IN BEDFORD LAND, St Michael, a pensive Capel Gilkes sat with friends at a community liming spot.
He is the uncle of Dwight Holder, the teacher who was shot and killed a week ago at nearby Longford Place in Waterford, one of the areas visited this week by Street Beat in the wake of national concern about crime and violence.
Gilkes said he was also the uncle of John Weekes, who was also shot but survived. The relaxing resident said the gunplay was the result of a lack of education.
“It is because they are not being educated,”he said. “There are too much foolish people with guns about. It is not the people with O’ levels that doing this, it is people that done school at 13 and ain’t got no common sense. They want big money but they don’t want to work; they just want to rob people that work hard.”
Gilkes said it could also be due to a lack of money as people who could not afford food to eat often took desperate measures as “a hungry man is an angry man”.
Whatever the case, he said he had no tolerance for people who tried to sympathise as they had no idea.
“I had family that get kill and another one shoot up. I don’t mind people talking, they don’t know but it is time the people reel against all this violence,” he said.
Judy Hoyte chalked it up to wickedness. She said the youth of today were not like those of the past.
“You can’t even mash them by accident or look at them too long,” she said.
Hoyte said there were too many guns in Barbados but she did not know where they were coming from, adding “somebody got to be bringing them in”.
In Wellington Street, the City, there was also gunplay this week when a suspect was taken away by police. A woman was quoted as saying she would love to get away from the area and the daily shooting but another one, who also did not wish to be identified, told Street Beat a different story.
“This area don’t really get violence; people just hear Wellington and Nelson Street and think violence but I have no real problems here,” she said.
Even so, she admitted Barbados was getting worse but believed if she kept to herself, then she would be safe.
“Once you don’t do nobody nothing, they won’t do anything to you. I hope my children don’t have to go through nothing, but I will teach them,” she said.
Quite happy
Sharon Beckles operates the Faithful Child sports bar. She has been doing so for the past seven years and is quite happy doing so.
“I like the people here, they come and keep me company until work done, sometime 3 in the morning. If you gine dead, it could happen anywhere and whatever going on, going on everywhere – you just have to be careful,” she said.
Deacons Farm has long held the stigma, rightly or wrongly, of being a hotspot but the face of the area has been steadily changing. Troy Crichlow said it was up to the law courts to help stem some of the violence.
“I believe the judicial system need to adjust how they deal with guns,” he said. “Years ago, they had tougher penalties but today we are seeing people commit murder, going to jail, coming out and committing murder again. Also, it is taking too long to take action on these cases; the delays are too much,” he said.
On Sunday, rival gangs reportedly clashed near Weiser’s on the Bay at Brandons, resulting in a man being shot in the ankle. Police had shut off Spring Garden Highway as they dealt with the situation.
Keisha Marshall, a supervisor at Weiser’s, said trouble didn’t usually make its way into the restaurant nor did she fear it ever would, but she was still worried about the direction Barbados was going.
“Maybe people are looking for fast money, maybe its children having children and not bringing them up in the right way. I fear for my own child, I can’t protect her from the world but I can raise her in the right way and
make sure she has a proper education and the desire to be something in life. Too many people waiting for something to drop into their laps,” she said.
CAPEL GILKES is still dealing with the loss of a nephew. He said a lack of education was one of the things to blame. (Pictures by Reco Moore)