‘He gives a voice to people who have neglected PNM’

News

38 minutes ago

OPPOSITION Senator David Nakhid defends Canadian YouTuber Christopher “Chris Must List” Hughes, saying he is simply “giving a voice” to ghetto youth. These same people, he added, have been neglected by the government.

Hughes, 45, was arrested last week and charged with sedition following a police investigation into some of his vlogs in Trinidad and Tobago featuring alleged gang members.

He is scheduled to appear in court on June 3.

At a press conference on June 2, Nakhid told police that instead of “shooting the messenger,” they should “finish their bloody job.”

“Chris Must List has been lending an ear to the people the PNM has thrown away and I see all these articles coming out basically blaming people who came to highlight this.

“That’s the nature of the world today. You have great food in a country, you see YouTubers coming in and talking about food content, you have great tourism in a country like Maldives, you see YouTuber coming in and talking about tourism… You There are heinous crimes and explicit crimes, YouTubers will come (to show this).”

Hughes is one of the few YouTubers who have done this type of content in TT.

On some people’s belief that this content is sensationalism, Nakhid said yes, but that thanks to social media, the world itself has now become sensationalized.

He said the PNM has created “ghettos of the mind” and young people from impoverished areas know they are “not being served.”

“It hurts me when I see these people in Sea Lots and Beetham and the Tunapuna Hills and Mt D’or and Sangre Grande… All they wanted was an ear. All they wanted was someone to listen to them listened. They poured their money from their hearts…”

He said the East-West corridor “has become a cancer on our nation because it is suffering.”

Those communities, he added, can be revitalized through jobs and education.

‘We live in a dystopian reality. Crime is the leader of the day.

“Guys who can’t afford a bottle of water have access to guns that cost between $15,000 and $20,000. How is that possible?

“It’s easier for (young boys) to find a place in the mortuary than to find a place on the labor line.”

He urged the government to listen to the cries of people from these areas instead of burying their heads in the sand.

“You get to see this level of crime in a society when the people in these so-called ghettos see a level of income and social inequality that is unfathomable… For them, when they look down from the hill and see people they know are have access to capital, have access to government contracts, while getting some small money from a caring government.”

He said the government needs to come up with more medium and long-term solutions to crime.

He added that he believes there is incompetence in education, health care and national security.

Echoing the sentiments of his colleague, Opposition MP Davendranath Tancoo said there is incompetence in every sector.

Recalling the ongoing saga involving Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass, he told the audience not to allow the PNM to “illegally deceive and deceive” you.

He said Finance Minister Colm Imbert should identify who he took legal advice from and what the total costs are.

Tancoo also spoke on the topic of YouTubers documenting gang culture.

He said: “They will arrest a man who has been reporting on gangsters but will not take action against the gangsters themselves.”

He added that this government is about “talk, image and deception.”

Hughes has said he believes his arrest was politically motivated, claiming that two police officers and two politicians threatened him.

He previously told Newsday that he is simply documenting reality.