Allow children to be children

THE EDITOR: There has been so much discussion around trying children as adults. Before we start blaming children for their criminal activities, let’s do a deep dive into how we got where we are now.

Back in 2016 I had an article published, entitled "Gold, girls and guns," in which a young man of 13 proudly told me that he has a “clip” in school to tax other students and he had five boys under him already. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said a gang leader. Why? Because they get the gold, the girls, the guns and police and politicians come and drink Moet and Hennessy with them.

Politicians in this country have a history of giving gang leaders legitimate contracts and gang leaders in turn give them a false promise of peace. How has that worked out for us? What these children see is badness being legitimised. What these children tell themselves is, “If the politician can give him (gang leader) a million-dollar contract then he must be doing something right.”

Since 2007 I have lost count of the number of times when I have asked children why when they tell me they committed a crime. Nine out of ten times, they said, "The boss told me to, and I can’t say no to the boss." The boss, aka gang leader, is the same man the state gave a million-dollar contract.

Last year a young man, with tears in his eyes, told me how he had to kill his best friend because the boss kicked in his door one night, put a gun to his mother’s head and threatened to kill her if he didn’t kill his best friend. The same man the state gave a million-dollar contract.

We have created communities that have been left to run themselves. Where the gang leader is the police, judge, jury and executioner. These are the same communities where children are used by gang leaders to commit crimes, and everyone knows, including law enforcement, that you cannot tell a gang leader “no.” The same gang leader who has been given a legitimate government contract.

Please stop giving government contracts to gang leaders.

Start by conducting an audit of all HDC apartments and remove people who are not registered to reside there. In some instances, knock down some of these apartment blocks and relocate legitimate residents.

Roadblocks in and out of communities throughout TT with known gang leaders should be more frequent.

This crime situation has been allowed to continue unabated for far too long. The government is on the right track in its approach to tackling crime. However, in my opinion, to make sure the hard work done so far in controlling gang crime is not in vain, the government must be bolder.

The Homeland Security Ministry must go one step further: do what it has the power to do, but help all children regardless of where they reside to be children as they grow up.

KELLI COOMBS

via e-mail