Prime Minister Perry Christie
By RICARDO WELLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
rwells@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Perry Christie on Thursday implored American and Caribbean national security officials to become more proactive in their approaches to reducing trans-national criminal activity and the conditions that lead youths to engage in illicit practices.
During the fifth annual United States-Caribbean High-Level Citizen Security Dialogue (HLCSD), Mr Christie referenced increasing statistics of "disenfranchised youth" turning to a life of crime as a result limited opportunities, saying that Caribbean nations must "recommit" themselves to saving and engaging youth.
Acknowledging that his comments were claims often repeated, Mr Christie said: "Some might think I am a broken record but I never tire of saying so. We must address the problem of youth unemployment. The question of male and young male dysfunction, the joblessness and the sense of hopelessness amongst our youth; they must be trained and be able to do productive work. That is the underlining message of all that we will say today in our discussions and I say as I have always said, if we ignore it, we do so at our peril."
"Today is an important opportunity for us to act together to counter our region's continued vulnerability to trans-national criminal activity including drugs and firearm trafficking, human smuggling, illegal immigration and money laundering.
"It is also a time to look and examine some of the factors within our borders that lead to embracing a life of crime.
The HLCSD by design strengthens the United States’ citizen security partnership with Caribbean nations as it defines current and emerging threats to citizens and communities within the region.
To aid the partnership, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) was developed in 2010 with goals of increasing opportunities for at-risk youth, improving community and law enforcement co-operation, improving juvenile justice sectors and reducing corruption within the region.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roberta Jacobson, indicated that the HLCSD reflected a "wider relationship" between the US and Caribbean countries. She explained that the criminal cultures of both regions shared many factors due to proximity and practices.
Mrs Jacobson applauded the growth of the partnership; however she claimed that more had to be done to reduce crime and empower youth. "We must look to the next five years of our citizen security collaboration recognising that trans-national, local and organised criminal organisations continue to adversely affect our societies and continue to adapt to the measures we take," she said.
She added that, to combat the adjustments made by these groups, officials must limit the human aspect associated with them by reducing the number of persons involved. Mrs Jacobson said to effect that, the achievement of the core goals of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative has become even more critical.
Prime Minister Christie added that the Bahamas, like other Caribbean states has a long history of cooperation on law enforcement and security matters with the United States of America.
He cautioned that the CBSI alone will not provide a quick fix for the many security challenges. Mr Christie said both regions must rid youth of the hopelessness and despair, adding that security, stability and greater economic opportunity for Caribbean youth would allow them a better option in comparison to a life of crime.
While in the Bahamas, Mrs Jacobson will lead a discussion on the CBSI and future opportunities for collaboration. She will also engage with senior government officials and leaders from the private, education and civil society sectors in addition to bilateral meetings with Mr Christie and Foreign Affairs Minister, Fred Mitchell.
The CBSI is one pillar of the US security strategy focused on citizen safety throughout the hemisphere. CBSI brings all members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic together to collaborate with America on efforts to reduce illicit trafficking, increase public safety and security and address underlying causes of crime and insecurity throughout the Caribbean.
Comments
John 9 years, 6 months ago
Perry Christie's legacy will have a big blood stain on its page. Based on current trend, some 500 and closer to 600 persons will have lost their lives in the Bahamas if PGC remits office in 2017. Most of them will be Bahamians and even more of them will be young Bahamian males under the age of 23 years old. All dead in five years. And while most will agree that this is not a political problem and while the PM and his government will maintain it was not for a lack of effort on their part , more police cars and equipment, more man power on the streets, more intelligence on the ground and even calls for the commissioner of police to step down, the fact will still be that over 500 killings occurred under their watch. But the more telling tale in all of this is that despite more than 500 persons losing their lives in criminal induced death, less that 50 persons will have been convicted and be serving time in prison for murders they com did between 2013 and 2017. The numbers speak for themselves: 500 plus murders committed, less than 50 murderers committed. The cold, chilling facts.
TalRussell 9 years, 6 months ago
PM you can't just fly off to stand before complete strangers to make stuff up.
Comrades let's land the PM back on Bahamaland soil to stand in front of the people he is no stranger to, What exactly have been these PLP Cabinet's youth funding programs and how have they worked?
PM as soon as you land, do implored your cabinet colleagues to reveal to the nation - exactly what were the proactive approaches your PLP administration HAVE taken over the past three plus years to REDUCE criminal activity and the conditions that lead youths NOT to engage in illicit practices?
