By T. C. Phipps-Benjamin

ONE of the world's most powerful and majestic animals is fast becoming extinct. For the love of wealth, prestige, and their prized organs, poachers continue to hunt and kill wild tigers. Man 's greed and his attitude towards preserving the natural habitat of these threatened species has been a direct contributor to the imminent extinction of the various species of tigers. It has become a battle of man against animal! As the debacle unravels, it seems the plight of the tiger is inevitably at man’s mercy.
 
In the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, it’s not tigers and their habitat that are endangered but rather, the lives of our males between the approximate ages of 16 and 30 years old. As gangs become deeply embroiled in a seemingly cold and calculated war against each other, their callous and lawless acts have helped the Federation gain notoriety as one of the most murderous countries, per capita, in the free world. This national crisis is heightening at a time when electoral reform has become one of the most hotly debated topics in the Federation. However, if you ask the mother who has to bury her son what are her thoughts on electoral reform, you will probably encounter a grief stricken, emotionally bruised human being, who cares little, if anything, about electoral reform. Moreover, ask a mother whose son awaits trial for murder or any other serious crime her views on electoral boundaries, and you will be met by a disheartened, possibly defensive parent, certain that the world is judging her for the shortcomings of her son. 
 
Today, our nation’s parents grapple with the turmoil of what they could have done differently to save their children from a brutal earthly demise or a life bound by the walls of prison. In 2009 alone, we have seen more murders than there are federal electoral boundaries. (The constitution speaks to 11 of them).  In all fairness, one cannot discount the relevance of boundary changes as it relates to the impact on a general election. In fact, it is a fundamental part of the electoral process involving the people's choice of a government. However, when the memories of a fallen son or daughter greet a parent every day, do we really believe our nation's suffering parents care about boundary changes? When a mother believes with her deepest conviction that her son could do no wrong, not to another human being, the only "change" she can fathom is that of the hearts and minds of those who condemn her and her child.  
 
None can dispute that since 2000, the homicide rate in St. Kitts-Nevis has steadily increased on an annual basis. Last year, we saw an unparalleled increase over 2007 with a recorded high of 23 murders. What the nation's top cop described as merely "pockets of mischievous youth activity" one year ago has manifested itself as a legitimate gang culture; at least in the eyes of the general public. The methodical gang cleansing ideals of those responsible for homicidal activity has captivated our attention and demands urgent and sweeping intervention. Who will intervene? When will the intervention come? At what cost will intervention take place? 
 
Thanks to technology, media houses can notify the public within minutes of a crime. In fact, several websites and radio stations provide forums for individuals to not only offer their condolences to families of victims of violence, but also proffer viable measures that can complement the many ideas that have surfaced regarding crime reduction and prevention. While we “Ask the Prime Minister”, and we “ Ask Washie”, the social healing which we so badly yearn seems to beg that we "Ask our Parents? Maybe we need to "ask" - not condemn - our nation's parents about their sons and their daughters; about the challenges they encounter in raising them; about the lifestyle they live and its impact on the lives of their children; about their children's education; about plans for their lives and their children's future. The objective should be to identify shortcomings in our social fabric that has disintegrated to the point where in many instances, parents no longer know how to parent wayward youths. Our youth behavioral problems won’t just disappear, because we ignore them until the next murder ensues. Social work of this magnitude cannot be left exclusively to social workers; not when an entire society suffers as a result of increasing criminal activity. Until we are able to move our society to a place where citizens are comfortable in their homes, and our young people can walk the streets freely without fear of becoming victims of violence, who really cares about playing political and legal chairs?
 
If elections were solely about winning, all of our political parties would be declared "losers" because crime, the one social ill that is so successfully wreaking havoc in our nation, is blind to party loyalty. Political allegiance to Labour, PAM, NRP, CCM, UNEP, or any other party is no guarantee of being spared of a bullet. The pain of 18 murdered citizens is spread all around, and it runs deep; yet it is the one tell tale sign that we MUST be a united people if we care enough to tackle a problem that will ultimately destroy our lives if we don't. The one destructive behaviour of some of our young people that we must curb affects all of us and our political allegiances mean nothing so long as a segment of our society continues to erode. Is our Federation’s fate in the hands of the politicians, the electorate or the criminals?
 
The preservation of many of the world's at-risk tigers has been fueled by wildlife organizations whose initiatives focus on dispelling some of the myths about the medicinal value of tigers, which promote the killing of these animals in the first place. Just as governments and other organizations have been compelled to implement initiatives geared at the preserving of endangered tigers, I submit that we as a people have to care enough and act in the interest of our "endangered" young men. The average citizen cares about their safety in order to enjoy those things we work tirelessly to acquire, but our homes, our cars, our careers, and all the luxuries that we strive to obtain hold no value if we can’t enjoy them. Who will keep our citizens safe? Who will ensure that we acquire continuous education about the impact of criminal activity on the economic health of our fragile tourism-based economy? Who cares? We all have to care together and, in our caring, act. It was Booker T. Washington who declared, “The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it’s what a man or woman is able to do that counts”.
 
When we accept our roles as ambassadors for the land of our birth, as the ones charged to champion the cause of every boy and girl, only then will we be empowered to act in the interest of our St. Kitts and our Nevis. May “He” whose Omnipotence dictates our Federation's future, so guide the path of each of us that we will care enough to preserve the lives of our nation’s youth.