Suggestions on the crime situation

Jul 20, 2016 Letters

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Dear Editor;
The recent fatal shootings of two African Americans in Louisiana and Minnesota by White police officers generated widespread concern among Guyanese. Like America, Guyana faces similar social problems. Both, countries experience crime and poor race relations. America has excellent control over its problems but Guyana unfortunately remains impotent. Guyana is in a very sad state. In Guyana, criminals create havoc and rip lives apart. Just within this year, a string of Guyanese including Omadat Persaud, Basheer Herinauth, Mahendra Persaud, Gowchand Budhu to name a few were heartbreakingly killed by bandits. Countless others robbed and brutalized. How heart breaking! This is exactly why American police kill criminals.
Needless to say how shocked I was to witness my fellow Guyanese railed against the recent killings of the two Black men in Louisiana and Minnesota while they remain silent on the daily slaughtering of voiceless citizens by criminals here in Guyana. Aren’t criminals wrong to take innocent lives? Absolutely! Aren’t criminals racially targeting victims? Absolutely! Indeed criminals target and kill predominantly Guyanese in rural areas. However, Guyana is broadly divided and so there is no solidarity on the heart wrenching crime situation. Such actions further undermine inter-cultural relations, embolden criminals and drive up the crime rate. All this ultimately anchor us deeper into poverty. Obviously, our narrow mindedness obscures our vision to capture this picture.
The Guardian newspaper which tracks killings by American law enforcement officers reports that in the year 2015 — 1,140 people were killed. Most of them whites. However, when this number was analyzed as a ratio to the population, African Americans were disproportionately killed. Why is this? Surely, multiple factors may be responsible: racial stereotypes, racial prejudice, lack of respect, criminal background, circumstance, personality, mental health issues, dysfunction, threats with lethal force, possession of guns, drugs, etc. It is hard to single out any one factor as responsible, yet racial prejudice is singled out. This is wrong. The Black Lives Matter Movement was born out of this myth. The reality is that even though racism could be playing a role; we must understand that Blacks disproportionately commit more crimes than any other ethnicity in America. For example, the FBI reports that in 2013, Blacks commit 54% of all murders in America in spite that Blacks make up only 13 % of the population. Clearly this number is out of proportion and may account for the disproportionate number of Blacks killed by the police. This also feeds into negative stereotypes about Blacks. Moreover, let us not forget such crime statistics drive fear into the police, causing them to pull the trigger on Blacks. This picture jibes with our experience about criminals here in Guyana, and cannot be ignored, particularly since it costs lives and tarnishes the image of sections of society. There is much work needed to be done in the Black community — to bring down the number of Blacks killed by police, as well as — to bring down the number of victims killed by Black criminals.
Black Lives Movement should have addressed the so called Black on Black killings and Black crimes in order to improve Black lives. Mr Editor, chew on this: eighty Blacks were shot by fellow Blacks over the Memorial Day weekend this year in Chicago and culminated in 14 murders? The Black Lives Movement was completely silent on this human tragedy. Do we still believe that the Black Lives Matter Movement cares for Blacks? Yet it attracts supporters. Why? The only explanation is that its supporters are sucked in through conformity. There is no logic and benefit being a part of such a divisive movement.
In spite of all this, I know there are excellent Black people. The Barbadians are testaments to this. They are wonderful. Tourism flourishes there because Barbadians embrace the philosophy — all lives matter. Tourists aren’t scared to go there. The same can’t be said for Guyana. It is morally wrong for the APNU (PNC) + AFC Government to stick with its failed crime fighting policy which leaves lives in danger. Intense fear saturates us: Blacks fear White police officers and White police officers fear Black men. This shouldn’t be. Education, together with frank discussions, and a functional Ministry of Human Services and Social Protection are needed to address the root causes to crime. The comrades within the Guyana Police Force (GPF) need to straighten up and our lax justice system needs a complete overhaul. Also, Government needs an effective crime fighting strategy if it is serious about bringing down the crime rate. This is doable. Last but not least, all Guyanese needs to be righteous enough to stand with a united front against crime for the sake of our country.
Winston Conrad

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