Dear Editor,
The letter by Pastor Gideon Cecil, in the December 21 edition of Stabroek News entitled ‘Too many of our young people are involved in crime’ refers. In his letter he outlined a plethora of reasons for what currently ails Guyana, but sadly missing were the deep-rooted causes. Let me unhesitatingly state that I am in full agreement with the pastor’s expressed concerns.
I posed a similar question in a letter to KN two years ago. The warning signs were already in place, especially when the youths became disconnected from society and its values, and adults became their prime targets. Now here we are wringing hands, wiping furrowed brows, searching frantically for answers, instead of holding our collective heads in shame. Let us not forget that there is an answer to every problem and also within every problem lies the seeds of its own solution.
From the top the government should be held accountable and not let off the hook until campaign promises, especially the youth-oriented ones, are fulfilled to the satisfaction of the electorate. Is this the change that was promised? To quote the pastor, “I am yet to hear the voice of the Minister of Public Security, our President and all our foreign missions, particularly the US, Canadians and British, since they happen to be the brainchild of this APNU+AFC government on how to tackle the crime situation”. Why have their voices not been heard? Let’s start our own clean up at home before soliciting foreign assistance.
Currently the nation is functioning in a state of moral turpitude, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the youth has been paying careful attention all along to the fraudulent and deceptive goings on of government ministers. Politicians are functioning in their own kind of moral relativism. Society no longer believes that there exists absolute right and wrong.
Education is much more than reading and writing; it must focus on morals, virtues and values. In other words, education must show young people how to live. The rise in youth crime reflects the moral deficit present in the society, and our failure to teach them right from wrong, but then again how can we teach them when we ourselves no longer recognize what is right and wrong. Guyana has become fragmented with no consensus on absolute moral values.
No one advocates child abuse, but children must be loved and disciplined. Effective moral teaching and discipline begin at home. Failure to discipline our children is making criminals of them. One of the wisest men to ever live, King Solomon, understood proper child training. It is crystal clear, moral teaching when done properly will last a lifetime. Many parents today are not willing to put in the time necessary to raise a law-abiding citizen, and the youths are literally raising themselves.
Incidentally, I sincerely hope that Pastor Cecil is not the solitary biblical voice crying in the wilderness, and that he would be joined by other men of the cloth.
Broken families are another contributing factor to our rise in youth crime. Statistics show that children living with both natural parents are less likely to fall prey to criminal acts. Like it or not some children are born into homes without aspirations, where crime is a lifestyle and honest values are lacking. Crime is, fundamentally, an individual choice, but no choice is made in isolation. Once identified, the government, social agencies, teachers, etc, and respective information-sharing agencies should step in before youths get on the conveyor belt moving them closer and closer to the barbed wired academy.
Flooding the streets with more police is certainly not the answer to the problem, by no stretch of the imagination. President Granger should be the situation changer, and without delay appoint a new task force mandated to bring this plague to an end. The task force would work in close collaboration with educational, religious, social, recreational and legal agencies in problem communities, problem families, and problem areas.
Our focus must now be on action, not words.
Yours faithfully,
Yvonne Sam