to use my yard as a means to get away from the police. Two of my nieces who were 11 and nine years old at the time were in the yard playing. My sister was also outside.
My grandmother and I were sitting in my bedroom. Suddenly I heard very loud explosions outside.
I had never heard gun shots at such a close range before, so I was terrified. I looked out my window and saw the drug dealer (his hands were empty) run past my window with a male police officer chasing him and shooting at him. The police never caught the guy and when things settled down a bit my family and I discovered bullet holes in our roof, and on the wall of our house.
That police officer endangered our lives shooting a weapon in a very irresponsible manner in close proximity to two young children who were playing in what we thought was the security of our home.
Needless to say, my nieces – and by extension my entire family – were incredibly terrified by the events of that day. I hate the fact that it was because of the drug dealers’ actions that we were even put in such a position. But I must hold the police accountable as well, since I believe they are trained on how to effectively deal with such sensitive situations where innocent civilians are involved.
The police definitely do not inspire feelings of safety for me.
I have seen too many shady police activity in my area to ever feel safe because of them. I have seen known drug dealers selling marijuana in front of the police. I have seen police officers liming on the block with their vehicle in police uniform. It is no wonder why people have no respect for police officers and by extension the law when every day we see police officers blatantly having no regard for the law and the oath that they themselves swore to.
The sad thing is that there are many good police officers but the few bad ones give them all a bad reputation.
This is why even though everyone in Enterprise knows who the drug dealers are, where the guns are located and such, no one speaks up or goes to the police because of bad cops who can potentially inform drug bosses who the “snitches” are in the community.
Chaguanas Police Station in my opinion is the most corrupt police station in the whole of Trinidad. There are a lot of drugs and guns in Enterprise but whenever the police conduct an operation they only find one or two weapons and little to no drugs.
Why do you think that is? The whole of Enterprise knows when a “secret” police operation is about to go down. It’s almost laughable. Many known police officers have sold their badges for blood money and then they come an arrest the same petty drug dealers they took the money from.
This just fuels more hatred for the police by these gang members who feel the police are backstabbing them after they allowed them to “eat ah food”. Just yesterday, I saw a bullet ridden police jeep drive past my home. Gang members shooting at police officers is a norm now. No one has respect for those flashing blue lights anymore.
I’ve heard too many gunshots to give a number. I usually feel extremely anxious whenever I hear gunshots. I have become such a gunshot expert that I can now decipher when the rivalling gangs are exchanging gun fire. An obvious “tell” are the intervals between gunfire. Also if you listen closely you can sometimes differentiate between gunshots from your typical revolver or pistol and semi/fully automatic weapons.
My niece is terrified of the sound of gunshots. She is only eight years old and I hate that she even knows what a gunshot sounds like. On Friday, when they killed Robocop’s brother, Sylvan Alexis, there was a hail of gunfire that absolutely terrified the poor child. She ran hiding under our sofa. It hurts me to see her so scared when things like that happen. I try to comfort her but she is usually shaken up for days after events like that take place.
FLASHBACK: An Enterprise resident chastises Central Division police for their inability to deal with the upsurge in gang murders in the area during a protest last week. PHOTO: ABRAHAM DIAZ
