THERE is great meaning inherent in John F. Kennedy’s renowned saying, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”. His cry now resonates from the hills and valleys of the people of our twin-island Federation who are eager for solutions that will finally stem the tide of violent crime that is stifling us. We must collectively seek to resolve this crisis and commit to the work of building our nation, one individual at a time. This rally will provide an opportunity for all Kittitians and Nevisians to stand in solidarity as one people and do something to heal our Federation, lest we all perish.
We, the citizens of this country, cannot continue to expect, or rely on, our only those who lead our country to do everything to save our nation. The wave of violence that threatens to destroy the lives of our youths, everyday citizens, visitors, and ultimately the reputation of our islands, must be broken to usher in a new age of calm and prosperity. It is our time as a people to declare our opposition to the destruction of our communities and country at the hands of crime and violence. We now have to pay more than lip service. We now have to act. However, to do so warrants a wealth of support from all citizens.
For this gargantuan task to become a reality, it is essential that we form an organisation, made up of upstanding leaders or representatives from each parish of both islands, to represent the people and implement necessary changes in that area. This organisation will be responsible for organising the entire event and for charging the groups, schools, churches and individuals of each village within each parish to prepare all people, man, woman and child, for participation in this momentous event. It is pressing that we begin developing this community-centered organisation so as to finalise all details and date of this "Silence the Violence Rally”.
As a show of our eagerness for this important event to become a reality, we hereby propose a tentative date during April 2009. We trust that sensitising all citizens about this history-making event from an early stage will serve as a driving force behind getting people prepared and ready to take action. The objective of this rally is clear: It is geared at unifying each village in the Federation, declaring war against crime and violence by encouraging all individuals to journey to the capital on each island for the “Silence the Violence Rally”.
The highlight of the rally will be the appearance of a prominent keynote speaker, victims of crime and former perpetrators of crime on each island. The ultimate goal is to march in unison to Basseterre and Charlestown to publicly condemn acts of crime and violence that threaten to destroy our Federation. We will also have proposals detailing steps to help alleviate this dilemma and make the Federation safe again. These proposals would have come out of the Parish organisations and would have the general support of the citizenry. We will provide these proposals to the current leadership with our promise to work together to implement the agreed upon crime proposals.
We ask that you commit to this timely awakening of our communities. The healing process requires a concerted effort from the heights and depths of our nation. As we await revised laws to address the alarming crime situation in our Federation, we solicit your support for this large scale effort. A detailed letter will be forwarded to you in the near future as the plans for this considerable venture continue to take shape. We will need support from the local print and electronic mediums, businesses, politicians, police and the local citizenry to make this successful. We plan to work with all the appropriate authorities to obtain the necessary permit to make this a productive and peaceful event.
We anticipate your cooperation and participation in this positive, community and country-focused venture.
For additional information, please contact us at silencetheviolence@ymail.com
