Duke: Tobago feeling 'spirit of revolution'

PROGRESSIVE Democratic Patriots (PDP) political leader Watson Duke is embarking on an initiative to discuss the issues affecting men in communities throughout Tobago.

In a video on his Facebook page on August 6, Duke said the initiative, expected to begin this week, is crucial, given the island’s worsening crime situation.

Three murders in the past few days, two of which police believe are gang-related, pushed Tobago’s murder toll for 2024 to 19.

Saying the PDP is known for keeping in touch with the ground and the people, Duke added, “I don’t want another murder in Tobago. So I am going to embark on a personal journey, block to block.

"I am going to try to engage the men on the block – not in foolishness and old talk. I don’t want to hear allyuh stories. I don’t want to hear rubbish talk.

"When I come to allyuh, what I want to hear is how we can improve your life so that we can take you away from an environment where you will neither become a victim nor a villain."

He said he would not be spying on anyone.

"I don’t want to hear how much guns you have. What I want to hear is how we can make you and your community safe, because everyone needs to be safe."

Duke is hoping to meet with men who feel marginalised, ostracised and unimportant.

"I am coming at you because you have a role to play."

He believes many people are committing murders because they are afraid.

"But I don’t want that here."

Duke said Tobago was experiencing what he called the "spirit of revolution."

He asked, "Where is the bad behaviour coming from? We can’t blame Trinidad. It is coming from something that exists in the air and is being nurtured in the air, and it is called the spirit of revolution.

"People are dissatisfied, and there is a lot to be dissatisfied about. They cranked up and waiting to go.

"They are armed, because illicit guns keep coming here on the island. They not manufactured here, but they come here, and there are hundreds of guns available at any point in time in Tobago."

The Belle Garden East/Roxborough/Delaford assemblyman said the problem is compounded by the island’s porous borders.

"Are our borders secure? You don’t even have Coast Guard with a proper pirogue with gas in it. We are not secure here. Our borders are unsecured, and law and order seems to have fallen by the wayside."

Duke believes Tobagonians are also losing their values owing to social media.

"Social media is what is growing, raising, nurturing and educating our children. That is where our social fabric has become."

The churches, he observed, are becoming empty.

"There are more pews, there are more benches than there are people on the average church on the island.

"But Tobago has a lot of hits on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

"We are being led astray by these things. Where is the leadership on the island? Everybody wants to be a leader, but who will do what it takes to be a leader? You cannot be advantageous, weak and stupid as a leader. As a leader, you have to be in touch with the people you are leading."

Duke believes unemployment and underemployment are also contributing to crime.