Working towards Trini-good

Q: Archbishop J, how do we live with this high crime in T&T?

When we speak about high crime, it is usually murder to which we refer. Now, more recently, it is home invasions and personal attacks that also worry us. Let’s be honest: crime preoccupies our minds and is the cause of deep unsettling in our spirits. The cost is real. We live in a constant state of fear and alertness. Many can ensure their children go abroad for education and stay there. Brain drain is one cost we hardly calculate, but it is real. Living in fear is real. Communities besieged by regular gunfire are real. Every murder is real. Every home invasion is also real. How do we live with it?

Problem or symptom?

The question is whether violent crime is the problem or the symptom. We focus on it especially when the headline says: “14 killed in bloody weekend” (Trinidad Express, July 15).

We have become accustomed to the news, and for the most part, we remain numb. Fourteen people were murdered over the weekend. Then we wake from our slumber with anger and want someone to fix this place, that is, to deal with the high murder rate and home invasions and make our life secure again. But nothing happens except that it gets worse, and we wake up again in alarm.

Crime is not the problem. It is a symptom of the lifestyle we have promoted and popularised. Business elite on one side, Trinibad on the other. It is a symptom of chronic underdevelopment in so-called hotspot communities. It is a symptom of a failing education system. It is a symptom of the plantation system and its family patterns. We have not yet found a way to address and heal them. Mothers care for children with many fathers but no daddy in the home to teach them how to be real men. It is a symptom of late capitalism. It has glorified lifestyle over values, character, and contribution. A failing constitution. We re-elect political leaders, regardless of their performance. Here where the Opposition’s work is to oppose even if the bill was first proposed by them. A failed Police Service Commission leaves rogue officers employed. It cannot select a leader to lead in this crisis.

Our rising crime is due to a global drug, gun, and human trafficking business. It produces billions in illegal cash. None of the gang leaders could run this international business. Yet, authorities have not arrested nor charged anyone who can operate at this level. Illegal drugs, guns, and human trafficking fuel rising crime in Trinidad. In 1986, New Life Ministries Drug Rehab Centre brought Dr Jess Bromley, an expert on narcotics from the US. After walking through our city, he felt alarmed. Our cocaine use was more sophisticated and rampant than in the top US cities. He said, “in twenty years you will not recognise your country.” He was speaking about the levels of crime that he had predicted.

The hydra of drugs, guns, and human trafficking poses a challenge. It generates massive cash flows. This is a business, and they are expert at corrupting officials at every level of the system. The cash has to be cleaned and if corrupting officials are necessary, then it will be done. Here we now have the problem. A business in Trinidad is skilled at corrupting our peacekeepers. Many years ago, an Attorney General hired an audit firm to investigate the police. They said it was 60 per cent corrupt. Corrupting those who are charged to keep us safe is our major problem right now.

Can we agree both the PNM and UNC Governments have failed to address violent crime and security? A team of businessmen invested both time and leadership and have not been able to make a dent in the crime trend.

A different starting point

Let us start by recognising that at its core we have a spiritual problem. In spirituality, people are either in consolation or desolation. The same is true for families, communities and nations. Trinidad and Tobago is in a national desolation. Listen to our disrespect and hopelessness on talk shows, the national despair and sense of powerlessness. These all speak to the desolation that we are in. In desolation, you stubbornly cling to your journey of faith, hope, and love. You repent and change the areas of your life that are not in keeping with God’s commandments. You deepen your prayer and devotion in the face of the darkness. Look back on how we got here and plan a new route forward. Speak to someone about what you feel and ask for help to commit to the journey.

Twenty years ago, I was the parish priest of Gonzales, and the community was in a state of desolation. It was very difficult because I did not understand. The fact is God is with us, but we only look at the negative. We must gain spiritual sight. It will help us see God’s presence in the small and big things of life and among our people. This is the only way to sustain faith, hope, and love amid the despair many citizens face daily.

We must push our humanity to the limit. We must care for each other and become our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. Only extreme love and care will get us through this as a unified country. It is so easy to become callous and hard-hearted. We must resist this temptation. As stated in Matthew 5:4, “God will comfort those who mourn.” Mourning is feeling pain and loss. It’s also a stubborn defiance. I won’t let it make me hard, callous, or cynical. It is grieving for what we have lost and who we are not yet. It is not giving in or giving up. This requires extreme grace. So, we must deepen our spiritual practice. This is the foundation of hope and resilience.

As a young nation, we have not faced fundamental challenges that force us to define who we become. 1970 and 1990 were tough but the average citizen did not have to fight for our way of life, beliefs, or nation. Rather, we had coup parties and went to mindless amnesia.  We have come to a place where we need to decide what type of nation and people we want to become. Lloyd Best would say our “un-responsibility” has a high price. We need to take responsibility for this place; it is all we have. This requires faith, hope, and love. These give every citizen the resilience to choose to live differently. The elites must make the biggest sacrifice, since they have had the biggest benefit. We need a national plan to develop our most troubled communities. It should integrate spirituality, education, parenting, sports, and the arts. It must build a new culture of resilience and service.

Our Response

As a Church in the face of this challenge, we have made choices to invest deeply in a different future. For five years, the priests of East Port of Spain have met monthly to discuss a pastoral approach to the community. Dr Wendy Ann Jones leads a biblical animation for 60 people. It reflects biblically on the roots of crime and violence, seeking a pastoral response. We are leading all our schools and people to meditation and depth of prayer. A group is examining music to counteract Trinibad. Its popularity is attracting our youth to gang life. Earlier this year Fr Matthew d’Hereaux was appointed to Rosary and Gonzales. They are creating a pastoral approach to the unique challenges of East Port of Spain communities. Last year, two young Holy Ghost priests were assigned to the Laventille-Morvant-Success pastoral cluster. Also, Fr Mikkel Trestrail of the Companions of the Transfigured Christ was appointed to Belmont. All the parishes of East Port of Spain must engage the community. They must find ways to bring peace and real development to these troubled areas.

Sea Lots is one of the most challenged of the East Port of Spain communities and one of the most difficult. For the last seven years, Eternal Light Community has an ongoing presence in this community. In August, it will open a major facility to educate this challenged community. It will be a special school, with a NALIS library. It will teach skills and human development. The Eternal Light Community will run this special school. They plan to have a social worker to help students’ families. We want to impact the whole family, not just students. The community has met over the last few years to dream and to commit to this dream of a brighter day.

Crime’s darkness has pierced our spirit and altered our outlook. We need each citizen to commit to resilience and hope by taking concrete steps to rebuild our nation.

Action Step:

Ask God for the help to keep your heart alive and not give up on Trinidad and Tobago. Do a kind act each day for random people. Deepen your spiritual practice.

Scripture reading:

Mt 5:3-11