Caricom Hustling to Deal With the Escalating Crime Rate
February 11, 2008
A recent article publish in the Guyana Chronicle dated 02/08/2008 titled “SOLVING CRIME AS A CARICOM PRIORITY” noted the inception of the Caricom inter-Sessional Meeting of Heads of state for 2008 which will focus on the escalating crime rate that is now a staple part of the Caribbean menu. The article notes that Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana are among the reigning nations that top the list for murder rates and other serious offences.
My response to this initiative by the CARICOM…is it only now that the heads of Caricom are actually identifying the escalating crime as top priority? What’s wrong with this picture? Is it that some level of crime is acceptable hence its non priority status prior to the recent push by the Prime Minister of Crime and Violence of Barbados urging Jamaican heads of state to curb the crime rate because it is stifling the tourism industry through out the Caribbean.
I have traveled to Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad within the past six months and quite honestly situation needs attention immediately. In Jamaica Montego Bay, I decide one mid day to venture out of the resort and hop across the street to the survivor stands that was across the hotel. Within two minutes of perusing an elderly Jamaican man with a bag hanging across his shoulder walked up to me and asked me to take a look inside his bag and see if I like anything. After politely declining a few minutes later a man I estimated to be about 40 years old approached me and opened his left hand to alert me to the bag of Marijuana he was trying to sell. These incidences occurred at about 2 Pm. I wouldn’t want to know what would be the outcome had these incidences occurred after dark. In Trinidad kidnapping and killing of tourists are a common place. The newsprints are crammed with stories of recent killings and kidnapping of tourists. In Guyana robbing in broad daylight is no amusement to the locals. Guyanese who go back home to visit tell me of stories of how the were robbed. One man recalled that he went into Stabroek market to by a pack of cigarettes and just took out his wallet. Minutes later he was ambushed. When he woke up his wallet, chain, cigarette and watch were distant memories. On lookers hovered over him as he came to his senses.
Some of my recent articles, I highlighted the economic concerns facing Caribbean nations are facing. Most of my focus has been on Guyana but the explanations I noted could be extrapolated to Jamaica and Trinidad albeit on a larger scale due to larger economies. The meat of the issue is that people are now “living on term” and what I mean by that relies more on a psychological identity rather than a tangible entity. Here is a link to the article on The immediate value of living on Term. People are looking value in things that are short lived. Being in fashion has become a world quest. Having the latest cell phone with the unnecessary functions is a must have. Driving the latest model car is a must. Being able to afford all things is not a bad thing but when affordability becomes an issue other factors come into play. In the case of the Caricom nations, crime as an effect of economic factors is well documented in Caribbean history. Although the stakes are different, the principle remains the same. If the people of a nation become accustomed to an elevated way of life that is gratifying and for some reason or the other that added value is being threatened, dissidence among the people is more than likely assured. The case of elevated crime afflicting the Caricom nations is rooted in the reason highlighted. For there to be a fix, the state of the economy of the affected countries must be addressed.
Lawmakers must understand the motivating factors that cause a person to commit criminal acts. Most people don’t just wake up and say I am going to kill someone randomly for the hell of it. Such an act comes from desperation and when people are desperate they do desperate things. In this case crimes against tourists are not race provoked. It is because the people have been taunted by the international commercialization of goods and services and now that they have been exposed. Reverting to old ways is as difficult as breaking old habits.
Click here to read the article in the Guyana Chronicle.
Andrew
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