By Stephen Walwyn
Chairperson of Nevis Community Anti-Crime Initiative

The problem of gangs, guns and an escalation of crime generally in our Federation needs a steady, focused and comprehensive evaluation if we as a society are to properly address these ills. They hurt us, not just in terms of our image as a desirable tourist destination, but they strike at the very heart of our identity. These challenges must force us to awaken and look honestly at ourselves and the ways in which the dynamics of family and community interact. In the last article we looked at the ways we relate and behave toward each other and how those actions may in fact contribute to a dysfunctional community which is the context in which dysfunctional families exist. Our young people who are troubled are therefore living in both a disturbed home and an uncaring and unhealthy community. Their behaviours should not be seen in isolation but in the larger context in which they occur. Their anti-social behaviours are not only symptomatic but a direct result of what they experience at home and outside of it.

Children know very well when there is hypocrisy and contradiction in their homes. Regrettably, that’s where they learn it. Too often at home they learn that what is said or professed is not what is practiced. This dynamic unfortunately places them in a position to discard what they have been taught, lose respect for those who tried to do the teaching and simply adopt their own set of values and rules. When they peer out beyond the windows of home to the community at large, what they see will either reinforce and strengthen what they have learned or it will show them something different.  

Children also know when they are not steadfastly held by good structure and solid authority. For example, they know when the rules are not consistently enforced, when they get to be in control or are allowed to manipulate their parents or home environment; and they know that it is very inappropriate for them to get away with disrespecting those in authority. It makes them nervous or anxious and they rebel as a way of crying out for not just more attention, but more importantly they rebel in order to get those in authority to hold them tighter with more consistent rules, firmer authority and a caring environment. This is especially true of adolescents or teenagers who are developmentally at an age in which they experience much confusion over their dependency needs and their independence needs. They are sometimes unsure from one day to the next whether or not they are an adult or a child still. Of course the truth is that they are both – still children with emerging adult needs. When parents or those in authority in society don’t respond with strong discipline expressed through firmness and care, they are confused, let down and feel insecure, both about their world and its future. They then express that sense of frustration and tension by “acting out” their feelings, directing their sense of unease, often recklessly, at their families and the community. 

The decision to join a gang then makes perfect sense as they are searching to be understood, accepted and held. In a strange and twisted way, they feel that those needs are then met. The decision to equip themselves with a gun gives them a channel to vent pent up anger and frustration toward their families and communities. They then turn the gun on each other, i.e. a fellow gang member or a rival gang member, thinking that they are avenging some loss or disrespect. They might even think that they are defending the loyalty of their new found, newly adopted family (since the one they were born into, both biological and societal let them down so badly). They are not aware at all, and regrettably neither do many in the society, that when gang members turn the guns on each other they are in effect and actually, expressing rage toward their families (mostly parents of course) and those in society. This is the reason why after the weapon is fired and their victim is killed, they feel an initial burst of relief and sense of accomplishment.  This feeling of euphoria is soon followed right after however by an eerie sense of let down, guilt, regret, fear and anxiety. 

So, when political leaders fight with each other in such sometimes almost savage ways, in our small society for all to see, children feel insecure, and anxious about their world and their future.  Young persons with troubled backgrounds are not equipped with the emotional maturity of others to fully appreciate that the gamesmanship of politics and the obvious desire to get and hold on to power can be excused and understood. Political leaders fight for control of territory, power and their venom intensifies when they feel disrespected by the opposite party. Respect, loss of respect and the need for power and control are precisely what gang members fight over among and between their gang “families”. Clearly there is nothing wrong with politics per se as it is the only means in a representative democracy to decide who will represent particular constituencies. However, if we want order in the society, civility among citizens and wish to prevent virtual genocide among the young and untrained, then the tone of the debates MUST be civil, decent and a lot less personal. Maturity dictates that the debates deal with issues, issues, issues and should not be an all out attack on the rival members in the opposing party. The youngsters, regardless of the nature of their backgrounds, would be significantly better served.

Our politics is about as primitive, contentious, petty, divisive and exclusionary as we have seen in many African countries and elsewhere in the region, although without the violence (yet). Our political leaders, with very few exceptions, reflect and exploit the baser instincts of their constituents as well as the divide and conquer rule of the colonial masters we so revile. In Opposition the leaders find EVERYTHING wrong with the incumbent party, finding themselves so desperate to grasp power that unconventional and otherwise inappropriate tactics are used to rise to power. Once in power however, those tactics are then condemned. The freedoms and ambitions of citizens are constrained based by and large purely upon the political party to which they swear allegiance. Politics therefore trumps every other ethic and virtue. NOTHING else is sacred – not even religion! We have collectively (and allowed our political leaders to lead the charge) decided to make politics the be all and end all of our survival, livelihoods and prosperity as a people.

Politicians of course are not alone in modeling how conflict should be managed; in point of fact frankly politicians are mere reflectors of the society. These issues apply equally to parents, teachers, pastors, civic leaders and all adults to whom younger persons look up for guidance and a model of decency and correctness. It is not just politicians who must examine and alter their conduct but others as well who are not thinking when they engage in slander, gossip, pay slight regard to others and make conflict a live, breathing monster. Or those who refuse to get involved in doing his/her part in crafting solutions for the Country, instead of the indifference, laziness, quiet sabotage and hostility which sadly characterize many of those making up our communities.

This unfortunately leaves our young people, (particularly those who have grown up in homes in which conflict and unmet needs were what they knew), confused and even more anxious.
Political leaders as other leaders in the society are looked upon unconsciously as a type of their parents. Anyone in authority, be it at school, church or in the community generally, represent for young people the parental and authority structure in their homes. Many of them experience disappointment, disillusionment and chaos in their homes, only to have that feeling of anxiety, fear and insecurity compounded when they see the only other family, the societal family, express the same dynamics. Parents disagree, fight, break up, and often abandon them or neglect their needs. What is their experience of the community leaders? Regrettably, when our young people see the rancor that exists between their political and community leaders, they feel that they are left with only two choices. Some are turned off and thereby turned away from the political process, and hence they disengage from the community. Or some jump into the fray of the political divide, seeing it as a perfect channel for their rage and hatred, becoming maverick warriors in their fight to get at least some of their needs and desires met. 

Our Nation in 2009 faces very serious challenges with our young people, who are angry, disconnected and disengaged from any meaningful dialogue and process in our Country. But these problems exist in the context of a dysfunctional society that has chosen politics and materialism above community…true community. We are as disconnected and disengaged as we could ever be.  We CAN come together and solve problems but we choose not to. In the last of three articles to complete this series, I will speak on what I think we should be doing to address these problems and what precisely we need to do to get there.  Stay tuned…