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 Home  >  Headlines  >  OPINION
Posted: Sunday 22 November, 2015 at 10:42 AM
By: Adam Anderson, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES and credible reports are now surfacing worldwide asking that governments, media, ecclesiastical leaders, school administrators and concerned parents begin to observe and report.  In terms of probability, it is likely that ISIS is actively engaged in recruitment efforts within our region, even within our Federation. 

     

    Less than 14 hours ago, three Syrians with fake Greek passports were detained in Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten, 1 stopped in Honduras. In St. Maarten, prosecutor spokesman Norman Serphos told the AP that the three men being held there had arrived on an Insel Air flight from Haiti. Officials said the Syrians had traveled from Europe to Brazil, then to the Dominican Republic and Haiti before entering St. Maarten. It was unclear where they were headed.  
     
    WHY MUST WE BE CONCERNED?
     
    Recruitment begins online via social media and are targeted towards disenfranchised youth seeking a sense of belonging and purpose - the same youth now vulnerable to pursue acts of crime and civil disobedience. Recruitment begins within traditional social media networks and using what’s being referred to as ‘the dark web’, communication channels on gaming networks and encrypted WhatsApp channels.
     
    ISIS, as an ideology, exploits the web by using sophisticated technology that seeks out words and keyword phrases that may be entered as part of a typical conversation by a troubled and vulnerable individual. Once these words and phrases are spotted and pinpointed by an ISIS supporter, the process begins. On the other end of this conversation are active ISIS youth that have already been ‘radicalised’; whose sole purpose it is to befriend potential recruits that fit this specific profile. 

    It is estimated that over a thousand youth from around the globe are monthly being flown into regions where ISIS maintains camps that embark on classic indoctrination methods engineered to isolate an individual and reprogramme their core belief system. ISIS is real! It has a defined caliphate, ideology and mission.  

    Recent ISIS activities in Egypt, Mali and France inform us that we are now entering a new and dangerous phase in which fanatics are prepared to act across borders in any way that might damage those they believe they are at war with, or against those who do not believe their extreme interpretation of a religion that encourages selfless and peaceful universal values.
     
    The threat is real

    On October 8 the Trinidad Government confirmed that an Illinois-based Trinidad-born teenager was being held by US authorities as he allegedly sought to join the self-described Islamic State (ISIS). The Trinidad Express reported that this individual is one of a number of resident Caribbean citizens or individuals of Caribbean descent living in Europe or North America who have been radicalised. 

    An alternate recruitment method is to fly radicalised ISIS supporters back to their native homeland, where they can be selective and discrete in building a local presence, creating ‘cells’ or groups that can plan and carry out terror.

    In an analysis paper, Jonathon Morgan Berger and Morgan present a demographic snapshot of ISIS supporters on Twitter by analysing a sample of 20,000 ISIS-supporting Twitter accounts. Using a sophisticated and innovative methodology, the authors map the locations, preferred languages, and the number and type of followers of these accounts.

    What are the natural consequences of ISIS to St. Kitts and Nevis?  At a surface level, the ripple effect has already reached us.  

    Border control (passports) 

    National security and border control is now top of mind and arguably consuming top priority with EU and North America Governments. Border control directly reflects on our Economic Citizenship programme. While it’s impossible to forecast how the EU will respond in time, it is safe to conclude that restrictions and controls will soon surface as policies related to movement between nations arise — and this is a certainty. St. Kitts and Nevis derives nearly a quarter of its GDP from our Economic Citizenship programme and passport issuance.

    Threats to SKN’s National Brand  

    With SKN’s prior and internationally publicised national ranking of murder-per-capita statistics, any incident that may potentially arise where a national, residing on or off island, who is caught up into any aspect of ISIS, would carry severe and negative repercussions.

    How can we protect our youth and our Federation? 

    We must understand the true pathology of hate, and how the seeds of radical belief and action first occur within society, and within an individual’s heart and psyche. We cannot begin to protect ourselves without first understanding the root cause and pathology.

    Once a youth engages in conversation with an ISIS supporter, this initial engagement appeals to a need to belong, to experience, to make a difference against the perceived shortcoming within Government and society. Once this common ‘relatablity’ is established, discontent of Government and social systems can be twisted and suggested to be at the root and target of an individual’s troubles — and this social media strategy has been working.

    Note that from this point on, this author transitions to editorial and personal opinion.

    I have been off island for nearly four weeks. It was during this time Paris was attacked and US national media were consumed by this story. A terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach arose as I considered how this might possibly impact my St. Kitts. I believe in my heart-of-hearts that the terrible events happening in France, Mali, Egypt and elsewhere must serve as a wake-up alert for each of us — for you.

