It pains me, indeed scares me, to read that gangs of armed youths are allowed to terrorise entire communities. And I say “allowed to” very consciously because these youths are known within their resident communities, are harboured there, are known drug users, and nobody passes information to the Authorities.

When you rear monsters, they will eat you one day. We see it all the time. These youths serve no useful purpose in society. They do not want to work; they cannot work. I read some pseudo-intellectuals reverting to “root causes.” Will these persons ever be honest with themselves? Here are some of the root causes they need to address:

*many women having several children with several men, some not knowing who the real fathers are. The end result: the youths who are terrorising us;

*fathers do not support their children – a part of their culture;

*homes benefiting from the spoils of robberies;

*communities rearing and harbouring criminals;

*children not being sent to school;

*blame everybody else but yourself.

We are tied to these “root causes” because it provides an excuse for our lack of development.

When the pseudo-intellectuals can seriously address these “root causes,” when we can put our money where our mouths are, only then can we find justification to complain against others. We need to look within our grouping for solutions – not elsewhere.

But we do not want to see these youths rehabilitated. The PNC, ACDA and those others who pretend to decry the killing of youths (who themselves would already have rap sheets longer than their arms) are comfortable maintaining the status quo.

From among these youths comes the “goon squad” who set “mo fyah” and create mayhem in the streets when instructed. They are indispensable. They are being bred for a purpose.

My posture: the Police Force should go after these youths and rid society of them, because if they get a chance to kill anybody, police included, they will. They have done so before. They will do so again.
Godfrey Skeete
Ex-Soldier