Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Hier 05:45

Margaret Sampson-Browne: From tragedy to trailblazer

BAVINA SOOKDEO WHEN Margaret Sampson-Browne walked into the St James Barracks on August 17, 1970, she carried with her little more than determination and the dreams of an 18-year-old girl from San Fernando. What began as a search for stability and income soon became a lifelong calling. Over the next 41 years, she would rise from a fresh-faced constable to assistant commissioner of police, becoming a pioneer for women in law enforcement and an advocate for victims of crime. As she prepares to celebrate her 74th birthday this December, Sampson-Browne recalled her journey, which was marked by hardship, courage and a love for service that became the foundation of her legacy. Quiet determination is what led her to shatter barriers, champion victims and redefine what it means to serve. “When I joined the police service, I was fresh out of San Fernando Government Secondary School, a young, inexperienced southerner coming to Port of Spain for the first time” she told WMN. It was a time of national change. TT was still finding its footing as a young nation, and the women who joined the police service in that period were part of history. The first batch of women police entered in 1955. Reflecting on the turbulent period of the 1970 Black Power movement, Sampson-Browne recalled that she had not yet joined the police service during the height of the marches and unrest. “When the Black Power started, I was a civilian,” she said. “By the time I entered the service, everything was secure and I felt safe, because that was a period when camaraderie and sisterhood were very evident.” Sampson-Browne noted that her intake of 21 women – the largest batch to that point – entered the service just after the revolution. “I don’t know if that was the rationale behind bringing in so many of us, but we were treated well, and the government accommodated us well.” Still, she explained, women were often placed at the back of the line despite excelling academically. “Even when women scored higher in exams and interviews, we were always the last batch on the merit list. A squad of drivers trained with us for less time, but they were still ranked senior to us when we lined up in the barracks square. That sense of always being placed behind carried through the force.” [caption id="attachment_1179437" align="alignnone" width="835"] Margaret Sampson-Browne proudly displays her Public Service Medal of Merit and certificate. - Photo by Faith Ayoung[/caption] Yet, she emphasised, the experience also instilled strength and solidarity. “When we passed out, the men were sent directly to the stations, but we were kept back for a month to visit institutions and learn the children’s regulations. That extra preparation gave me confidence. When I was posted to Belmont Police Station, I felt safe and ready,” she said. For Sampson-Browne, policing was not an obvious calling at first. “When I joined the police service it wasn’t really that I loved it, but I grew to love it because it became part of me. And because I loved it, I was rewarded.” That reward included rising steadily through the ranks, serving for 41 years, and retiring as an ACP in 2011. Her career brought recognition at the highest levels. She was awarded the Hummingbird Gold Medal for service to TT in 2011 and named the Association of Female Executives of TT’s Woman of Influence Award in 2014 for her work with victims of domestic violence. She had managed the Victim and Witness Support Unit, expanding its reach under commissioner Dwayne Gibbs. “If I could list my awards,” she laughed, “I would be filling up talking until tomorrow.” But her journey was not without pain. Born into a family of 15 siblings, Sampson-Browne grew up in poverty and with a father who struggled with alcoholism. “We didn’t have proper meals. Many nights we had to sleep in the Baptist church. “I grew up quiet, but I grew up resilient.” And that resilience was tested in 1972, when, as a 21-year-old officer, she became pregnant out of wedlock. At the time, the rules demanded that policewomen in that situation either marry or leave the service. Her fiance did not do “the honourable thing” by marrying her, and she was suspended. “They (then members of the police service) came to my house, (when I was) eight and a half months pregnant, and took my uniform and everything. I was thrown to the wolves,” she recalled. [caption id="attachment_1179435" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Women officers give praise during a thanksgiving service to celebrate the 70th anniversary of women in the police service at St Paul’s Anglican Church, San Fernando on August 8. Retired ACP Margaret Sampson-Browne said there are now women officers in every division, even the executive. - Photo by Innis Francis[/caption] Silent and still, she faced it all…the loneliness and abandonment. She explained, “many women marched for me and stood with me, and soon enough, women police and public servants and women all over TT could have their children and be granted maternity leave without getting married.” In 1973, Francis Eustace Bernard became the first local commissioner of police. By the time Margaret Sampson-Browne faced her suspension, he was at the helm – and she remembers the humiliation vividly. “I was eight and a half months pregnant when they marched me into Police Headquarters – left, right, halt, turn – belly protruding and all.” Despite orders from the Police Service Commission to withdraw her suspension, Bernard initially refused. Only when compelled by a direct instruction did he reinstate her. Sampson-Browne recalled travelling from San Fernando to Port of Spain by bus to face him, walking up the steep back steps of the old headquarters (as they did not let her pass up the front). “He glanced at me, told me I was a disgrace, then looked down and dismissed me. That was it. I turned and marched out,” she said. “But as I walked down Frederick Street and boarded the bus back home, I felt a strange peacefulness. Within days, I went into labour.” Then, on August 21, 1972, her son Jason was born. He