EDITOR, The Tribune.
As New Providence ratifies itself as an embattled city, a war zone of sorts, its citizens continue to live in fear and accumulate a reservoir of hate and revenge.
Several school students were stabbed today at the Government High School and this has added to the escalating violence that seems to have been sparked from an incident that occurred about two months ago.
There appears to be a gang war going on in New Providence. Everywhere I go I hear snippets of what is going on and it seems as if every Bahamian is in danger. I heard a voice note on social media recently and this seems to have captured some pledge of allegiance to a particular gang. I am sure there must be other gang pledges.
I am no criminal expert, but I am almost certain that the police are not telling the general public all that they know in relation to this escalating crime wave. The public in my view has a right to know what is going on in their country and we shouldn’t be just hearing snippets in passing conversation.
Has a gang task force been formed to deal with this gang problem? Who are the alleged leaders of these gangs who may be promoting these heinous acts? What is the plan to infiltrate these gangs and bring some normalcy back to The Bahamas, specifically New Providence? These are some of the questions that society wants to know.
Our children are posting videos on social media of students fighting each other on a regular basis. Many times instead of calling the authorities for help, they actually stay there and watch the fight and laugh and giggle like its a game that they play on their Xbox or their smart phone. Maybe our children have too much uncontrolled access to these smart gadgets.
We are losing the battle in my view to save this generation. And something needs to be done.
Parenting has become a lost art and our children today have been left to fend for themselves. No slick talking speech will cut it. No music concert will do. We need to implement effective social programmes that can assist parents in raising their children. We need to find a solution together. The government, church, civil groups, and the general public must be able to work in unison.
How many more stabbings, robberies, shootings and murders must there be before the proverbial light goes off in our head? This is an election year and God knows I don’t want to hear any more political speeches promising relief. Our nation is under attack and the attackers are neither strangers nor foes. The attackers are me and you. I trust that the events that occurred at GHS today, along with our almost daily shootings has finally gotten our attention.
DEHAVILLAND
MOSS
Nassau,
January 19, 2017.
Comments
Porcupine 7 years, 2 months ago
Mr. Moss,
I hear you. However, this generation is finished. By adolescence, people are who they are and who they will be, with rare exception. You are asking the people who have allowed the moral decay of our country to fix it. Not possible. Further, these are the people raising and mentoring our children. Politicians are the bottom of the barrel and will assure that change will be slow to occur, if it can occur. Forget hope. Direct and radical action is required. Radicals are shunned and crucified for telling the truth. The school children are simply mirroring the values of the adults. Rather, I should say the lack of values. Stand in line at Wendy's or drive in rush hour traffic in Nassau. This is The Bahamas. Get used to it or leave. Those are our choices today.
BMW 7 years, 2 months ago
A national service needs to be instituted.
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 2 months ago
Sadly there are well-known Bahamians taking advantage of this fear of crime situation to unjustly enrich their friends and family members seeking to derive great profits from providing neighbourhood security services in areas where they themselves own property or are involved in property development activities. More often than not, opening up or exposing a neighbourhood to such security services results in the opposite effect desired because the security providers themselves (or their family members or close friends), armed with additional information gathered about the neighbourhood's residents, begin to prey on the very people they are supposed to be protecting in an effort to justify their existence and/or make "good easy money" on the side by burglaries and home invasions that would not have otherwise been experienced by the neighbourhood's residents, especially those residents who refuse to ante up the coercive monthly payments demanded of the security service providers. Most Bahamians would be wise to educate themselves on what happened to residents of Blair Estates and many other similar neighbourhoods whose fears were preyed upon by very opportunistic security service providers! There is really no substitute today for neighbours looking out for each other and having a licensed firearm that they know how (and are not afraid) to use when absolutely necessary.
Reality_Check 7 years, 2 months ago
Not just an experience of Blair Estates in days gone by, but also Camperdown, Sans Souci, Winton, Port New Providence, Sandy Port, etc. etc. etc., and even Lyford Cay! Neighbourhoods hiring private security service providers cannot even rely on police certificates produced for each of the security personnel involved because even these certificates are often subject to being fraudulently obtained for the right price!
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