I really had no intention of addressing the crime issue so soon again. But with the recent spat of senseless murders I feel as though the circumstances dictate it. Something is seriously wrong in our Bahamas. I don’t seek to place the blame on governments, either past or present, as both were afflicted with the problem.
No, we have to place the blame with ourselves. Why do I say this? Well, because we have let the criminal element fester and take root to the point that it now appears to be out of control.
Each of us has some sort of family member be it brother, sister or distant relative that has at sometime been involved with the law in a negative way. And each of us at that time has been guilty, if only temporarily of saying that the police harassing my family. Maybe we even had a few connections and saw fit to call them to try and see what we could do to get our family member off the hook.
Well that is probably a natural feeling, because the concern that we feel towards that person would be the overriding interest. But what happens when the shoe is on the other foot. We the same people are screaming for justice, and about how the police so lazy, or that they are getting paid off by somebody. This too is also a natural feeling.
However, see the dilemma that we are now faced with. So what is the answer? If it were that simple I wouldn’t have to work, for I would be rich beyond the dreams of avarice.
One thing is certain; we have to stand up to what is going on in our society today. To use an analogy; when the U.S. faced the September I Ith 2001 crisis they did not cower. In fact there were commercials on T.V. encouraging people to carry on in the same way they had before that terrible day. In many cases that was easier said than done, but slowly people returned to their normal everyday routine.
Similarly we have to take the streets back. Most of us are so scared these days that we go home after work and live in a state of lock down like it was the south wing of the prison. Well we have to continue to make the efforts to get involved and stay involved. But we must also be sensible and, learn to take precautions.
I realize that some of us work very hard for our money and if we are able to afford the finer things in life then we want them. The Rolex watch and Mercedes Benz are but two examples. However if the gunman comes up to you let it go. If the insurance does not cover the loss you still have your life and if you made it once you can make it again. My position is even if they want the clothes off my back down to my underwear they can have it, because as long as I am still alive I can overcome any embarrassment.
The problem however is that sometimes even giving in is not enough. Mr. Bethel was killed not because he didn’t want to give up his material possessions, as I understand it he did so willingly, but because he was trying to protect the life of his child who was already in the car and he feared that they wanted to use her for ransom.
The police furnish us with crime prevention tips, and I know that some of them seem stupid but they could save our lives someday.
How many of us go to the car with our keys out ready to get in, especially at night or even look outside to see if there are any suspicious looking characters hanging around before we exit the building. Whilst driving look in the rear view mirror to see if we are being followed by a car, especially when you live out east or west.
There are so many other things that we can do to ensure our safety, things that we take for granted. But we have to be willing to help each other. I have to want to be my brother’s keeper. More importantly I have to be willing to be my brother’s confessor. What I mean is that when I see wrong in the area I need to alert my neighbors as to what is going on as well as I have to be willing to go to the police when the perpetrator of that wrong is my brother.
Many of us like to enjoy the spoils even when the source is illegal. That is something that we must not do or want to do. But as I was told by the ‘corner dwellers’ it is easy to speak when you are in the ivory tower, because you already have everything. And if the people who committed those senseless murders felt that way, there wasn’t anything that probably could have been done to save the lives of those departed souls. That is because life would be cheap to them. As one young man said to me “Boy Butler I ga waste him before he waste me.”
Craig Butler, Editorial, The Nassau Guardian
