Pubdate: Sun, 18 Jan 2009
Source: Trinidad Express (Trinidad)
Copyright: 2009 Trinidad Express
Contact:  http://www.trinidadexpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1093
Author: Nazma Muller
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

'A BRUTALISED SOCIETY MUST BE VIOLENT...'

Nazma muller talks to Onwubiko Agozino,   a professor of sociology 
and a graduate of  Edinburgh University in Scotland, 
Cambridge  University in England and Calabar University  in Nigeria. 
A lecturer in criminology at UWI,  he had some very interesting 
propositions  for the Government on how to solve crime.

Q: Professor, how long have you been in Trinidad?

A: I have been here since August 2006.

So you know what's happening on the crime scene. What  insights can 
you give a society that feels it's under  siege?

This country is not different from any country in the  world today. 
We are seeing a lot of violent crime  related to the narcotics trade. 
Narco-terrorism in  South America is related to attempts to extradite 
drug  lords. A lot of young people are involved in the drug  trade 
because it's very lucrative, although the foot  soldiers often make 
less than the minimum wage. The  trade has a lot of resources. It's a 
very serious  threat to security at the national and the international levels.

Obviously, though, the narcotics trade is not the only  reason for 
violent crimes, because there was violence  before the trade. Go back 
into the history of the  Caribbean to the years of slavery, to the 
wars between  European powers over these islands. The slave trade 
yielded huge profits through systemic violence, so  there is systemic 
violence in the very foundation of  these societies. The trade in 
humans was treated as  legal by the colonising powers, but it is 
recognised  today as a crime against humanity.

We have to find a way of dealing with the trade in  illicit drugs in 
such a way that we can reduce the  violence and the crimes associated 
with that trade.

Well, what if we legalise drugs?

That's a good question, a logical question. But it's  not something 
that policy makers want to consider. [He  refers to a chapter by 
Horace Bartilow, an associate  professor of political science at the 
University of  Kentucky in the US, "Does Drug Enforcement Reduce 
Crime?"] His conclusion is that the war on drugs  escalates the 
violence. Arresting traffickers or b  arons would simply generate a 
war of succession among  their subordinates. Your question is 
legitimate and  historical, because we have evidence in history of 
decriminalisation being used as a tool to deal with  violent crimes.

In 1976, the Netherlands decided to do an experiment.  They said, for 
five years let's see if  decriminalisation of marijuana would make a 
difference.  And every five years since then, they have extended the 
experiment. They still have it. Now the Netherlands is  less 
dangerous than the UK, France or Germany, which  rely on the war on drugs.

So if the Minister of National Security came to you and  asked you 
for some solutions to the crime problem, what  would you recommend?

I would tell him, try the Dutch experiment.  Decriminalise marijuana 
for five years and see if it  will make a difference. It will create 
jobs for young  people who sell it. Doctors will be able to prescribe 
it for Aids and cancer patients. You have a product  that could make 
huge contributions to the economy, and  you are saying no? And it 
doesn't cost the Government  anything.

Number two: abolish the death penalty because we know  that it is an 
escalator, not a deterrent to homicide.  Every jurisdiction that has 
the death penalty has  experienced a higher rate of homicide.

Why is that?

It's called the brutalisation effect. By having the  death penalty, 
the Government brutalises the psyche of  the people in the name of 
social control. It sends a  message that using violence is a 
legitimate response to  a dispute or provocation. If you check back, 
the  homicide rate in T&T, up to 1999, was less than 100.  What 
happened in 1999? Nine people were hanged in one  week [Dole Chadee 
and his gang]. That brutalised the  psyche of the people. 
Immediately, the homicide rate  doubled, and just kept climbing. 
Every time the politicians talk about reintroducing hanging, it 
goes  up further.

If the Government abolishes the death penalty, they  will send out a 
message that human life is sacred, no  matter what. The highest 
punishment murderers will face  is life imprisonment. And you may not 
believe this, but  they are afraid of life in prison and attempt 
suicide,  so that's actually a deterrent.

Legalise drugs, abolish the death penalty...any more  suggestions 
that might give Mr Manning a heart attack?

My third recommendation is to make sex work legal.

Surely, you jest?

Yes, it may seem strange, but if you legalise the  industry, the 
women and the men who work in it would be  better protected. And 
children would not be used as sex  slaves. The government would be 
able to regulate the  industry, so this would ensure that the workers 
are healthy and reduce rates of sexually-transmitted  diseases.

Professor, you know you are talking blasphemy and  committing heresy, 
don't you?

My fourth suggestion is to legalise abortion.

Holy Mother of Jesus!

Even though it's illegal, there's nobody in jail for  having an 
abortion, so what is the point? All the law  does is make it more 
dangerous for women to get one, to  risk their lives. Indirectly, it 
gives men the idea  that they have control over the bodies of women. 
This  is part of the Government's way of saying that women  have no 
control over their bodies. Even if a doctor  recommends this 
procedure for a woman to save her life,  she cannot have the procedure.

Prof, I have to warn you, you're going

to bring down fire and brimstone

on your head...

Five, the Government must end discrimination against  gay people. 
There is a law that says if you are gay,  you can't enter T&T. Yet, 
Elton John came here. Which  shows that if you are wealthy, you can 
go anywhere in  the world. The law actually discriminates against 
poor people, who lack the protection that millionaires can  afford. 
If you see your friend acting or talking in a  certain way, you start 
to call him or her gay and,  possibly, attack him or her violently. 
And the Government is telling you that it's okay to condemn  these 
people. We shouldn't be judging other people, but  the Government 
indirectly supports this brutalisation  of the society. Masculinity 
takes a violent turn in the  Caribbean, especially among the poor 
young people, who  take it upon themselves to enforce this rigid idea 
of what it means to be a man.

Because I make these recommendations, doesn't mean I  practise these 
lifestyles. Let me make that clear.  Quite the contrary, just as many 
rich people campaign  in the interest of the poor, many men campaign 
against  sexism and many white people campaign against racism.

It's a good thing you say that, because that's the  first conclusion that the

critics would jump to: that you're a gay, drug-using  baby killer. 
Any other corns you would like to step on?

Another problem is alcoholism. People in these islands  like their 
rum and Coke. I would encourage the  Government to raise the tax on 
alcohol so high, as to  discourage people from drinking.

Well, that's it then. Pack your bags...

Unfortunately, history tells us that when the economy  is bad, people 
drink more-to drown their sorrows. More  education and counselling 
might be a solution.

The problem is we don't see it as a problem. To be a  real man you 
must drink. How do we dispel these myths  that young men believe in?

The problem I have found is that they don't have  effective study 
skills. The young women get it faster  because they have more 
responsibility at home. They  have to do chores, so they learn to 
manage their time.  Young men can go out and lime all the time. But 
they  don't realise that they are under-developing  themselves. The 
Government should introduce a  compulsory course called study skills. 
Not for SEA or  GCE, but to show boys and girls how to study smart 
and pass exams without working too hard.

If young men could work smart, come into UWI and get  their degrees, 
the violence would be reduced. People  who are successful 
academically are less likely to  resort to violence.

If you could send a message to the gunmen and gang leaders in the 
country, what would you say?

Eat breakfast. A lot of people are not eating  breakfast. The first 
thing they do in the morning is  drink rum. Research shows that if 
you go without  breakfast, you are irritable all day.

Secondly, the gangsters don't hate the people in their  communities. 
They just don't know who is an informer,  who is helping the 
Government in its war on drugs. I  would tell them to show more love 
to their brothers and  sisters. Let us build a love institute. We do 
not teach  our young people how to love each other; we teach 
them  how to fight. We need to emphasise peace and love, the  same 
way Gandhi did, and he said that he learned it  from the Zulus. There 
is an economic crisis, and the  way out is to invest more in our 
people. That's how  America, Japan and Europe are going to come out 
of it.  We have to have faith in our people. They are going to  show 
us the way out, if we trust them and empower them.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom