Fearing the uncertainties
September 26, 2007 by caribbeanwriter
Of all the end of year holidays, I’ve always looked forward to the Old year’s day transition into the New Year, mainly because it symbolises a chance for new beginnings.
Although there are rarely any major personal changes in the new year that follows, the last day of the old year gives me an opportunity to reflect on the past twelve months and perhaps resolve to make minor changes and adjustments.
By the time you’re reading this, I would have gone through this ritual for the umpteenth time, making the same pledges of yesteryear and praying to God to continue keeping the family well-protected Although I’m looking forward to the start of the new year, I continue to feel terribly disturbed about the myriad of problems in our societies and the uncertainties that’s likely to in store for our Caribbean populations in the new year.
Sorry to sound like such a pessimist but given the state of our countries in 2005 particularly with criminals running rampage and the authorities looking as though their hands are tied behind their backs, we need a miracle to alter our landscape that has been soiled by overflowing blood.In Jamaica and in Trinidad and Tobago the murder rates have shot through the ceiling, crossing 1400 and 380 respectively.
That’s how many persons that have either been gunned down, stabbed to death or snuffed out in some other heinous ways. Compare us to Toronto, a city of three million whose authorities are thoroughly worried about their murder rate, which up to the time of writing did not cross 80.HIV/AIDS is not the only reason why we’re losing our productive people.
It is also murder.As an example, Mark Rattan, home for the Christmas holidays in Trinidad, was brutally stabbed to death and his body dumped in a drain in what is believed to be a kidnapping attempt. Mark, just 18 years old was already a second year medical student at the St George’s University, having got a full scholarship to study in the profession to continue in the footsteps of his father.
From all who publicly bore witness to Mark’s character, he was the sort of ideal young man that we want to see more of in the Caribbean. Although a young intellect, he was also the lead singer of a band that he and his young friends formed.
One of the last occasions he performed on stage was when he organised a relief fund for the victims of Hurricane Ivan in Grenada where he studied medicine.I think all parents who want their children to aspire like Mark felt the pain of his parents Dr. Dipchand Rattan and his wife Vidya.Yet another loss of productive life at the hands of murderers.
A close family friend offered up his reason why murders continue to soar in our small countries: the police don’t seem to take murders seriously. If it was treated as priority, police would hunt for murderers before another digit is added to the statistics.
And he very well might be right since there is a very low detection rate for murder in Trinidad and Tobago. Out of the 384 murders committed in Trinidad and Tobago at the time of writing, police admitted that only 83 have been “solved.”
As 2006 opens, the Patrick Manning administration has unveiled a 12-year old revamped airship from the United States, costing taxpayers US$100,000 monthly to help catch criminals.The first airship purchased last July for TT$26 million ( about US$4 million) with an additional TT$14 million (just over US$2 million) to purchase on-board equipment has malfunctioned while the Eye-in-the-Sky tower in down town Port of Spain has apparently gone blind and has also become non-functional.
With the annual Carnival bacchanal around the corner, government and the security authorities in the country are once again promising a very sceptic population that Blimp Two will help reduce crime.
Their assurances are however, not very convincing as many people are still making plans to migrate.
A friend at the Canadian embassy in Port of Spain confided to me that every day the embassy receives tons of applications from people looking to migrate. I’m sure the same is at the US embassy.I’ve just bidden farewell to two wonderful talented people who next week will be making the long journey from Port of Spain to New Zealand with their children to start a new life there.
Like others I know, the violence has reached too close to their homes and regrettably they made the decision to leave the country that they love so much.While writing this column a Guyanese colleague living in New York is making plans to get his parents out of Georgetown before the next general elections.
He fears that the violence that has overtaken Guyana could get worse during the run up to the polls and after.Unless our authorities really have a control over the criminals in the country, I’m afraid 2006 is going to be the same or even worse than 2005.I hope I’m wrong.
Posted in Past articles | No Comments Yet
Leave a Reply
