AS they lamented the termination of the jobs of Cepep, forestry and other workers, several opposition MPs said they too had experienced poverty in their early lives, in a seeming bid to express empathy with the now-unemployed workers which the opposition has estimated to be 20,000 individuals.

They spoke at a PNM rally at Beetham Community Centre, Port of Spain, on July 10, headed by Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles. Laventille West MP Kareem Marcelle, who was heartily hailed by Beckles and other speakers for becoming an attorney despite his humble upbringing, testified that as a boy when he did not have money to go to school, it was the Beetham Gardens community that had sent him to school.

He said he had many relatives and neighbours who earned their livelihood from Cepep.