Three distinct incidents over the past week have converged to give us perhaps what can be easily described as a "sociological analysis" of our lovely yet distorted view of our priorities.
1) The arrest of Mr Azmon Alexander, the prime suspect in the murders of members of a Brasso Seco family
2) The decision of the Ferguson grand jury and the immediate public's response, and
3) The murder of two German nationals in our sister isle.
These three incidents, while independent of each other, all point to the challenges we face in our society with our sense of priorities being severely distorted. They explain in large part why we continue to "fall apart."
It was nothing short of amazing to see the resources and manpower made available in the Brasso Seco manhunt for Mr Alexander, compared to the search for Dana Seetahal's murderers. We are forced to question the decision of those in positions: What criteria are employed to determine their decisions? It is as if people involved in Ms Seetahal's murder are beyond the arm of the law, which further endorses the conspiracy theory which claims that her murder was a shot called from up on high.
For too long we as a society have been witnesses to cases left unsolved, as in the case of Akiel Chambers, where people from a different social class are prime suspects; or the US$100 million cocaine bust in Virginia.It is ironic that it is the same DEA, we are now told, involved in Ms Seetahal's murder investigation. Perhaps the Minister of National Security can explain why and how the DEA gets involved in a local murder investigation! The DEA, by mere definition, investigates drug-related issues/murders.
The second issue, the Ferguson grand jury's decision, exposes how fragile the US society is and how divided America is on the issue of race relations, despite having an "African-American" President. A young African-American man killed by a white police officer and things quickly fall apart.
Meanwhile, at home, police manage to kill on average about four of our young men each month, with cries of why Mr Azmon Alexander was not killed by the police. Many citizens were irate that he was not.
And thirdly, that the acting Commissioner of Police never visited one of these bereaved families of our young men, gave similar assurances as he did to the residents of Tobago, the THA, the tourism industry, and the relatives of the two murdered German citizens speaks volumes of the view we hold of our young men, particularly our young men of African descent.
Like many, I too, have long given up on the murder-countdown-rate in this land, unless reminded in a media report. Yet the vast majority of these victims are young men of African descent.Are their lives less valuable because of that one minor detail? Is it that some lives are more valuable than others?
We all understand the importance of the tourism industry to Tobago. What message is being sent to our young men? How many unsolved murders do we have in these small twin islands? Are murderers emboldened when they escape detection?
When citizens consistently see some people treated differently in our major institutions, be it the health institution, the educational institution, the criminal justice system, the allocation of housing, the awarding of contracts, drunk-driving charges and other traffic violations, they become indignant. When people feel cheated, or not being treated fairly, they drop out and instead of being productive, contributing members of society–they work in their own self-interest.
And as we become more selfish, we become less concerned about the development of society; and to borrow a phrase from Chinua Achebe, "things fall apart." T&T is falling apart rapidly, and money is not the problem.
Rudy Chato Paul, Sr
D'Abadie