When breezing was not cool

When it was initially reported that Tobago resident Dwayne Hovell was missing, many feared the worst. So often have we been through the routine: family members report a loved one missing. There is a protracted period in which the police implore members of the public for clues. And then a gruesome discovery is made. Most recently, many of the victims have been female. The nation braced itself when the headlines in relation to Hovell were published. The police triggered a search. Even a Cabinet minister, Minister of Tourism and Tobago West MP Shamfa Cudjoe, a family friend, took time out of her busy schedule to express concern.

So when it was ascertained that Hovell is alive and well and has simply been spending time in Trinidad, a sigh of relief could be heard.

But this case nonetheless teaches us many lessons.

According to Hovell, he needed some private space.

“All I did was travel to Trinidad without telling anyone,” the man protested. “I had planned this but it had nothing to do with any disagreement between me and my wife. I just needed to breeze out without telling anyone...and I did just that.” No one has a right to intervene in the private family affairs of anyone else. But as with everything there are exceptions. In this case, things crossed a line when the police were called in, when a nationwide search was mounted, when even a Government minister and MP got involved.

Hovell may have told his wife he was going to spend time in Bethel, but he did not appear to anticipate that his mother would contact his wife stating he was missing. We wish Hovell the best and acknowledge his right to run his own affairs. And we will, for the moment, take his account at face value. Even so, it is plain that this is not how people should manage their dealings. In this day and age, it is important to let relatives and loved ones know our whereabouts. If we plan to “breeze out” that basic information can also be conveyed.

Failure to do this creates difficult situations. And those situations can potentially get the police involved and result in a wastage of police time and police resources.

And this leads to another issue.

Once the matter becomes so dire as to reach the national attention, did the individual concerned not then have a duty to contact the authorities? Everyone has a right to privacy and to conduct their business as they please. But in the context of a society plagued by crime – where it is felt that mothers, fathers, daughters, sons and loved ones might easily disappear with little resolution – false reports are serious offences.

The moment an individual sees a report in relation to himself engaging police attention when it should not be, that individual has a moral (and possibly legal) duty to notify the police that he is alive and well so that they can call off their search.

Delay in doing so represents a stunningly cavalier approach to the welfare of society as a whole; it is downright irresponsible.

The same resources devoted to track this person down could have been deployed to another case involving an individual who is in genuine need.

We hope, therefore, this case serves as a warning to all concerned that they must conduct their daily lives in a manner commensurate with their personal autonomy, yes, but balanced by utilitarian considerations.

Sometimes we must do what is in our best interest, but we must always be mindful of the need to support the greater good, and in the specific case of Hovell, he must recognise it is one time when breezing was not cool.