brought her immense joy. Sampson-Browne recalled Jason was not sleeping when she took him home. “He cried all night, and he just wasn’t sleeping.” The new mother took Jason to the hospital. “They said he had jaundice, so they told me to leave him. I left him and I went home.” On August 26, Margaret Sampson-Browne’s son died, just five days after his birth. He was laid to rest the following day. His short life, however, left a lasting impact on the lives of many women across TT. At just 21, Sampson-Browne had challenged and changed the status quo. No longer were women police officers who became pregnant without marrying forced to resign, pushed out of the service or compelled into marriages that were not right for them. “Somebody from my batch was pregnant with me, but she left. Another one also left. “But I stood. I stayed, because I had nowhere else to go.” The personal loss was devastating, but she saw meaning in her suffering. “God used me (for) a purpose. Jason came into this world, he spent some time, and he left. And he left a pathway for women to be able, with consummate ease, to have their children.” Even in the face of stigma, silence and pain, she found strength not only in herself but in the people she served. “What also encouraged me is the community (of people who stood with me) out there – I went out and met them. I didn’t wait for them to meet me. I went out and met them.” Sampson-Browne urged women and girls never to see education as out of reach. “When I left San Fernando Government Secondary School, I left with zero subjects,” she admitted. At that time, the police service required only proof that an applicant had attended secondary school for at least two years. “That fit right into my stream of things.” A letter from her principal secured her entry. But Sampson-Browne didn’t let her education end there. “It didn’t daunt me. I didn’t stay there. After 25 years, I decided I was going to further my education.” She began taking subjects one at a time, describing her progress as “like a drop of ink in a bucket of water – it slowly becomes coloured.” That persistence paid off when she was offered the opportunity to study social work. With only a handful of exam passes but a wealth of experience, she entered UWI in 1994. After four years, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social work, with honours. “I failed one or two subjects – but failure was critical for me. Failure helped me to pass,” she said firmly. Asked whether women police still face discrimination, Sampson-Browne said, “The Police Service Act guarantees equal pay and treatment, and women have broken barriers – we now see women in every division, even in the executive.” Still, she acknowledged that the burden on women remains unique. “In my time, women police worked nights, Christmas, birthdays – you’d only know it was their birthday when their shift ended. Then they went home to be super mothers, super queens.” She hesitated to call it outright discrimination but admitted women often carried “the lesser of the bigger half.” Yet, she stressed, women today occupy spaces never open before. “I boldly went where I believed others could follow me, and I was willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause.” For Sampson-Browne, faith remained her compass. “Praise the Lord. I can’t forget him – he walked with me day and night. “Be the constellation of possibilities. It worked for me, and it will work for you. God bless you all,” she said. She encouraged women to rise above challenges: “Leave the troubles at the bottom of the bucket, and let your ideas, your synergies, flow up to the top.” Her message to them is: “Never be afraid of doing the right thing. Fear is temporary –starve your fear. Women and girls, you are a class act. Class is a language, and when you speak it, it gives life.” She encouraged women to love their work, no matter the obstacles. “Don’t ever believe that the love for your job has no way. Love your job. I used to wake up excited to go to work and sad to leave my station. “Eventually, they will pay you for loving it.” And one woman’s rise, she knows, can help others to climb the ladder of success. “Every day you learn something new. There’s a difference between a legacy and an inheritance. An inheritance is what you leave for somebody. A legacy is what you leave in somebody. “Leave your legacy. Walk tall. Don’t walk in somebody’s footsteps – create your own. And while you’re creating, look beside or behind you, and pull somebody with you.” For her, life is about creating beauty from brokenness. “Be like cracked pieces of tiles,” she said to women who are hurt and broken. “Empty the box, take the little broken pieces, and form a mosaic. The beauty is right there before you – and you are responsible for that beauty.” She is a member of Empower Her, an NGO led by Dr Agatha Carrington with branches in Tobago and Arima. They try as much as possible to improve the lives of women and girls they find in difficult circumstances by offering training and counselling. “We are seeking to empower women and girls through challenging times and education, and we’ve launched programmes to support women facing domestic violence, and it comes from the Spiritual Baptist faith…we’re doing some wonderful work,” she explained. While she is not formally attached to a women police group, she often delivers motivational talks to them and also serves on the board of directors of the Police Credit Union and its consumer arm, PCU Plus. She later married but now describes herself, with a smile, as “happily divorced.” She has three children – her son, soon to be 50, and two daughters, now 45 and 43. But it is her granddaughter, a “star” at 17, who fills her with particular pride. The retiree keeps busy by running a small plant shop from home and manages At Samo’s Accessories line, creating and selling hand-painted jewellery and clothing (designed by local designers). Beyond her professional commitments, she devotes time to her granddaughter, who recently began her university studies.   The post Margaret Sampson-Browne: From tragedy to trailblazer appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.