And, PM, does your classification of illicit practices also include the cold-blooded calculated murdering of innocent citizens and visitors? PM is your PLP cabinet still not filling our jail cells, where youths make up the majority of the prison population - often sentenced on minor crimes including marijuana possession?
TheMadHatter 9 years, 6 months ago
They like to lock up youths smoking marijuana because they are a pack of sissies and are afraid to deal with real criminals.
TheMadHatter
TalRussell 9 years, 6 months ago
PM you can't just fly-off to stand before complete strangers to make stuff up.
Comrades let's land the PM back on Bahamaland soil to stand in front of the people he is no stranger to. Educate the people about exactly what have been these PLP Cabinet's youth funding programs and how have they worked?
PM as soon as you lands, it’s urgent matter that you implored your cabinet colleagues to reveal to the nation - exactly what were the proactive approaches your PLP administration HAVE taken over the past three plus years, to REDUCE criminal activity and the conditions that lead youths NOT to engage in illicit practices?
And, PM, does your classification of illicit practices also include the cold-blooded calculated murdering of innocent citizens and visitors? PM is your PLP cabinet still not filling our jail cells, where youths make up the majority of the prison population - often sentenced on minor crimes including marijuana possession??
And, PM, does your classification of illicit practices, also include the cold-blooded calculated murdering of innocent citizens and visitors? PM is your PLP cabinet still remaining silent whist the courts continue filling our jail cells with youths who make-up the majority of the prison population - often sentenced on minor crimes, including CREATING new criminals for nothing more than marijuana possession?
PM are we still jailing poor people cuz they either can’t pay their fines or monies matters judgements?
duppyVAT 9 years, 6 months ago
He was right across the harbour at Atlantis talking his shit as usual ............ it is amazing how these unsuspecting folks sit .......................................so enraptured by PGC verbosity.
But Perry should lead by example and start with the lost youth of the 8 Nassau inner city PLP constituencies ........... the 30% youth unemployment rate and the 80% of murder victims who are U25.............. and the 50% of HS seniors who fail to meet public school graduation criteria
What is your legacy on that Perry???????? ......................... UR2.0?????????????????
observer2 9 years, 6 months ago
Its ironic to be talking about saving our youth when the first major initiative of the current administration was the legalization of gambling as a means of increasing productivity against the will of the people expressed in the referendum.
Now there are webshops on almost every block of the poorest neighbourhoods and they are creeping into lower middle class and middle class areas. On the family islands they are creeping into all major settlements and are replacing the Canadian banks for day to day banking services.The webshops are not regulated by the Central Bank...watch this space in a couple of years.
As our youth loose hope, they will turn in even larger numbers to gambling, alcohol and crime to fill the void. Yesterday on the Randol Fawkes Labour Day parade it was shocking to see the number of people drinking at 9am. These neighbours are the bedrock of the current administrations support and part of their half century legacy of representing the poor.
SP 9 years, 6 months ago
........................ Talking The Talk Is Meaningless Without Walking The Walk ......................
Another meaningless diatribe from PM Christie. Where are the vocational training programs needed for our youth and individuals Bahamas educational systems have failed for decades?
Without question nobody in the region is more guilty of adding to the increasing statistics of "disenfranchised youth" turning to a life of crime as a result of limited opportunities, than Mr. Christie himself, only outdone by Hubert Ingraham.
How dammed difficult could it possibly be to implement a vocational educators swap initiative between member countries and Bahamas?
Out of literally 1000's of vocational schools in Caribbean, U.S., Canada, Europe and Christie couldn't identify ONE OR TWO for joint collaborations with Bahamas?
Asinine political stupidity and failure is a well oiled, fine tuned art with PLP and FNM.
Christie is "misappropriating" $20M while Ingraham "misappropriated" $50M from the peoples Treasury on veiled reelection campaigns with so called "jobs programs" for youth that adds no sustainable and or quantitative benefits to the country. Or to those that get paid for being required to do nothing more than "showing up half the time".
How many people would have quantitatively benefited becoming self sustaining if that $70M had been used in developing and teaching vocational education to now unqualified Bahamians?
Imagine the huge long term impact $70M would have created for participants. And residual benefits made available for future participants!
We cannot sugarcoat blatant undeniable facts that the PLP and FNM have both proven beyond all and any doubt their inability to make decisions in the national interest.
Well_mudda_take_sic 9 years, 6 months ago
Christie needs to have a good long hard look at himself in the mirror. It is Christie's very own seriously flawed social and economic policies that have created the many thousands of D- educated youth in our country today who have no skill sets and no prospects of employment because his government has failed to create any decent jobs. You reap what you sow and Christie bears great responsibility for having sown the seeds of our crime ridden society.
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