Crime is sucking the life out of the nation

Feb 08, 2014 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The recent headlines in the daily newspapers seem to epitomize the spate of youth crime and violence in Guyana. On January 29th, 2014, a KN headline read, “UG students charged for armed robbery.” In the said papers another caption read, “Boy, 16, allegedly sodomised at Police Outpost.” The news item stated that the boy informed the authorities that he is a ‘sex worker’.
This revelation stunned me and I immediately asked myself the question; why is this child not in school, or in a place where he is protected? Why must this child be allowed to simply ply some sex trade in the streets? Is the Ministry of Human Services really functioning?
Then on January 30th 2013 a KN news headline read, “15-year-old bandit shot dead after invading Paradise house.” I watched the photograph of the lifeless body of the child lay sprawled, and wondered what a sad day in the life of this nation.
When children can freely access guns and are left to commit the unthinkable we have to be concerned. Without getting into the debate as to whether or not the boy should have been shot dead, I simply want to point out that this case is one where the perpetrator is also a victim of the crime he pursues. Some may argue that he, like many others, is a victim of the system.
The daunting headlines continued when, one day later, another KN report captivated my attention. The caption of this news item read, “Detained teen girls admit links to Paradise bandits.” This report would be shocking to those who are incapable of understanding the magnitude and depth of the situation which is before us. Crime and criminal behavior seems to be sucking the life out of the nation and the “power players” seem reluctant, unconcerned or clueless about how to address this issue.
Over the last two weeks or so we were greeted with the sad news that a student ingested a poisonous substance, supposedly in the bathroom of her school, and later succumbed at the Georgetown Hospital. How can all of us be so oblivious to the struggles this child was experiencing? What about school counseling? How successful is this program, if it is in place?
I am not saying that we can stop every unfortunate act, but too many of our children are falling through the cracks. Too many of our children see violence and crime as the answer to their challenges. Something is not right!
On January 31, 2014, another headline read “Suspect in cop killing surrenders”, this time another youth was identified as being involved in the slaying of a police officer. My question again, where did the perpetrator get the gun? Next day, February 1st, KN headline reads “Teenager gets 48 months for electronic store robbery” according to the report the teen is alleged to have carried out a two-million-dollar armed robbery on a city electronic store after posing as a Western Union Security officer. In the same papers another caption read “Murder of taxi drivers…Teens give cops gruesome account of killing.” In this case, the teens are accused of killing a Pegasus Taxi driver before dumping his body.
“Carjacking teenagers remanded” was the headline that greeted me when I read KN dated February 2nd 2014. In this report, a 17-year-old and his 16-year-old friend are alleged to have used broken bottles to rob and relieve a citizen of his vehicle. A few weeks ago we read of three teenagers who were shot to death by the police because of some alleged crime they might have committed.
If these reports are not sufficient to force us to a point where we are all compelled to act, then we all might just be contributing to the decline. These headlines and the horrific stories they tell, expose a number of shortcomings, and point to some of the real issues facing our youth.
Firstly, the situation seems to be one where both the perpetrators and the prey are all victims. When so many children are left to run wild and revert to criminal activities as a way of life, a nation is in trouble. This situation must force us to ask ourselves some plain, simple and logical questions. So for starters let’s ask these very important questions;
1. Are these children, who are alleged to be involved in these brazen criminal activities, going to school? Certainly not!
2. Since these children are not in school, what kind of effort is made by both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Services to address this frightening situation?
3. Is there a plan by these agencies to address the issue of school drop-outs and delinquency? I guess not! However, assuming there is a plan, clearly it is not working. So who is responsible for ensuring that this plan works, someone continues to drop the ball on our children’s future.
4. Can the Ministry of Education report on the rate of school drop-outs for the last ten years? What might these rates reveal? How do we know that the rates are accurate?
5.  Is the school curriculum appealing to the students to the extent that it is meeting students where they are on the learning spectrum and interested?
6. Is there a robust school counseling program in our schools? If there is one, how effective is this program? How often is this program reviewed in order to determine efficiency and success?
7. Is there any kind of strategic cooperation and collaboration between the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, and the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security? If there is, how is this working in order to ensure that the best interest of our children is promoted?
There are many other questions which must be answered and, yes, it is okay to point fingers at the parents, but that alone will not help to solve this huge problem. The issues of criminal behaviour and delinquency are major social problems which affect all of us. There is no doubt that parents have a very important role to play in the lives of their children, but as members of society, we also have a role to play in helping to channel our children in the right direction.
The government also has a huge moral and legal responsibility to protect and promote the best interest of our children. It is, however, clear that the present regime does not understand, or refuses to accept, this responsibility.
A brief perusal of the PPP/C government’s approach to the spate of youth violence and criminal behaviour will expose the regime’s uncaring attitude towards this issue. For example, in June 2011, the state-owned newspaper published a scathing article which basically labeled black youths as criminals.
Then recently we’ve had the Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, tell the nation that crime is a figment of the people’s imagination and that the criminals are just attracted to stealing cell phones. I am not sure how this man can hold such high office.
The reality is that the government sees crime, like it sees other things, in a racial sense. It is also not prepared to acknowledge that the problem of crime exists in the country. Unfortunately, this government seems comfortable in labeling our children criminals. Only a PPP/C government would feel relaxed when children under its watch are alleged to be carrying out major criminal activities.
Lurlene Nestor

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