Opposition MP Gline Clarke wants Barbadians to live up to the legacy of National Hero Sir Garfield Sobers by not using hardship as an excuse to live criminal lives.
Speaking during a day of tributes to Sir Garfield, who celebrated his 75th birthday last week, Clarke said the National Hero would be pleased to know he could sit in his home without fear of molestation by the criminal element in this society.
“We want him and people of his generation to be able to sit down . . . . It is not fair for people to be sitting in their verandah and somebody comes in and shoots them and their family.
“It is unfair to the elderly in our society. You cannot have a person 79 years old sitting in his verandah and being shot at by persons . . . who believe they can terrorize the society,” said Clarke.
Calling on struggling single mothers to discourage their sons and daughters from crime, he added: “Sir Garfield Sobers’ mother was a single mother, and she helped her son to ensure that he played cricket and that during the evenings he went to youth club.
“Young mothers and fathers must motivate their children to achieve what Sir Garfield achieved.”
He added that the police alone could not solve the problem and called on “the people who know [the criminals]” to tell the criminals that they were doing nonsense.
“We have to protect Barbados,” he said, calling on society to join in prayer for a stop to those committing criminal acts across Barbados.
Clarke also voiced the hope that Sir Garfield would speak to some of the youngsters and encourage them to make this society an even better one.
He added, too, that if Parliament wanted to send a signal to the society that Sir Garfield and other outstanding persons should be emulated, it had to start via the media, namely by censoring the music played on the airwaves and shown in various music videos.
He also called on the Minister of Culture and Sports to start telecasting cricket and the exploits of Sobers and the Three Ws instead of the “crap” that includes violent movies and soap operas.
“When you show only American foolishness, the youngsters believe this is what they should emulate,” he said, calling on CBC to show its soap operas and “nonsensical” violent movies “after the youngsters have gone to sleep”.
“We want to send a signal that enough is enough,” he said, noting that Sir Garfield “did not practise to be a vagabond, deviant or bad boy, even though he grew up in a village with a single mother”.
Clarke said the time had come for policymakers to tell our young people that life is not always easy and that one must work hard to achieve anything worthwhile.
He said while the coming generations should be reminded that great men had walked these shores and had left something to aspire to, Government should ensure Sir Garfield, along with others who have made solid contributions in various fields, including sport, music and the arts, are provided with the best in health care, housing and what is necessary for their general well-being in the evening of their days. (RJ)
