An almost total silence has befallen our twin-island Republic since the inauguration of the PNM regime in 2015. This silence is broken only by gunshots and the cries of pain from victims and their families of the most heinous crimes. It has become natural that ‘PNMites’ would exult over this deafening silence and point to escalating crime as evidence of results of the former regime’s stewardship.
All but the loyalists understand the dim situation at hand and are ready to face realities. In a section of our society, there is bewilderment, hesitation and something like panic. One would be a fool to think that any of these feelings are actually being shared by our political leaders or those who have hitherto arrogated to themselves leadership.
The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha has been working very hard to make the best out of a bad situation. We do not act as though our country is demoralised. On the contrary, we believe that circumstances have taken an extremely favourable turn in that the country is crying out for unity and the timing is ripe for a national revolution.
The words of the Mahabharata (Hindu religious text) apply with renewed vigour: “Never should a prince and leader bow his haughty head to fear, Let his fortune be however desperate, death however near. If his soul grow faint, let him imprison weakness in his heart, keep a bold and open countenance and play on a hero’s part. If the leader fear and faint, then all behind him faint and fear. So a king of men should keep a dauntless look and forehead clear.”
This is exactly what we believe. In times of high and heinous
A Colombian fan celebrates his team’s victory over Senegal during a live telecast of their 2018 World Cup match in Bogota, Colombia, on Thursday. PICTURE APcrimes, you should not be demoralised. Your hearts and hopes for your children should be high as ever and you should not show fear. On the other hand, if you feel demoralised and are suffering from sinkings and searchings of the heart, you ought to take some trouble to hide it. (See Mahabharat supra)
Our people, let’s unite! The rank and file are not cowering down. What the country wants and needs is affirmative action by the people in charge. In the past, the SDMS has spoken out at the risk of sometimes being the only responsible organ of public opinion. We have a duty to lay our views before the people and we have not failed to do so.
Almost 1400 murders in less than three years are untenable. Whether you look at it from the elemental point of view of the Government’s performance or the state of the laws of the country, crime enforcement, deterioration in societal values and unemployment, the fact remains, we have reached rock bottom. We can only pull ourselves up, and pull ourselves we must.
What the country wants and needs is a pronouncement of some kind of policy. It need not be a detailed or indiscreet pronouncement, but at least a lead is wanted. Some form of leadership is needed!
To date, the Dr Rowley led Government has failed the people of T&T on the burning issue of crime. They are behaving as though crime is a natural consequence, an inevitable check and balance on potential overpopulation. It is as if they just don’t care. Failure after failure by the people who purport to lead us. Where do we go from here? How do we rise up from this unfortunate state of existence?
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever widening thought and action - into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”(Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore)
Trinidad and Tobago, let us unite now or forever shall we bear the fruit of bad action. If we fail to wrestle crime now, we shall forever be plagued with rampant senseless murders and rapes. If the powers that be are not hearing us, then let us unite to rid ourselves of them. Let us unite now! Let us unite to ensure that we have a government committed to eradicating crime before it is too late. We are currently treading a path that will continue to be marked red and caked with innocent blood.
