The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

It is with an acute sense of pain that I write to express my deep concern as a Bahamian father/grandfather/brother/uncle, against the barbaric acts being perpetrated on our young Bahamian men, by other young Bahamian men. My pain, although not resulting from some physical trauma on my being, is no less painful, for it originates from deep within my soul.

My heart aches at the almost daily news reports of another young man’s life being violently snuffed out. And even as it quakes at the oft-time insensitive, callous and extremely graphic videos making the rounds on social media of yet another young Bahamian son falling to the ground under a fusillade of bullets, in the deep recesses of my mind, the words of John King in his song “How Many More Jah”, bubble up. Please permit me to share if only a bit of it:

“Hear my plea, oh Jah. A song for my land (Bahamaland).

Rose up early this morning, to the sound of crying.

Another mother shedding her tear, oh Jah.

Why all the pain and suffering, why all the senseless killing

Could it be that nobody cares.

So many sons lost in the slaughter

Blood running in the streets like water

A gun in hand knows no friend.

Warmongers selling death in my land

Getting rich off the souls of we children.

Can you tell me when will it end?

How many more, Jah, must carry this load

How many more, Jah, before we track down Zion Road?

Like John King, I ask my Creator even as the carnage continues unabated on our street... How many more mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers must carry this load of saying goodbye to young men whose potentials will never be realized. How many more deaths do we as a nation have to go through before each of us walks the path that must be travelled by all men.

I reflect on my time (2007-2012) as the first Director of the National Anti-Drug Secretariat (NADS) situated within the Ministry of National Security. I can vividly recall receiving a call from Dr. Debbie Bartlett who had had a history of working in the inner city. Dr. Bartlett shared with me that she was in contact with a number of gang leaders operating in communities throughout New Providence. These men wanted to meet with the Minister of National Security and the top brass of our Law Enforcement Agencies, to share their concerns about a new breed of gang bangers coming up in their organisations.

The first meeting was organised and held at the East Street Gospel Chapel, and it was chilling to hear these gang leaders who candidly admitted to sometime trying to “take each other out”, express their deep concerns about the new crop of young men rising in the various organisations. To a man, they described this group of youngsters as “men without souls”.

The leaders identified as incubating factors for the growth of gangs:

1. Lack of education;

2. Poverty

3. Lack of opportunities

4. Incarceration with hardened criminals

They felt that the lack of opportunities for gainful employment, especially for those who might have run afoul of the law and served time in prison, was perhaps the most important factor in keeping young men in the gangs.

These gang leaders themselves offered as a first-step suggestion to mitigate against the rise of these “soulless young men”, the awarding of contracts and other assistance from the Government and Corporate citizens, which would empower each leader in his respective community to utilise the young men of that community to keep the area clean. They spoke of sporting competitions between communities, and increasing social activities between communities.

Sadly in my view, this warning and plea for help was ignored, and again in my view, the country is now seeing the full manifestation of the fears of those gang leaders. We have indeed seen the rise of “the soulless young men”.

Whether it is too late now to follow-up on and implement those early suggestions proffered, I do not know. What I do know though is that our beloved country cannot just continue to mourn over and to bury our future, our potential.

“How many more, Jah, must carry this load. How many more, Jah, before we trot down Zion’s road”.

CAPT GODFREY G ROLLE

RBDF (Rtrd)

Former Ambassador

to The Republic of Haiti.

Nassau,

February 4, 2021.