IT’S really difficult not to compare the recent shark attack in Tobago’s waters and some people’s appeal for their preservation with our present murder toll and the unyielding defence the accused obtains; in spite of the astonishing presentations by the prosecution, the accused eventually escapes from stipulated sentences.

We all love some timeout at our rivers and beaches. And how many shark attacks did we have at our beautiful beaches in any part of our country over the years?

While I’m conscious of nature’s required balance for its very survival, and sharks being part of it, I still believe man was created above all creatures, and we, mankind, cannot permit our virtual demolition by any of nature’s lower creations.

And it is for that simple reason I equate the stern defence of accused persons in murder cases with the shark ‘defenders’. Are alleged murderers’ defenders parallel with sharks’ defenders? Do they care about their fellow human beings?

According to reports, after the shark attack, people in the tourist industry were complaining of a steep drop in their business. Added to the serious injury it inflicted and the life it almost took, are there still defenders out there?

The fisherfolk who started hauling in an abundance of sharks after the attack I compare to bereaved relatives and, by extension, concerned citizens, who are crying out for justice after the loss of their murdered loved ones.

Considering that decades ago our murder rate was a lot lower, but now with the stern defence of the accused and our simultaneous skyrocketing murder toll, would there be similar results with sharks?

When I look at natural and/or man-made challenges people in the Middle East, Russia, parts of Africa, India, China, South America and elsewhere around the globe are facing, and then look at our unyielding defence of murderers…and sharks, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Lloyd Ragoo Chaguanas