There can be no doubt that a significant number of Barbadians, most likely a majority, are greatly concerned about the level of violence in our society, particularly the use of firearms by the lawless. It is a situation that all civic-minded citizens should abhor and speak out against.
This is vitally important because we need, by our actions, to be constantly telling the men and women of the Royal Barbados Police Force who are on the frontline in this war against violence that they have our complete support.
And given the overall number of violent incidents that are being recorded each month, in many respects the society is lucky that our murder count is not higher, particularly since every bullet that leaves the barrel of a gun can potentially be the source of another death.
Having said that, however, we as a society have to be careful that we don’t make the situation seem worse than it is, particularly when it comes to murder. In our casual conversations it is not uncommon for one person to provoke a firestorm of laments with a simple comment such as: “This place getting just like Trinidad and Jamaica!”
The truth is, though, that so far this year this island has recorded only 23 killings. Yes, 23 more than we would wish for, but just 23 nonetheless. By contrast, so far for 2014 Jamaica’s murder figure is in the region of 1 000, a staggeringly high number for a “little tropical paradise”, but a huge decline from the 1 500 a decade ago.
Up to the Christmas weekend, 402 people had been murdered in Trinidad and Tobago, while at the same time The Bahamas had surpassed the 119 of the previous year. Closer to home, in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the number of murders at November 14 was 36.
We are not trying to set up a better-than-thou scenario by making reference to the statistics of our neighbours, since we recognise that in the final analysis, all of us in CARICOM (Caribbean Community) will be affected by the successes and failures of each other.
But it is important that from time to time we pause and critically reflect on our blessings – and there is no better time to do so than at the end of a year. Yes, we have some serious issues to deal with, including some structural deficiencies in the way our society deals with the most vulnerable and potentially most volatile, our youth, but our circumstances are not nearly as dire as we at times make them out to be.
What is absolutely essential, though, is that we pay attention to the factors that contribute to the crime we do in fact experience and make sure we take steps to prevent the level of escalation that could make some of the fears we now have far more real than imagined.
We cannot allow the middle class we have worked so hard to build slip backward. We cannot afford to take economic pathways that leave our school-leavers feeling they have high ideals and low opportunities. We cannot allow the proverbial gap between the haves and the have-nots to appear to be widening. And our political class cannot develop a culture of ostentatious living while those they supposedly serve believe it is at their expense.
We can do a lot to hold on to the peace and tranquillity of our country by cultivating a sense of fairness and equity across the board in an environment characterised by opportunity.
