Anti-crime march is a good start

BUT it's only just a start. We've seen these before – such anti-crime movements usually have the lifespan of a sparkler.

Project600, an organisation coalesced around the steadily rising murder toll in this country, held a rally at the Queen's Park Savannah last Sunday. The event was incredibly encouraging and deeply disappointing at the same time.

I've been writing about the creeping, now galloping, menace of crime for several years. Across those musings, I've always said people of this country need to rise up against the tide of bloodshed and criminal victimisation. Our silence is a ringing endorsement of the government's incompetence, arrogant indifference, and unacceptable failure to geld the predatory impulses of criminals.

Project600 is exactly what I wanted to see – citizens not waiting for someone else to do something.

From my observations, the rally was organised and executed with almost clinical precision. Safe parking was arranged for attendees. Large flags were handed out to give marchers a distinctive visual presence. There was even an ambulance on hand should the walk around the Savannah prove too taxing for any participants. The committee that put the event together did an amazing job.

This is why, for me, the low turnout was a real kick in the naughty bits.

I never got any good at assessing crowd numbers. What I saw, however, was far below what I expected, given our undeniable state of siege. If the number of people who were there in spirit were actually there in person, there would have been crowd-control issues. Many people seem to have sent their Facebook likes instead.

This was a herculean effort invested in, on the face of it, a sisyphean enterprise. Getting Trinis in on something that doesn't involve a music truck is always tough, but the small number of concerned citizens who turned up for this anti-crime rally was dispiriting. It's our lives on the line here.

Our sense of personal security, the sanctity of our homes – these have been completely dismantled. We're simply trying to keep our heads below the parapet, hoping to not be shot or bludgeoned in the inevitable encounter with robbers.

During a home invasion in Barataria this week, robbers stole the wedding rings of a married couple in their 60s; that's where we are.

Still, this daily reality wasn't enough to trigger a fight-back – to bring people out in their thousands. Machel Montenegro could have pulled ten times that crowd with a single "Huy!"

Still, Project600 chairman Isa Mohammed spoke passionately on stage, identifying specific areas for immediate intervention to slow the carnage: the police service, the judiciary, ineffectual politicians, etc. Mohammed called on the Prime Minister to take a leadership role on crime. He referenced the government's handling of the covid19 crisis, suggesting that the same rigour and energy must be applied to this equally dangerous scenario.

For my part, I would have called for the immediate removal of Fitzgerald Hinds from the Ministry of National Security.

Our situation is far too dire to worry about alienating this administration. Project600 needs to function like a pressure group, not a massage therapist.

Just as an additional note, albeit unsolicited – the group should broaden its scope to address all crime. The focus on homicides is understandable, but for many citizens in this country, murder is still very much a remote concern. There are still people who believe that most killings are drug- or gang-related and, as such, are an acceptable form of unnatural selection. Home invasions, armed robberies, burglaries – these acts of criminality are daily (going on hourly) occurrences that affect everyone.

Apart from the risk of being killed in such encounters with bandits, widespread crime erodes our quality of life. Crime neuters investor confidence, adds to the cost of goods and services, and tarnishes our international image.

Trinis love to say, "It have crime all over!" That's not even true, but in cases where it is, the citizens in those countries don't throw their hands up, giving their respective governments a pass. They get involved, they stage sit-ins, they harangue their representatives.

Project600 gave beleaguered citizens an opportunity to manifest their disgust with the status quo. To those who came out to take a stand, take a bow.

It's not enough to decide what kind of country we want to live in; we have to fight for it. The criminals are certainly fighting for their paradise.