Letter of the Day | We are becoming a failed state

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I continue to read with consternation the reports coming out of the ongoing trial of the 33 people accused of being active members of one faction of the feared Klansman Gang, which operated mainly out of Spanish Town in St Catherine, and those early reports have cemented in my mind what I already thought.

Jamaica is on track to become the region’s second failed state, after Haiti, if the out-of-control murder wave is not cauterised, and it will not be for the lack investment in the crime portfolio, nor will it be for the scarcity of good ideas.

If, as a country, the people refuse to be better by cooperating fully with law-enforcement agencies, including the police, and hold those responsible for the heinous murders perpetuated, then we can all kiss our good wishes for this country goodbye.

It was instructive to read in one of our local newspapers recently that there were eight murders reported between Friday and Saturday (October 29 and 30, 2021), that’s in 24 hours, and yet there has been little noise made about it. In that number is one of my neighbours, who was pounced upon and shot dead by gunmen for reasons unknown.

All this is happening while the Government’s crime-fighting efforts are being challenged on all fronts by the rapid social decline in this country.

DEPRIVED YOUNG MEN

When you look at the reasons given that allows for the infestation of crime in our communities, it is often that those getting involved are primarily young men, who are economically, socially and in some cases spiritually deprived.

This was picked up by the national security minister earlier this year, when speaking in Parliament. He said it was for those very reasons why the Government had developed a comprehensive, all-of-government structure for social investment under a what is called Plan Secure Jamaica. I do hope this plan works.

However, as I understand it, over $380 billion has been spent on a litany of social-intervention programmes over the past decade, but with limited positive results. Money will never change a person’s attitude. Love, understanding, respect and care will.

Therefore, I believe that if we manage to change people’s social experiences, then maybe we will have a chance of nipping the murder rate in the bud. Anything else will be another stake in the heart of this country, which will draw us closer to our troubled neighbours in Haiti, where lawlessness, mayhem, vicious crime and endless poverty are the order of the day.

J.S.