Dear Editor,
I found your editorial ‘Lawlessness’ (11.12.09) both sweeping and unnerving, and indicative of “the highly contagious disease anarchy that has set in” and which grows inexorably. The question is: why?
In answer, some truth can be found in the now ancient reflexives of malaise, political sickness, and societal degeneration. To my mind, these broad truths are undeniable from a national perspective. But what is it that pertains at the individual level that prompts disregard – even scorn – for the deterrent effect of the law? Think of it: the chance circumstances of a watermelon, being an ‘ole higue,’ and a cadet lead to brutality and death, one at a time. Then in Agricola, Bagotstown, Bartica, Lindo Creek, and Lusignan, death came en masse. Again, why?
First, there is the belief of a very low probability of apprehension. Second, if caught, a player could arrange freedom through an out-of-prison settlement. Third, if fingered, escape routes and friendly hands are available. Fourth, networks will obscure and transport for a price; think of this as an underground railroad for those who must now go below ground.
For the statistical anomalies – meaning those unlucky enough to be detained – files and witnesses can disappear. If the former do appear, they can be rendered meaningless, while the latter can be persuaded (friendly or otherwise) to falsify or forget. Perpetrators possess the awareness that institutionalized tampering can be had for a price; that political cover from the usual sources can stonewall and deter; that crime can be gotten away with.
Let us pause for a moment and focus on the dominant factor. It is that the lawlessness of firing a gun or blow, originates in the overwhelming belief that such action could be gotten away with, even in the worst case scenario. Meaning that even a solid case replete with eyewitnesses, forensics, and prosecutorial vigour and efficiency (and accused) could be reduced to nothing. Should the rush of flight fail, there is always the reasonable force of intimidation, and the friendly force of funding, and the protective embrace of powerful padrinos.
The lawlessness is not limited to the sanguinary, but also to the so-called bloodless variety, as in CLICO and Fidelity, to name two situations. And they prevail for all the same reasons identified.
Yes, lawlessness permeates the length and breadth of Guyanese existence because the law can be bought, sold, mocked, mesmerized, neutralized, and reversed, as the situation requires. The consequences have led to the creation of a society willing to go to extremes, as it hurtles out of control. And all because there is the widespread belief that societal restraints can be overcome. That crime, whether red or white, can be gotten away with, and easily too.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
