Tough Question

"Do you mind telling me what was their ethnicity?"

Fashion designer Claudia Pegus was faced with the matter-of-fact question from her German-born internet specialist on Saturday afternoon.

She had called him to discuss protective options for her web based accounts after her computer was stolen  from her  Woodbrook atelier on Friday evening in  dramatic fashion as she and two  of her employees  were bound, gagged  and held at gun point.

"It was a question I couldn't answer" said Pegus, "I felt ashamed.”

A Harrowing Tale

To have the designer tell the tale is a strong reminder of  how clever and arrogant bandits have become,  and how slippery the slide  is when we stop believing, even for a nano second,  that we are all marked targets.

It's 8: 30 on Friday night.

Most of the employees at the design shop have gone home. Three, including Ms Pegus decide to work late in preparation for Trinidad and Tobago Fashion Week.

The doorbell rings.

An employee uses the security peephole and sees two young ladies. He thinks they are models. He cracks open the door, the women push their way in along with a man who ferociously brandishes a gun.

“ All yuh better have  **###**#**!!!**  ## money here tonight or ah go kill someone, if ah eh get no money ah taking someone to the ATM an doh mess with me because ah eh playing. One out of de three of alyuh gehing kill tonight. Only two leaving here alive so doh try nothing stupid 'cause ah go blow everybody head out...ah eh fraid to kill...ah kill plenty man already and ah eh fraid to kill ah woman, I real feeling to **###**#**!!!  ##**   shoot someone here tonight!”

He points the gun to Ms Pegus’ head with one hand, and pushes and shoves her and the employee into the back room where another worker waits. The two female bandits are able assistants.

" Yeah, shoot he," one of the women yells. They tie up the employees and one of the female bandits kicks and beats the male worker and places him to lie face down on the floor next to the other employee who is also bound and gagged.

Ms Pegus on the other hand gets different treatment. She is tied  too and ordered to lie face down on the floor as well and  shortly after with a gun to her head pressing at the juncture of her neck and head,  she is taken room to room to identify valuables.

“ I started praying. For sure I felt I would die and in that moment I asked God that if it was to happen then let it be one bullet, let it be quick and let it be me alone."

God was not on speed dial that night and after 15 torturous minutes ravishing the atelier the bandits left replete.

None of them wore masks. All were under 25. They were all Afro Trinidadians.

To make a statement

On Saturday evening Ms Pegus' home line rings incessantly, as word spreads well wishers are plenty.  But so are those asking some very practical questions: Was the Fashion Week collection stolen? Will she be able to produce in time for Friday launch?  Does she have the creativity to create?

Finding the energy is like digging in a bottomless pit. But dig deep the designer must.  There is a lot at stake

After a six year hiatus,  Ms Pegus will launch the return of her CPFS brand, a line that caters to a younger demographic and which forms a bridge between her higher-end couture line and customised collections.

" There is a lot going through my mind today, I'm emotionally weak and very traumatised, I think I am now coming to terms with what happened and I am reevaluating my options."

Ms Pegus says she will be ready for Fashion Week, her staff have offered to go the extra distance, and she'll use the debut of her CPFS line to make a strong statement about crime, youth and ethnicity."

"I think it is my duty to not feel ashamed."