Fireworks, scratch bombs blamed for infant’s death

A photo taken of Kemani Gordon sleeping on October 19, hours before he died. -

A Chase Village couple is blaming the loud explosion of fireworks and the inaction by the police for the death of their three-day-old baby, Kemani Gordon.

Gordon's father, Nicholas Badal, 29, said loud explosions began rocking their Bholai Street East home from as early as 7 am on Divali night. He said the culprits were members of his own community joining in festivities.

"Whole night the child jump, jump, jump. Jump and bawl. Jump and bawl. I don't know if he couldn't have take it no more."

He said this continued into the early hours of October 21. Badal said he kept checking on his son until sometime between 4 am and 5 am he realised Kemani was unresponsive. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Badal said he attempted to get the neighbours to stop, but they refused. That's when he said he turned to law enforcement, who never responded.

"I call Freeport station two times, no answer.

"I call 999 emergency four times, they say they sending a car and nobody never respond. If they had respond, it might have eased up."

The entire situation, he said, could have been avoided if the police had responded to their pleas for help. Acting ACP for South Central, Vena Buttler, was unable to comment when contacted.

Badal said an autopsy on October 23 concluded his son died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Paediatric Society of TT president and neonatologist Dr Marlon Timmothy said the first week of a newborn's life is the most critical. He could not give a conclusive explanation without the child's medical records, but based on Badal's account of events, he said it was possible that the resulting rush of adrenaline from the loud noises could have caused a cardiac event and led to Kemani's death.

Kemani was his parents' firstborn child. Badal said that because of a health condition with Kemani's mother, they had been trying to get pregnant for over two years. He said they were overjoyed when they were successful and did not hesitate to purchase all the items they'd need, from bathtubs to a crib.

"I can't even describe a feeling like this...It have nothing that could feel like that. It have no pain like losing a child. That's something you have to live with for the rest of your life."

Now, he wants justice for the child he did not even spend a week with. For him, this means getting the police to perform their duty and a ban on fireworks.

In the meantime, he said the family needs help with counselling. Unable to bring himself to go to work as a sales representative in Bamboo since the loss, Badal also asked for financial assistance. He can be contacted at 762-3781.