Clarke calls on youth to turn away from life of crime

Wane Clarke, brother of Tobago’s first murder victim for 2017, Kurt Clarke, 46, says he has come to terms with his brother’s death as he called on young people to turn away from a life of crime.

Clarke lost his brother Kurt, also known as Tibbs and Dada, of Lambeau on January 5. Official police reports said that around 8.30pm along Prospect Road, Orange Hill, Kurt was driving his gold Nissan Almera when a black vehicle heading pulled alongside him and its occupants fired several shots. Kurt was hit in his head and about his body and died instantly. The black vehicle then sped off and Kurt’s vehicle climbed the embankment and landed sideways in a ditch.

Kurt was one of 12 persons murdered in Tobago this year, compared to six murders in 2016, seven in 2015, eight in

2014 and four in 2013. No one has been held for his murder to date.

In an interview on Saturday, Clarke said he has come to terms with the death of his brother.

“Life never stops rolling, regardless of what has happened, you have to move on, so at this time I think that I am over that. Additionally, you don’t know who did it; you don’t know what caused the whole thing so… I never held anyone wrong in the first place. I mean it is wrong to take a life, but you don’t know what the circumstances surrounding the whole situation are, so to say I forgive them (the killer/s) is like agreeing that they were the wrong one(s); they don’t have to be the wrong one(s),” he said.

“People need to understand that nothing in life is free and they have to work for it. We have to understand that we are fashioning our lives after people who have high crime rates… we are small, so even with a low crime rate, it would still prove to be a big number due to our size.

“As soon as something come out on CNN (Cable News Network) we get it the next minute, the same way how good news travels, bad news travels as well; it is the same influence,” he said.

Clarke also felt that parents cannot be the only one to have to take responsibility for the actions of the young people.

“Everyone seems to be putting the blame on the parents and say bad parenting, but the children have a responsibility and they also have choices.

“When they go out there and get pregnant, it was their choice, the parents didn’t send them out there to become pregnant and it is the same with getting involved in criminal activity.

“As much as parents have a part to play in the upbringing of their children, there comes a time when children need to be responsible. Parents have a role to play, the authorities have a role to play but children also have a role to play and things could only get better if everyone does what they are supposed to do,” Clarke said.