Further to my article last week, the impact of narcotics smuggling and trading in the Bahamas is another portentous dimension that has dented our image and profoundly changed the landscape of crime within our Bahamaland. It is unfortunate that many lazy, ingrates, both the well-educated and uneducated have unscrupulously taken into drug smuggling and peddling. The manifestation of their involvement and flagrant exhibition of their ill-gotten wealth have resulted in creating an unwanted and unhealthy dichotomy between the bums and our young industrious men/women dedicated to excellence and sustainable lifetime achievement.
These narcotic dealers have, through ostentatious and disrespectful display of their spoils, influenced and seemingly hypnotised our young ones, who themselves have no adequate parental care and guidance, thus perpetuating the drug trade and gaining converts. These expendable narcotic dealers go further to woo most of our inexperienced and innocent young girls into believing in them and later abandoning them with babies; thus, forming a nucleus of a new set of problems to the society. This is why parents must start to assume absolute control of their children. They must teach their youngsters the virtue of chastity, the vanity of materialism, and the true principles and commandments of our Creator.
The government on its part must become ruthlessly aggressive, iron-fisted and uncompromising in dealing with these drug czars. These drug moles, through their activities, are destroying the very foundation of the society – either through the degeneration of the value and sanctity of life and family; violent, murderous recriminations rampant among the various drug moles; latently forcing indolent and unskilled lads into robbery in order to socially feel integrated; and also discourage our youths from remaining in schools in order for them to develop the needed development skills to sustain both their growth and the nation’s growth.
The government must move expeditiously to weed out corrupt public officers that provide any form of personal and institutional support to these drug moles and let them face even stiffer penalties for betraying the nation for which they have sworn to lay down their lives. The society must understand the realities of the situation we are experiencing and challenge our leaders to come out from their re-election cocoons and take the bull by the horn without fear of being voted out of office for taking a strong stand in dealing with drugs and drug peddlers, as well as other criminals. We understand that these drug dealers have family members and loved ones who care for them, with potential influence that may sway the outcome of an election. But we must put our priorities straight. Should we be merciful and compassionate to them or allow the society to perish as a result of their illegal activities?
The government must strongly implement the “Tracing and Forfeiture of Proceeds of Drugs Trafficking Act” to ensure that all the ill-gotten wealth acquired at the expense of the greater good of the society does not benefit the drug moles, neither should it benefit their immediate and distant relations, including friends. Extensive effort must be directed at identifying their properties, both real and liquid asset. Persons acting against the provision of the above-noted Act which forbids providing of assistance in money laundering or hiding properties obtained from proceeds of drugs should be meted the same punishment as drug dealers. All property belonging to narcotic dealers should be confiscated without distinction. Whatever price they pay is not enough to compensate the society for the harm done.
These drug czars should be seen not just for their bastardised wealth, but the impact these drugs have on the society: the gradual dehumanisation of addicts, the loss of fathers and mothers in drug wars; being mentally incapacitated; and in truncating the lives of our bright young ones into drug dealings, snuffing and gang initiations. Nothing short of life-term imprisonment is good for any narcotics related crime. They are not good for the society and their cost to the society is phenomenal. The government must take necessary steps to attempt to rescue some of our addicted youths into rehabilitation where they can get the help they desperately need.
With regard to the general rise in armed robberies, the government and the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) must overhaul the policy strategy within the community. First, due to the increase in crimes, the government needs to beef up the manpower level of the Force as a first strategic move. Then, establish a national mapping process adopted to zone all the different areas of the country into command points, which will have 24-hour police surveillance, with constant shift changes. It is evident that there is active policing in the downtown areas in Nassau, which has a great effect in almost eliminating crime in the area, except for sporadic occurrences.
That same strategy needs to be adopted for all areas of the Bahamas. Every street in the country must be policed round the clock with effective integrated and network communication systems to alert all patrol duty personnel for quick interdiction. Massive police presence in our streets is the only pre-condition that would deter criminals from being so bold and brazen in accosting and forcing their way into peoples’ homes. In addition, it would provide little room for drug dealers and peddlers to operate. As long as the criminals have the space and latitude, crime will continue, because from all statistics, boys, girls, men and women in our society today worship and adore money in a very unpalatable manner. In fact, some our folks refuse to work because they realise the ease of making money through drug peddling without hardwork to the exacerbated detriment of the general society.
The fight against crime is a fight against our own and must be fought with all vigour. The prison must be reformed to provide first time offenders reasonable opportunities to get rehabilitation and basic education to enable them to rejoin the wider society with a sense of dignity and trust that they can become an active and constructive member dedicated with new ways of life, devoid of crime and as an example to other would-be criminals. Ideologically, the prison is an institution for rehabilitation as well as punishment, but more as a rehabilitation centre. Hence, the government owes its citizens a duty to reform the young crime adventurers to mitigate the current high level of recidivism.
The immigration department must work assiduously to track and keep the names of any foreign person convicted of drug possession and peddling from entering into the Bahamas in their lifetime. This will facilitate the eradication of some dangerous persons from causing senseless havoc to our society. We have seen an increasing number of drug lords and “hitmen” of other Caribbean countries’ passing through the Bahamas unfetteredly.
Every Bahamian must resolve now to work with the government in whatever area necessary to bring sanity to the society. Our schools must be protected from the influence of hoodlums who loiter around schools to lure innocent ones into crime through the constant bashing of expensive gifts and flowers. Would-be fathers of pregnant teens should be prosecuted and made to serve the nation in prison for violating the threshold of the nation’s future. The police must visit schools regularly.
Parents must make sure their wards account for time spent outside the home. Parents should not let children return home from school by 5:00pm or 6:00pm without reprimanding them for failure to properly and verifiably account for their time and activities. We must become more bold and responsible to our children. We spare the rod, we spoil the child, and we live to regret our failings, but we cannot undo the wrong we did to our children due to our negligence. So now is the time to take an active role and concerned attitude, irrespective of the hardship we as parents are undergoing because we owe our children a future: a good and prosperous one, devoid of crime, drugs, teen pregnancies and the like.
Kevin J. Alcena
The Nassau Guardian
