Around 11 am on Saturday morning - at a time when children and young people should be engaging in some type of sport activity, young men were committing murder with a degree of callousness and disregard for human life that shattered not just lives but the peace of mind of a community.
A community has lost faith and confidence in the state to offer safety and security. Fed up with “ the waste of time ole talk” they don’t want to hear. They have taken things into their own hands and placed barricades to keep outsiders out.
Criminologist Dr Randy Seepersad in a recent interview in a daily newspaper in his reaction to the killing Saturday of five men in Harpe Place, Observatory Street, Port-of-Spain said: “They (a reference to the perpetrators) have experienced failure in the educational system to a greater degree, had a lack of support in the community, lack of support in the family, fragmented political views, highest levels of a lack of access to employment and the job market. So, their experiences have been very negative. Some Generation Z (17-27) youth have no qualms about victimising other people, whether elderly or young people.”
Seepersad further declared criminal gangs are deliberately deploying alienated youngsters to commit violent crimes which turn out to be mass shootings.
We demonise individuals who express views that may not align with what we want to hear. In particular, if those views are perceived as being critical.
Over the many years in leadership an important lesson, I learned is the criticism we don’t want to hear is the one we need to, not only hear, but listen to. The real opportunity to improve and do better is the criticism that may hurt our ego the most.
Dr Seepersad articulated the reality from the lens of the ‘hurting’ youth even though he used the word “hotheads”. They aren’t “hotheads” they are ‘hurting’ youths.
It’s easy to talk down and condescend when you don’t feel the pain or you “get through in life” and no longer feel the pain.
It’s not a them people or those people problem it’s an all of us problem. Crime and gang violence didn’t begin with Generation Z and it certainly will not end with Generation Z.
For the perpetrators of mayhem and mass murders assault and automatic guns are their play things and they have moved from video games to real life. gun culture has replaced a sport culture. Why is the killing field more attractive than the sport field?
Regardless of one’s political affiliation, class, ethnicity, religion, gender. It doesn’t matter. We can agree to disagree on many things. But let’s agree on one thing. In many of our at-risk communities, organised and safe sport aren’t an option far less a priority. Why? Why aren’t our national governing bodies going into at-risk communities? Are there no coaches and administrators from within at-risk communities?
Surely the answer cannot be in the negative. People within at-risk communities have ideas and the willingness to organise programmes. The problem they claim is that national governing bodies don’t extend their development programmes within at-risk communities. Why aren’t national governing bodies championing grassroots programmes? Where is the breakdown? And why is it happening?
Sport can make a positive difference and impact. Sport matters.
The country needs to feel a sense of positivity. Sport over the years have provided more positive news than negative news. We need more positivity. We need more sporting programmes and activities.
But it’s important to acknowledge that the problem of gun culture and gang violence is complex and not easily solved.