By Ron Daniel

The recent surge in armed robberies, shootings and murder has cast a dim view of the Queen of the Caribees.  It appears that gang rivalries are again rampant and now you are known by not only the company you keep but the colours you wear.  Since this surge, people have been uneasy.  More and more locks are being bought for doors, security cameras are being installed, people sleep with almost all the lights on, businesses are closing earlier and earlier, burglar bars are being bought and so are bad dogs and the like.  Some people have simply been crippled by fear while the heathen rage.  However as a victim of one of these crimes myself, it is time that we say that enough is enough.  This land that we call Nevis is still our land.  It is time we realize that while the criminals are in the minority that it is we the well meaning citizens that are in the majority.  

Because this land is our land it is time we let the criminals know that they will not dictate to us how much they steal and shoot but we will dictate to them how much they do it.  How may we do it we ask?  I submit that this is not solely in the hands of the police but rather for us the citizens of this country.  While our police force is dedicated they are still limited.  It is we the citizens who have that obligation to help our fellow man.

  There are some of us who know where the guns are and where the guns will come from but we simply sit aside and say nothing.  There are some of us who see our young people leaning toward gang activity and we turn a blind eye and like Pilate of Bible Days simply wash our hands.  Some of us hear the plans that they have and do not try to persuade them otherwise.  We merely go home and shut up and wait to hear and see what is going to happen.  

We don’t want to be seen as a rat or a snitch but then when someone gets shot or someone gets stolen from we feel bad and we get fearful.  It simply makes no sense.  We criticize the police for not doing enough yet still we fail to tip them off on even suspicious behavior.  It would not be surprising that in Nevis where people are so friendly that your neighbor can know that you are out or off island; see a strange person climbing over your fence in the night and not tell you about it when they realize you were robbed.  This land is still our land.  If we allow the criminals to steal and slaughter with aplomb then we will be surrendering our rights to this land to them.

Because this land is our land we cannot be prisoners of our fear either.  Some people who would have normally been opened up to 10:00 p.m. are now closing up their businesses by 8:00 p.m.  There are others who decide that they must be home immediately after work and stay locked up inside their houses.  Some have four and five locks on each door and other are installing burglar bars. Others have ignored the cost of electricity and have all their lights and televisions on all night to ward off the burglars.  This cannot be good enough.  

I can imagine how some of these burglars sit back and laugh at us and boast about how they have us as prisoners in our own homes.  If we continue to be crippled by fear, the only person that is winning are the burglars themselves.  We must go out and continue to live our lives as per usual.  We cannot allow these burglars to keep you from your midweek services or your weekend limes or from church on Sunday mornings.  We also cannot allow them to dictate to us when we close our businesses causing us to lose out on some much needed monies.  This land is still our land.  It does not belong to the criminals and we should never ever let them believe that they can ever own it.

Because this land is our land we must also realize that no man is an island.  We need to realize that we are all our brother’s keeper and not keepers of secrets for criminals.  Because this land is our land we need to let the criminals know that there will be no safe houses for them to hide from the police.  Because this land is our land we need to each do our part to steer the “criminals” and the “would be criminals” away from a path of crime and onto the road of productive and propitious activity.  Because this land is our land we must not let the criminals have us in mental captivity locked up in our houses.  There is still strength in numbers and those involved in illegal activity do not outnumber the law abiding citizens of this country.  Let us all work together so that every one intent on pernicious practices will unequivocally know that THIS LAND IS OUR LAND!!!