The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

WHO WOULD have thought that the death angel would knock at my family’s door wearing the mask of crime?

A day when my family was expected to celebrate and give praises unto God for the birth of my little cousin became a day when my uncle was approached at an ATM by Mr Crime, who himself was adorned in the clothes of hopelessness, with his eyes blazing with anger and disregard for human life. ‘Dead’ was the word my family heard, He was robbed and then shot to death!

This was a senseless act that will take some time to be forgiven. My family and I, like too many other families in The Bahamas, are now left to face a life-changing decision seemingly within the blink of an eye.

Many Bahamians have walked this road before and many have pleaded, marched and gathered in rallies, crying and begging the Government to take crime seriously. Yet, their voices have gone unheard and the matter is swept under the rug as if it never existed.

Meanwhile as tragedy begets tragedy, and the bodies continuously pile up, I am painfully left wondering: will they ever listen to us? Or must we be satisfied once they disingenuously repeat that the crime rate has decreased, or the events that occur in our country is rare, or that we should be happy that this week is a peaceful week because no act of crime has occurred?

Has this become the new reality for The Bahamas? Is this what we have to live with? Is this what is being shoved in our faces to ease the pain and stop the overflow of tears? This, my friends, is nonsense!

As the old saying goes, “He who feels it knows it.” The time is now, the time is here, we need to wake up Bahamas! Bahamians are hurting. What can we do? Is the lack of compassion from the Government and the criminal justice system a way of saying they do not know where to begin or do not know what to do? Is it their prideful way of asking the Church and the Bahamians for help because they are like iron men and women who would never come face to face with Mr Crime?

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was heading home when a woman jumped out of the bushes banging on the car glass. She drove to a Police station to report the act and was told that there were no police vehicles at the station to follow her home, so she was then forced to drive home alone with the fear that something might have happened to her throughout the night. It seems as if the Royal Bahamas Police Force are given new vehicles to aid in the fight against crime every year. Yet on that particular night, unbelievably, not one vehicle was available.

In a microcosm, such is the unresponsiveness and unconcern that we have all displayed toward crime. God forbid, had something happened to her along her journey from the station toward home, what would our response have been? Outrage! Rightfully so, but how many crimes could we have already prevented in this country if we took our responsibilities seriously as Bahamians to rid this country of such evil works?

The late Sir Lynden Pindling asked: “What does it take to be a Bahamian?” He said that it would take “loyalty to our Bahamas over and above all other; zeal for our Bahamas unmatched by any other; concern for other Bahamians over all others.”

Needless to say, our system has failed the wishes of our former Prime Minster; our system has failed Bahamians. Hurt has overflowed our country, loyalty turned into disloyalty, zeal turned into apathy and concern turned into indifference. Is it the lack of jobs that is empowering Mr Crime in our society? Is it the failure of the educational system that is developing Mr Crime? Or is it the breakdown of the family structure?

We can point so many fingers but sweeping the dirt underneath the rug would never solve the problem. We need to take whatever measures necessary to implement capital punishment. We need to stand together as Bahamians and fight for our country. The time is here, the time is now.

In loving memory of Ivan Cleare.

KATRELL BULLARD

Nassau,

July 18, 2016