As with everything else in Guyana, the crime situation just had to get totally out of control and people had to protest before there was any obvious sign that efforts were being made to deal with it. Why should we have expected anything different when the signs are everywhere? For example, if a road develops a pothole, it is ignored until it becomes a crater or virtually impassable before it is tackled. If the drains are choked with weeds, they are ignored until a massive flood comes along and nearly drowns us all. And the best one of all, if there are incompetents in any sector let them remain until they have messed up so badly that it costs billions to fix; and then let them stay a while longer.
Today, it is glaringly obvious that the joint services are moving against the East Coast gang. A bit late, but better late than never as they say. But then what? What happens after they have scoured the East Coast backdams and flushed out everyone hiding there? Is that enough to guarantee some modicum of security?
These are questions to which all of Guyana needs answers. We would hope that the joint services have a plan to ensure nationwide security. We hope it is a good plan. We don’t need to know the details of the plan, because then the element of surprise will be lost. But we need some reassurance that it will work and not be the same old, same old.
We hope that the intelligence sections of the joint services have determined that: (1) They are striking in the right area. (2) They will get the leaders and lieutenants preferably alive and would have enough evidence to bring them to justice. (3) They would question them to learn their motives or cause; who is the top man; how they secured their arms and ammunition and where their arms store/cache is as well as the names of their aiders and abettors so that they too can face justice. (4) They need to know where the gang members go when the East Coast gets too hot – like right now.
We hope too that the joint services know for sure that the East Coast backdam is the primary refuge of the gang; whether there are other gangs; whether there are cells of the gang/s in other parts of the country. If all of these things are not being pursued, then ‘Operation Restore Order’ will be just another band aid. We have had too many of those. The wounds can no longer be patched with plaster. They are open and bleeding and need urgent and precise surgical attention.
We need the assurance too that after the joint services have completed their operation and have withdrawn, the police will be attentive and responsive when they are called. Crime will always be with us; if there were no crime we would not need policemen, laws, lawyers and courts. But it should not be at a level where it appears to be bigger than the security forces and the police have a role in keeping it down by responding to reports at all times and in all places.
For the long term, we need to hear what the government’s plans are to prevent another massacre. How does it plan to reach out to and mould the aimless young men to whom crime and besting the law is already sexy? Will it approach civil society and non-governmental organisations for assistance with this? Will there be a greater thrust towards poverty alleviation and the restoration of the dignity of the poor, since poverty breeds crime and criminals?
It is time for a new order to things. It cannot be business as usual. There must be a long-term plan. If the government does not already have one, then this should be a top priority. If not, a year or two from now, we could be right back here, or in a far worse place.
