Pubdate: Fri, 24 Mar 2006
Source: Trinidad Express (Trinidad)
Copyright: 2006 Trinidad Express
Contact:  http://www.trinidadexpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1093
Author: Harold Mahabir
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

A VIRUS IS LOOSE IN THE SOCIETY

The old woman edged cautiously towards the 12-year-old youth. "Where 
you going?"

"By my friends up the streets."

"Why the bandana on your head?"

"Because all dem friends wearing one."

"What is dat in your hand?"

He smiled mockingly. But she had a consuming curiosity to press on.

"Who gave you dat?"

Frightened speechless, the little boy slipped through a neighbour's 
backyard and disappeared.

In another reported incident, a 14-year-old was caught by PC Jaglal 
along the Mon Repos Street, San Fernando, with 2.1 grammes of 
marijuana in his possession. And another deviant youth was caught 
with a firearm and held in custody because "he feared that people out 
to kill him". It is believed that gang members wanted to dish out 
their polluted punishment on him "for not following orders." What orders?

Mervyn Crichlow, Communications Specialist at the Ministry of 
Education, only scratched the surface when he reported that "49 had 
been exposed to drug-trafficking". I have news for you, Mr Crichlow. 
While I will not, at this time, blame the Ministry of Education, and 
while I also believe that your intentions for releasing those figures 
may have been forthright and honest, there is rampant drug-use and 
drug-pushing in the nation's schools. And equally disturbing is the 
fact that it has reached the school level. This is certainly a 
national tragedy.

Predatory gang members are identifying and recruiting at-risk young 
people from elementary, secondary, and senior secondary schools in 
large numbers. This virus is attacking our nation's most vulnerable 
and precious treasure. They are strategically targeting and 
brainwashing innocent fledglings to perpetuate their heinous crimes 
on our society. They hope that these youths will go where they 
cannot, and find places in our halls of learning where unsuspecting 
peers will succumb. If allowed to take roots, it will only continue 
the insidious decay and decline of our next generation.

Behind this facade of material comfort of "Trini is nice" and "Trini 
is a paradise" looms a dangerous trend that will continue to spoil 
the landscape and create further havoc on a society already blighted 
by crime and violence.

There are a few of us who believe that a variety of factors underlie 
this national tragedy including disintegrating nuclear families, 
child abuse and neglect, drug and alcohol abuse, lack of constructive 
values, a revolving-door juvenile justice system, and pervasive media 
violence. There must be a collective will for finding a solution. 
Only a comprehensive approach has any hope for success. Our populace 
is looking to our elected leaders not for demagoguery or 
partisanship, but for effective legislation and empowering public 
policies. To be sure, responsible and responsive government.

We are a nation of talk-on the radio, television, bars and social 
places, we talk. Everyone has a plan; few reach out. However, the 
police youth groups around the nation must be commended for providing 
guidance and support to at-risk youths. They help set and accomplish 
goals and act as positive role models. Perhaps a good example of this 
comes from the Maraval Police Youth Group. Over 75 young people are 
given the opportunity to participate in events and activities 
administered by the acting Inspector Joyce James Martin and her team 
of motivated officers. With others, she volunteers many hours, to 
include Saturdays, conducting home economic classes and teaching 
other needed skills to at-risk youths in the area. But police groups 
are no island. Community leaders, church groups, NGO's, and concerned 
adults must act now, or lose thousands.

Youth frequently face circumstances such as lack of supervision, 
negative peer pressure, lack of academic achievement, neglect and 
sometimes abuse. These are the ones at risk for violent behaviour, 
substance abuse, sexual activity, and gang affiliation. And gang 
leaders are capitalising on that apparent weakness.

To kill this cancerous virus we must introduce effective, carefully 
monitored programmes that will prevent and reduce gang membership. 
There must be a conglomeration of will and effort to give at-risk 
youths a non-threatening environment where they can play games, study 
and receive services instead of "liming" and getting into trouble 
with the law. Concurrently, there must be a viable system of outcome 
measures to collect data for what is working and what is not.

It is a disturbing fact that there is no data available from any 
programme focusing on the redirection of at-risk youth in the 
community. We scarcely know the numbers targeted, programmes of 
involvement and the outcomes of these programmes. Ultimately, records 
of arrests from police, courts, and probation departments must become 
easily available to assist this process.

Esbensen and Osgood's article on, "Gang Resistance Education and 
Training" (GREAT) results from a national evaluation, Journal of 
Research in Children Delinquency, may be instrumental as we focus 
attention on our youth.

This is an officer-taught, school-based education programme with 
class topics to include, crime and victimisation, conflict resolution 
skills, drugs and the neighbourhoods, personal responsibility and 
setting goals. And with the massive reconstruction programmes to 
improve the Police Training College now in process, I am optimistic 
that this new thrust will include a component to assist at-risk youth 
in our society. In the meantime, the youth of our nation must ponder 
the message of the late Ras Shorty I:

Watch Out My Children;

Watch Out My Children.

It Has A Fella Called Lucifer

With A Bag Of White Powder,

And He Don't Want To Powder Your Face

But To Bring Shame And Disgrace

To The Human Race.

- -Dr Harold Mahabir is an

international education consultant
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom