Crime Destroying Trinidad and Tobago
The Caribbean Is One Nation.
Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group
“In almost every sphere-the economy, education, agriculture,
health, national security, and transportation-we are living the logical outcome
of over 50 years of policy failure.”
“As in the case of Dudus and Trenchtown in Jamaica, our
communities have developed into hot spots because weak and ineffective
politicians have entered into dangerous alliances with community criminals in
order to control the vote.”
Sunity Maharaj, Trinidad Express, Sunday, January 24th.
2016
Last Thursday’s murder, assassination, slaughter or whatever horrific
description we choose to give it, of two teenage school boys in Trinidad and
Tobago, have we hope, brought home to our T and T brothers and sisters, the
level to which their country has declined in the last two decades. Apparently,
these two youngsters were dragged out of a mini bus and murdered in broad day
light. The short lives of De-Nelson Smith and Mark Richards did not reach their
full potential and once more our Caribbean has been robbed of much needed
talent.
For some time now, the Mahogany Coconut Group, has eschewed
political posturing and has concentrated on highlighting both the negatives and
positives of the Caribbean region. We have maintained that the destruction of
the environment and the rising crime, in the region represent a threat more dire
than any underperforming economy. We have said that replacing destroyed
features of our environment will perhaps be impossible but replacing lives is
totally impossible.
We have witnessed in almost total shock how the criminal
element in Tand T has effectively brought the law enforcement professionals
(police) to their knees. There seems to be a total disregard for life.
Unfortunately the criminal element has also been very active brutalizing women
and inflicting much harm on children. The simple truth is that the country is
under persistent siege. The Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley, has been forced
to deploy the army to deal with the so-called hot spots of crime. It is a sad
spectacle that a fun loving and hospitable people are now prisoners in their homes.
They are afraid to even do such basic tasks as putting their garbage outside
their homes.
However, as the erudite Sunity Maharaj, quoted above, we are aware
that criminal activity is not unique to Tand T. Her point is that social decay
when it first appears must be dealt with swiftly. Her mentioning of Jamaica is therefore
instructive. In Barbados, its citizens are witnessing an upsurge in gun related
crimes and murders. Should the authorities there refuse to take stock and root
out the criminal element, MCG is convinced that country will suffer a similar
fate. Indeed the entire region needs to destroy its criminal element now before
it is too late and too many lives are taken.
Unfortunately, we can say without fear of contradiction, that
the two paragraphs quoted at the beginning of this article/post can be applied
to the entire region known as CARICOM.
A word to the wise should suffice.
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