Imagine walking through Bourda Market on a bright Sunday morning. The vendors are busy as the customers are selecting from the wide variety. There are some bargains but still most of the prices remind the people of the rising cost of living.
But within the hustle and bustle of Bourda on a Sunday morning – this feeling where we know we are at home and we love this part of our culture, chaos erupts.
A young man is accosted by other young men. They assault him. He calls for help and one would imagine that in a packed market like Bourda on a Sunday morning, that not only shoppers, but vendors also would assist him. But no. They are allowed to rob him and make their escape. And the woman from whom I heard this story only a few minutes after it happened, is left visibly shaken. So upset and frightened that she could not complete her shopping but opted to return home. Immediately I started thinking about what my movements would be when I visit the market henceforth. I concluded that I needed to be more careful. In a society where we should feel safe, we often must adjust our actions while those who make life uneasy perhaps experience a freer form of freedom by living on the edge.
Others to whom this story was relayed said that it is a norm. People are robbed, and no one helps. This also occurs in other parts of the city. No one helps because they are afraid that they would become the next victims. Past experiences would have told that the robbers would often harm those who would build the courage to help. And one wonders if the people would come together and apprehend the robbers if the robbers would be able to defeat everyone. Where are the police when these robberies are happening? Would increased police presence help to stop these robberies?
“Shoot and kill them!” a person who was also listening to the story voiced.
Others agreed with this disturbing act of instant justice. The consensus was that the robbers are a nuisance to the society. They are young, lazy, want fast money and choose a life of crime instead of choosing paths of honest work.
Blood has dried in the streets too often in Guyana. When a robber is killed, the reactions are always split. Some rejoice as they see it as one less nuisance in society while others question if we are a barbaric society where other solutions could not be sought like shooting to injure. But the reality too is that the robbers would not hesitate to kill one if they are challenged during a robbery. We have seen the deaths of too many innocent people by them. And we have also watched lifeless bodies of robbers while their mothers wailed. Some of those mothers who would have known that their sons had chosen the life of crime and benefitted from it.
Has society failed these young men who choose a life of crime? Have their families failed them? Or is it their doing when they see a life of crime as an easy way out and are not motivated to walk the path of empowerment to live life without harming or distressing others?
Society fails when the opportunities for success are limited or are just accessed by a few. But perhaps what is lacking more in Guyana is the motivation for young people who turn to crime to choose another path. Perhaps some feel hopeless. Here there is little effort to narrow the gaps that exist between the rich and the poor. Many are still underpaid.
We now boast about oil wealth, but it is clearly not positively impacting the lives of the majority as we see the gap widening. What impact will this have on crime? Do we just hope that the criminal minded will watch a minority prospering and living the good life and not be tempted to take from them to fill their needs? Will this result in more blood in the streets as those with access to guns shoot to kill?
Families fail their children. Too many children emerge from broken homes and while many become productive members of society, others are lost. In many cases it is only mothers who are raising some of the sons who decide to pick up a gun and knife to rob or turn to drug dealing as an easy way out. The norm of a significant number of fathers abandoning their children is not good for society. We need more good men who can stand, set examples, and guide their sons into becoming productive members of society.
More people need to start planning their children and how they will raise them to become productive members of society. Many poor people have children they cannot adequately take care of, and the excuse is often “Children are a blessing.”
What happens when those blessings are raised in hardships, taught to become cruel and cold and are let loose on society to hurt and release their anger and frustration?
We see instances like that young man who was robbed on a Sunday morning, and no one helped because onlookers feared for themselves. Were we always like this?
“Shoot and kill them” is often only said about the robbers whose actions we see and experience. But we know in this society they are not the only nuisances to the security and overall wellbeing of the people. The ones in shirts and ties, who are educated and who sell the Guyanese people dreams while robbing them of a good life will never be seen in such a light. We can ask ourselves, which group of criminals hurts this society more? While the people are at risk of being robbed in the street or having their homes broken into and being killed, what is the impact of the white-collar thievery on the society? And why are they not punished or there are calls to shoot and kill them as there are often calls to shoot and kill the robbers? Instead, they are praised, some are elected, and they escape being charged and convicted for their crimes even when the society knows they are guilty.
“Shoot and kill them” will always be disturbing to me, even though I do understand why people say this. Being robbed, hurt and at the risk of being killed, is frightening and traumatizes the innocent. Those who have been killed have left voids and hurting loved ones. Sometimes there is no rehabilitation for criminals who put the security of the society at risk. But is one set of criminals in Guyana deserving of punishment and not the other?
