`…the whole appearance of the village gives a dim view and so people are afraid to come to visit. Even if one is to take a taxi to come home, the taxi drivers refuse to take us home’
Concerned with the decline in their community and how crime has transformed it, a group of concerned Agricola residents intend to change its image from the inside.
The group which calls itself the Agricola Restoration Association (ARA), a registered body, is working to regain the good standing which the community had in the past. The village has been facing stigma for some time now and has been labelled as a safe haven for criminal elements. As such, many are afraid to venture into the community and have lost the confidence that they will be safe, according to Vice President of the body, Welton Clarke.
Clarke who was born and bred in the village along with others started their image repair drive yesterday with a peace march against all criminal activities in the community and aim to replace it with development and respect.
Large pockets of unemployed youths, particularly males who crowd street corners, young mothers and a prevalence of single parent families resulting in a breakdown of morals have plagued the community which was historically a ‘good village’.
Charting a new destiny
ARA also intends to have a ‘Men’s Forum’ and ‘Women’s Gathering’ to discuss ways and means on how the community could influence its own change.
Clarke told Stabroek News that he believes that the activities planned would awake community members to some of the realities which exist and encourage them to come up with ways in which they can chart a new destiny for the youths in the community at large.
Commenting on the more pressing issues which have pushed the group’s eagerness to go this route, he said there continue to be petty robberies and the fumes of marijuana are pungent on street corners. Clarke pointed out too that due to the fact that many of the street lamps are not working there are patches of darkness in some areas which enable robberies.
“So the whole appearance of the village gives a dim view and so people are afraid to come to visit. Even if one is to take a taxi to come home, the taxi drivers refuse to take us home,” he said.
The ARA, he said, has tried to attract youths to football in an effort to take them away from simply idling. That effort he said bore fruit since within the groups of teens are some who are willing to make that change.
He recounted that some have told him of their efforts to find jobs but feel that they are stigmatized because of where they live.
Meanwhile Clarke who said he had a pretty good relationship with the youths in the community has not denied the perception that the community has been a safe haven for criminal elements.
However he explained that many times persons from other communities who may be involved in illicit activities and are the subject of police investigations sometimes go to the community to friends there. As such he said the “strange faces” are spotted and persons sometimes discuss this among themselves.
To this end he pointed out that the Guyana Police Force has a role to play, stating that once the police’s role is executed properly they would retain the respect they deserve.
“We can build the bridge between the police and the community but they will have to show they are human beings too,” he said. According to him, in times past the police would come into the village in vehicles and speed through causing villagers to become afraid and so resistant.
A raw deal
“People say they are afraid to talk to them because when they come in like that the people see them as aggressors. An interfacing programme is needed and this can happen,” he said, adding that this could open the doors for the community and the police to relate to issues and investigate allegations properly.
“Some of the youths are affected and they say ‘they calling us criminals and we didn’t do nothing’” he related. He admitted that while there were some bent in the wrong direction, the community’s youths were being given a raw deal.
From talking with jobless Agricola youths, Clarke said he has sensed a feeling of frustration. As such he has recommended a study of the youths and some outside help for them.
He emphasized too that the older men in the community also had a role since they would have to set the appropriate example and stand out as role models for the youths.
He called for assistance and stressed the need for reconciliation agents to foster the type of cohesion necessary to help repair those critical aspects of the community which have broken down.
Street lighting
To this end he called too for assistance from the bigger institutions and singled out Guyana Power and Light and the Mayor and City Council to assist with the repairs to street lights. “Our youths need to see that concern. A little goes a long way. Some of them just need to be given that opportunity to bring out their ability,” he observed.
He said it was unfair for law abiding citizens to be made to abide by the crime and disorderliness that has come upon the community but stressed that it was not just about speaking to them but ”talking with them.” (Heppilena Ferguson)