This is bizarre, cruel and reprehensible. Imagine a young father from Ste Madeleine who witnessed a crime is promptly executed. Why? You do not have to be a rocket scientist to get the right answer. The criminals who murdered this citizen decided that they would take no chances. So his parents, spouse and children will be crying for a long time. Are we happy? They believe that once you kill the witness, freedom is guaranteed. While the Government and the Opposition are involved in verbal mudslinging, the thuglets (young thugs) are laughing all the way to the bank-free to kill and free to damage. The criminals are hell-bent on reversing the gains that may have been achieved as a result of the state of emergency. If we allow this violent state of affairs to continue, then we are indirectly contributing to a potential, gigantic explosion. We are on the brink of a "street-gang" state. This is beyond a failed state. Those in authority should know by now that there are Trinis-Trinis to the bone-who are being robbed of their rings, chains and cars and have decided to live, rather than complain and be executed. In fact, some people have decided to adopt the "dumb" syndrome or the "down" syndrome, because they are afraid. They have decided to be a living coward instead of being a dead hero. Road hogs driving on the pavement, cursing everybody in sight-silence. People hurling bottles on the road-silence. Bandits robbing people at gunpoint-silence. Fete lovers blocking gates-silence. Teachers refusing to teach-silence. Fights in the neighbourhood-silence. Drug pushers threatening to kill-silence. Men raping their daughters-silence. Contracts given to the unqualified-silence. The dilemma is so horrific that one worker committed suicide because he refused to help his boss in a corruption deal. Now, now, now...where do we go from here? Here is a citizen who believed he would not be helped or that the help would be so slow in coming that by the time his intentions were discovered, he would be shot and killed. So rather than being killed, he decided to commit suicide. Have we become so obsessed with things that we are not concerned about those in distress? How many swimming pools or cars can fit into a coffin? Which undertaker has the competence to squeeze several buildings into a casket? Which grave-digger can place a BMW into a grave, just six feet deep? Do we think that going to comedy festivals or jumping up in an all-inclusive, alcohol-guzzling party will remove the problems? We have to make a quick return to spiritual values. Therefore, the family is the best place to start. Parents must be called to account, in addition to politicians, police officers, businessmen, lawyers, social workers, doctors, nurses, carpenters, masons, journalists etc. Let us return to some adults. They would make the following statement: "I make the child, but I ain't make the mind." This just represents an abdication of responsibility. Again the question must be asked, "How did we arrive here"?
Let us identify the following factors:
Collapse of the family including missing fathers triggering a missing generation.
Collapse of discipline in the home, school and even the church.
Poor modelling. Some parents teach their children to hate, and are shocked when they commit the first murder.
Reckless and pornographic journalism fuelling a disastrous trend.
Poisoned music, eg gangster rap with lyrics to terrify the sober mind, and even those not so sober. Let us not forget the violent video games that some call "harmless."
The gang recruitment campaign that is not being stopped.
Failure to empower our guidance officers to manage explosive situations.
Lack of networking in the society between various groups. Let us hope that the recently launched civil-society initiative is carefully implemented and nurtured.
Failure to engage youth in the battle against crime.
Allowing a fossilised public service system to frustrate community groups that are genuine about restoring values in the society. Think of Police Youth Clubs that are depressed...They need critical resources.
We can adopt the laissez faire approach and foolishly believe that everything is going to be all right. Or we may adopt the scapegoating strategy, and blame everybody for our mistakes. We may choose the escapist route and run from the problems, and even pretend that they do not exist. A lot of people are asking the question: what should be the first step? Of course, they recognise that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step. I wish to propose a simple solution. Let us do all the research we must perform, but let us begin with the groups that have the courage, the commitment and the consistency. We know that there are NGOs that are not very genuine but there are those that are doing outstanding work, that believe that honesty is the best policy. When you hear the response from those who are supposed to help, you feel like screaming. Now, there are NGOs that are receiving help from government agencies as well as companies in the private sector. These donors must be applauded. However, there are NGOs that are helping scores of individuals, including youth in crisis, and they have difficulty accessing the kind of help that is required. Let us not seek to reinvent the wheel. Let us remember that this plural society contains a broad spectrum of multi-talented individuals, and we must inspire them to unite at this crucial juncture in our nation's history. Now, because tomorrow will be too late!