We need all hands on deck

By Jaevion Nelson

It is quite daunting to think the peaceful community where I grew up is now one of the most violent places in the parish of Clarendon. Incidents of crime and violence were infrequent and would be concentrated to specific areas during my formative and teenage years. I often walked for more than a mile several nights, well after midnight, after hanging out with friends. There weren't many street lights and several of the few that existed, including the one by my gate, didn't work most times. Unoccupied land resembled a forest. There was no police patrol, but I didn't feel anxious about the likelihood of being a victim of crime.

York Town, the place I grew up, is a small community of about 2,800 people in south west Clarendon. It has become a prominent feature in news over the last few years. I was still a student at the University of the West Indies when the first few incidents started and crippled the residents with great fear and anxiety. The peacefulness of the community was disrupted and it was seemingly allowed to escalate to unprecedented levels of arson, murder, shooting and rape, among other incidents.

According to the Social Development Commission, there are only five active community-based organisations in York Town. Forty-eight per cent of the 635 households in the community are headed by persons who are unemployed. The same number of households are headed by persons without academic qualifications. Some of the main issues concerning the residents are high levels of unemployment among adults and youth, high levels of high school dropouts, limited numbers of opportunity for training and employment, low skill levels among residents, poor parenting, and poor representation from political directorates. Since 2007, the member of parliament has been Noel Arscott, who is also now the minister of local government and community development. The councillor, Uphell Purcell, happens to be the deputy mayor of the parish.

Money wasted?

We have been spending millions of dollars over the last decade or so to stem the tide of crime and violence in our communities, but these programmes seem to have little to no efficacy.

What happens when incidents of violence erupt in our communities? Why do they occur? What do we do? Do we wait for them to escalate to unprecedented levels before we act? Do we wait until the situation needs millions of dollars to stem the tide of violence? Do we beg for divine intervention? Or, do we call on the relevant government and non-government actors to strategise and find solutions to the problems?

We cannot continue to attempt to fix our dire crime situation in a vacuum. Without social development in communities where people, and especially youth, are most vulnerable because of a lack of opportunities, we simply cannot reasonably expect our efforts to yield results. The effective use of the Constituency Development Fund is, therefore, a critical component in this process.

Are we currently spending these monies in such a way that offers medium to long term sustainable development? Are community-based organisations given support by government entities to support the critical work they do? Do MPs and councillors take a needs-based approach to development by visiting and engaging with their constituents frequently to offer the best assistance in light of our limited resources? We need all hands on deck if we are to respond to crime and violence effectively.

I yearn for the day York Town will return to the days of peacefulness and good camaraderie, but this won't be possible if we ignore the situation and don't develop strategies to address such dire problems.

Jaevion Nelson is a youth development, HIV and human rights advocate. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com andjaevion@gmail.com.