Another march against crime and violence

Fri, Apr 20. 2012

The Vincentian capital of Kingstown will today be host to another in a series of marches against crime and violence, with focus on those committed against our women. This latest action is an initiative of a group of young people under the banner of “Leave Out Violence in SVG” and represents a further statement of concern by a section of our people.{{more}} It is significant to note that nearly all, if not all, of these initiatives have been spearheaded by women; no great surprise since they have been the primary victims of these misdeeds.

We have witnessed several of these initiatives over the years, particularly right after any horrific defilement of our sisters and mothers — silent protests, candlelight marches, demonstrations and rallies. Yet the assaults have not ceased. So it stands to reason that those of us who stand firmly in opposition to them, should not, for one moment, drop our guard.

That is not to say that we should get hysterical and take the situation completely out of context. There are those among us, for instance, who, whether out of outrage or otherwise, take the opportunity afforded by online social media to blow the situation in our country out of proportion. While every violation of the rights of our citizens must be condemned and measures, preventive and detentive, employed to combat them, it is also true that SVG is by no means in a unique situation in this regard.

It is vital that we are able to connect developments in this sphere to economic and social realities if we are to seriously address the problem. To be frank, there is no quick fix to this problem of crime and violence, no easy solution. It is good that we are displaying heightened concern as evidenced by such manifestations as today’s planned activity. Yet, by themselves, helpful and necessary as they are, those actions alone will not stop the violent crimes.

Elsewhere in this paper, there is a letter concerning the apparent lack of concern shown by the society over the ‘disappearance’ of two elderly citizens for some four months now. While the letter raises the matter from a class perspective, it is true to say that we are far too complacent in such matters.

Thus the young people who are spearheading today’s action must be applauded for helping to keep the focus on the evil in our midst. One can become cynical and ask what has been achieved by these marches, but they play their part in keeping the issue in the limelight. They help in the sensitization process, so necessary if we are to come to grip with this cancer in our society. Yet they are also a reminder that more, much more, needs to be done.