GUN violence is a high-velocity problem that’s been plaguing Saint Lucia for longer than we’d like to remember. It’s a troubling issue we naturally don’t like to talk about, especially given the effect it can have on tourism. But it’s not one we should sweep under the carpet, especially given the cost in local lives.
Death should not be politicized by any party or government. It is simply a deadly reflection of the senselessness of approaches to date when parties and governments take turns to compare annual statistics of death. But it doesn’t help either, when Senior Police Officers make hardly believable public pronouncements forecasting what they would like the national year-end death toll to be.
Efforts have been made in the past to reduce the number of guns on the streets. An amnesty for illegal firearms that also saw voluntary turn-ins rewarded for each firearm did make some headway, only to become the victim of regime change. ,
Operation Restore Confidence was also partly aimed at cleaning the streets of certain elements the police claimed to have reason to believe needed very special attention, but ended-up with more loss of confidence in the ability of law enforcement to cap a seal on gun crime and related violence.
Gang violence is another deadly feature of local crime today that needs more acknowledgement and related attention. As noted in the statistics in the statement issued by the President of the Caribbean Mentorship Institute (also on this page), gang warfare is a defining factor in the gun violence affecting at least seven Caribbean sates, Saint Lucia included.
Conflict Resolution programs have been introduced and tried in the past, but here too, emphases change with regime change, resulting in starts and stops that gap effects, while conflicts grow.
We cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand while our young people kill each other off at a growing rate each year.
We must make our streets safe for visitors, but they must also always be safe for all living on this island. However, this task cannot be left to the Police or the politicians alone. The Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security will not have all the solutions, nor will the Police Force or the Courts of Law.
In a situation where approaches over the past few decades have so far failed, it is incumbent on the policymakers to search for and find new and innovative approaches that will go beyond the traditional boundaries and borders.
One approach being advocated over time that’s been largely ignored is involving the youth and the communities in the search for solutions.
The gang members are known, their zones of operation are well-known and too many people are able to identify a friend or relative who’s been affected or is involved in the gang warfare.
It’s time to stop avoiding those ‘dangerous areas’ and start engaging the young people involved. They are the main reasons the society is concerned about gang and gun violence and finding answers and solutions will be impossible if they are not engaged.
Today, youth hardly quarrel. Instead, they let their guns do the talking. But the high velocity boom-banging is already at intolerable proportions, fueled by the growing illegal guns and drugs trade.
The bullets sound too loud and regular in too many places. But it will take more than Laws and Courts, Police and Prisons to lower the din.
Let’s call the young people in!