    I say ‘you’ because you are reading this article at this very moment and the expression ‘Be the Change You Wish to See’ is absolutely how we begin to effect positive change around us. A nation is as strong as its citizens, its families, its Government and its national vision. So you are a catalyst for positive change.

    We have a problem in the Federation and we must realise and face it. We must name it. We can no longer allow hate and the seeds of hatred to consume our individual and collective thoughts.  Upon returning home Thursday afternoon, I began catching up on things and I tuned into Freedom FM to listen to Junie’s Issues that aired on November 18. During this broadcast, there were many comments that I felt crossed over from healthy debate and discussion toward distain.  I would have preferred a more balanced and civil narrative. 

    Now I understand that we must preserve free speech. I understand that Government must have checks and balances and show accountability, and the media and Opposition together must play an important role to this end. I’m not suggesting these universal rights and public mandates be silenced at all! But we must also realise the need to elevate each other, the need to elevate and hold in esteem our national leaders. If individuals exist whose sole purpose it is to inspire hate and derision to recruit more of the same, then these same voices are generating their own brand of ISIS, as far as any possible outcome, it is perpetuating a hate-based ideology and culture.  

    So I ask you a simple question. When does healthy debate cross over into fear mongering and hate engineered to tear down and destroy a nation and Government? Only you can ask and answer this question.

    For me? I am naming it. It’s something that my spirit feels has crossed a very dangerous line.  You cannot put ISIS back in the bottle easily, nor can hate generated in our Federation be retracted back in the bottle. How can we begin to transform the current political culture from hate and distain to unity and collective success? Because the opposite of hatred is Love.  

    I propose that if we desire to elevate St. Kitts and Nevis we can follow two examples that also are informed from recent attacks in Paris.

    The first example is from Antoine Leiris, who lost his wife Helene in the Bataclan theatre in Paris. His Facebook tribute to his wife and challenge to her killers has since been shared thousands of times. Mr Leiris read out the letter to BBC News in Paris.
     

    Next, I would like to extend a challenge to you, a challenge I have also personally accepted. I was inspired by Dr. Susan Carland, an Australian academic and well-known figure in the country’s Muslim community. An unapologetic Muslim woman says she has become all too accustomed to the “stream of toxicity” that deluges her Twitter feed on a daily basis.
     
    Victoria Craw

    She writes, “When assaulted by hateful comments, one can either get mad, ignore the statement, or respond in a kind manner (which ends up getting exhausting). OR, they can do what an inspirational Muslim woman is doing, and turn the hostility of Internet trolls into a force for good – one hate-filled tweet at a time.”

    So, every time she receives or experiences another being ‘hateful’, she donates one dollar to her charity.   

    While we may not have a dollar to donate, my challenge is to do this one simple exercise. Every time someone is attacking another person over our airways, simply call to mind one positive attribute about the offender, or one positive attribute of the person under attack. It’s that simple, and it’s that effective.   

    Now, I’m not sure how many times I encountered a comment based in hate on the Issues programme this week, but what I did was to simply tune it out and then meditate on the beauty of St. Kitts, specifically how I felt flying in over the mountains and how I was looking forward to seeing my friends again, and what I was going to do the next day to do my part within the community. These intentions led to some amazing positive experiences.

    Can you accept this challenge? It’s the best protection we have, it’s the best example we can show our youth, and it’s the best way we can begin to elevate our Government. Hate begets hate. Love, acceptance and understanding beget a more Perfect Union.  ISIS is an ideology based in hate.  At its root is intolerance.  [ ISIS ] promotes fear and derision.  [ ISIS ] seeks to build a base of control.  [ ISIS ] uses extreme rhetoric.  [ ISIS ] provokes the uninformed and vulnerable young men and women to hate and reject Governments.  [ ISIS ] seeks to tear down and destroy peace.  Regretfully, one can replace [ ISIS ] with [ LOCAL POLITICS ] and reread.  How close are the two?
     
    Those who get caught up in ISIS become merchants of hate and fear mongering rather than contributors, creators, and builders of a free and prosperous society. 
     
    Is ISIS in SKN? I hope not.  Is there a destructive ideology against Government and those who have been elected to lead us?  I believe the answer is Yes.  As a destructive ideology, the acronym ISIS that today stands for (I)slamic (S)tate in (I)raq and (S)yria can just as easily stand for (I)dividuals (S)elfishly (I)nstigating hate in (S)KN - an ideology that if continued unchecked is a real threat. 
     
    I choose to spot the threat early on and tune my life, thoughts, and friends to what we can do to together to elevate our beloved St. Kitts and Nevis.  I choose to support our elected leaders, regardless of what colours they may be wearing this season.  Will there be shortcoming of our leaders? Sure.  It’s through these same shortcomings we all learn and grow together.  Red, orange, or blue, we are one nation and we must stand taller together.
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