A number that should resonate with everyone who has this country's interest at heart is this one—4,525. Let the sobering reality sink in that this is the number of people who have been murdered in T&T since 2010.
With the nation mired in a decade defined by carnage—as this figure so starkly illustrates—it is also time to face up to the unavoidable and very uncomfortable truth that in addition to the thousands lost to this violence there are thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, directly affected by this high homicide rate. Unfortunately, too little is being done to counteract the consequences of all this unrelenting bloodshed.
This loss of life would have been deemed catastrophic had it been the toll in any of the natural disasters experienced in neighbouring countries. Citizens should take no comfort in the fact that our twin islands are located outside the path of Atlantic hurricanes and have not experienced a devastating earthquake. This false feeling of good fortune is entirely due to the fact that, unlike the islands that have faced major disasters, the cumulative effect of all these murders cannot be seen, not on the same way that the aftermath of natural disasters is visible within hours or days.
Truth be told, what we continue to experience here is just as bad, perhaps even worse than those other disasters, given the impact on the economy and the population
It does not help that the national dialogue around this crisis has been so skewed and so deficient of actual solutions. While the focus has been narrowly focused on the perceived failings of the T&T Police Service (TTPS) and the national security infrastructure and in some quarters a propensity to put a political spin on the situation, key issues are being overlooked.
For example, has more than fleeting attention ever been paid to the survivors of these murders, the spouses, children, parents, friends, associates, even the eyewitnesses? While there has been a focus on detecting and punishing, what about the healing and rebuilding?
Police Commissioner Gary Griffith and the men and women under his command have been grappling with the high expectations of a nation desperate to see the end of this homicidal onslaught. Commissioner Griffith seems to regard the criticisms of the TTPS as an attack, rather than expressions of frustration from a battered nation.
The truth, however, is that this crisis reflects inaction and failings on many fronts, including the Judiciary and many other agencies.
But it cannot only be about getting these entities to function more effectively and consistently but also, just like countries recovering from natural disasters, getting down to the necessary job of cleaning up, restoring, and rebuilding.
T&T is a very broken nation. Stagnation and deterioration can become a chronic and long-lasting national condition if there isn't an immediate recovery effort in response to more than a decade of mindless violence and widespread trauma.