A clear and present reality amidst a dismal state of affairs

Aug 21, 2011 News

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Perspectives with Michael Benjamin

 

Incarceration!!

The author of the National Anthem must have spent endless hours compiling the words that are clear-cut and intrinsic. If every citizen should aspire to live by those statutes there would be no need for the law courts. Alas, ever since Adam defied God’s wisdom and ate of the forbidden fruit, mankind has become so sinful that no amount of laws could keep him in check nor totally eradicate the vile evil that nestles in his breast.
After man sinned and the world lost its divinity, a host of evil befell the human race and coupled with God laws, mankind was forced to re-enact legislation and statutes to retain sanity in society. Even so, efforts to curtail criminal activities have failed miserably, forcing other punitive measures like the construction of prisons and other penal institutions.
Even with the enactment of stringent laws coupled with a hostile prison environment, lawbreakers continue to circumvent the statutes, and with the advent of the internet and new media technologies, criminology has developed immensely, placing a strain on internal security and by extension the national budget.
This sum attributed to the containment of criminal activity need not be as prohibitive as it currently is if only citizens could join forces in the fight to eradicate or even minimize unlawful practices. One only needs to visit the law courts and listen to the cases to understand the challenges faced by legal officials and the senseless strain on the national coffers to contain such scourges. Frivolities that could have been addressed outside the parameters of the courts are left instead to augment the already burdened system. One is then forced to admit that the statutes of our National Anthem are basically observed in the breach.
Consequently, one would have thought that such issues like domestic violence that ultimately leads to murder; armed robbery that oft times climax in grave injury or murder; reckless use of the road that leads to death and injury; embezzlement of large sums from the state’s coffers and the scourge of drug trafficking among other serious crimes would have been assigned to specific Magistrates, while less significant matters are relegated to another special group in the magistracy so as to foster expeditious dispatch.
Obviously such ploys would witness a sensible distribution of scarce human resources while expediting criminal matters to the satisfaction of all concerned.  We have seen such commonsensical approaches coming out of the USA in ‘The People’s Court’ and ‘Judge Judy’ among others.
Having drawn that distinction, I have never failed to be amazed that Magistrates, despite shouldering the awesome responsibilities of preliminary investigations, coupled with drug trafficking offences, are saddled with trifling disputes that impede their progress. Oft times I am flabbergasted by the efficiency of some Magistrates in the expeditious dispatch of cases, even amidst such anomalies, and to my mind they must be commended for such staunch resilience.
Amidst it all, I remain resolute that many of the cases that reach the austere bench could have been resolved at lower levels of the system, thus removing the heavy burdens and eventual backlogs. How many times have we witnessed the laissez-faire dispositions of those in authority that eventually precipitates volatile situations?
How often also, have community elders and sages adopt similar stances only to witness minor incidents balloon out of proportion and eventually land before the courts? How many times have residents ignored raging disputes within their respective communities with the lame proclamation of minding their own businesses then lament when the situation reaches epidemic stages?
If one takes the discussion further, you will discover that such behaviours are existent, not only within the community structures but also among elected officialdom and within every nook and cranny. Maybe such attributes are directly responsible for the many backlog cases in the courts, the prison bursting at its seams and the abnormal recidivistic deportment of inmates.
A few months ago I lodged a complaint at the police station within my jurisdiction and subsequently penned an article that hinted at my frustrations that the law enforcement officials have failed to deal with my report. A resident within my community has maliciously parked a dilapidated vehicle on the parapet directly in front of my home. Since I am unable to clean the premises and since the area has seen an overgrowth of bushes, I approached the offices of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to mediate and have the situation ameliorated, all to no avail.
My next stop was at the offices of the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the M&CC who spoke with the head of the coercive arm of that institution. To his credit, that official visited the scene to assess the situation. He agreed that my neighbour was in contravention of the law and even quoted the relevant article in the city by-laws. He further promised to deal with the issue. Now, more than two months later, I am still awaiting a resolution to the matter.
Determined to have this issue resolved within the confines of the law, I sought a meeting with the City Engineer who, through his Secretary, instructed that I speak with a junior officer. I complied but some six weeks after lodging that complaint I am still to receive redress. Frustrated, I spoke to a certain Magistrate who advised that I engage a certain Minister. The latter official promised to send a team to deal with the issue. That ‘servant of the people’ is still to address the situation and repeated calls to his cell phone have proven futile. He is just not answering the call.
Even before the situation had reached such a tenable stage, I had attempted to deal with the problem by placing a small picket fence around the area to prevent the very situation that exists. Less than 24 hours afterwards, a vanload of officers from the City Constabulary descended and kicked down the structure warning me not to encumber the parapet.
Shortly afterwards, gunmen stormed the village and unleashed a fusillade from high-powered AK 47s that almost took the lives of three residents. The gunmen had hidden behind one of the dilapidated vehicles left by the errant resident. My home was shot at, the windscreen of my car shot to smithereens and my family was left traumatized.
I renewed calls for the removal of the vehicles and received some relief after a police officer instructed the resident to clear the parapet. He had complied, but now that the situation is less volatile the dilapidated vehicles have reappeared.  It is this situation that I am desperately attempting to have ameliorated once and for all, but to no avail.
My contribution to this country flows beyond the norm. I have served in the military structures and would have happily placed my life in defense of my country if the need had arisen. Coincidentally, even though I am an ex-military officer, that fire still deeply resides in my breast. I have given yeoman service through sports; taught Spanish voluntarily at several city schools, donned gloves for my country, traveled worldwide in North America, Europe and Africa among other continents but voluntarily returned to serve my country. I am now an active member of the media fraternity and want to believe that my input borders on nation building, yet I am unable to solicit assistance from the relevant elected officials to enjoy peaceful existence in the land of my birth or alternatively to keep me from taking the law into my own hands.
In the meantime, the system is waiting to place me behind bars should I choose the only alternative left to me. It’s now left to my judgment; either I defy the law, take appropriate action and go to jail or live in the sordid mess and risk serious infections of diseases. Either way, I stand to suffer and even as I cogitate my next move, I am forced to lament having to exist as a third class citizen in a country that I love and have spent most of my years contributing towards its development.
I now remain resignedly adamant that the system is perfectly designed to facilitate recidivism or simply recruit fresh material for the Camp Street penitentiary. After exhausting all avenues, I now have several choices—await action by the authorities, which is obviously not forthcoming, attempt to fix the problem in an unorthodox manner and plead guilty or simply face death by some communicable disease lurking amidst the mess in front of my home. Anyway, I stand to lose. It forces one to cogitate on the hypocrisy of the words of the national pledge, “TO BE OBEDIENT TO THE LAWS OF GUYANA AND DEDICATE MY ENERGIES TOWARDS THE HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY OF GUYANA.

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