All our problems start in the home

THE EDITOR: It seems common place for us as a people to accept all the ugly things that are taking place in our society because we have lost track of the things we need to make a difference or they are not seen as important anymore.

I was a victim of a robbery on June 28, 2003. The incident took place on the streets, all my important documents were stolen, my cell phone and cash. It is nonsensical to believe that these items will ever be recovered at this time. “You should be thankful that you were not physically harmed and you still have your life, because it could have been worse.” This statement, which I firmly believe to be true, was directed at me by those who are aware of the situation. Despite that belief, this statement leaves me with a great measure of disquiet about what we, as a people, have grown to accept in all the name of self preservation and survival.

Apart from counting my losses which I have done, a lot had to be done by me to come to terms with the situation, and it is still not easy. That morning when I woke up as I usually do, I asked the Creator for protection, but I trust He knew what “went down” that day. I had some down time to examine myself and my environment. Strangely, I was just appalled at the crime situation until I was directly affected. My view that crime and its elements are by-products of deeper and more profound problems in our society has not changed; problems that we must no doubt meet and treat. Almost all the problems we face as a society start within the home. Regardless of what your station is in life it might be by circumstance or of your own doing; there is nothing that can be compared to the fruits gained by struggle and hard work. It is a sad state when parents see their children with items they know they are unable to purchase or with large sums of unaccounted money and yet still have little or nothing to say to them.

There are some instances where they are encouraged by parents. That life could have three consequences if a transition is not made “de grave, de jail and de hospital” according to the Grenadian artiste Talpree. One can hear the utterances of parents at the funeral of their children who lived a life of crime, denials of the by-product of their constructive neglect. I can only imagine what the victims and families of the endless kidnappings, murders and robberies must have endured, the sleepless nights, the fear, hate, loss, bitterness and persecution felt. It is an awesome challenge in times like these to love and trust your brother man. It is a contradiction that, in light of our economic potential, we are faced with the proverbial “elephant of crime” that seems to be putting on weight on a daily basis. There are pockets of people who are feeling alienated and ostracised since they are unable to command a piece of the pie for whatever reason. In these realities, crime, if given every imaginable rationale for taking place, ‘we can’t get wok, so what they we to do.’

MARCI  ELLIOT
Port-of-Spain