The Tribune

IN RECENT days, there has been hand-wringing about the number of murders counted in just one week. This is not an unfamiliar place for us. As the number of murders steadily moves toward 100, people start talking. They decry the state of the nation and worry aloud about its direction and destination.

Something must be done! Something is wrong with these people! The country is in a crisis! Fingers point at the people who need to do something. The problem is always external to the people complaining and never named. The national crisis is usually the fault of a government administration. The blame is assigned and hands are flung up as someone else is expected to find the solutions.

For some, the murders are a non-issue. “Let them kill up each other!” they say. “Who cares?” While they hunt and kill one another, the rest of us can carry on as though it is not happening. As long as all of our own are safe from harm, let the killing continue, right? Well, that may satisfy the people who think they can separate themselves from the environment and protect their own with high walls, dogs and an expendable staff, it does not entirely work that way. People are connected, share physical space and form relationships. We go to grocery stores, banks, doctors offices,and restaurants. We sit in traffic, wait outside of schools for the bell to ring, attend weddings, funerals and birthday parties, cross paths with people known to us and strangers alike.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a place at the most inconvenient, even dangerous, time. There is no preparation for an unpredictable event like an altercation that leads to indiscriminate shooting. None of us is safe when guns are on the streets and people use them in situations of conflict.

Many people say the problem is too far gone now. Those who are involved in gun violence and who live “lives of crime” are lost forever, and we simply have to wait for them to all be called. The focus, they say, must be on young people. Still, programming for young people is insufficient and they are not being prepared for the world we all live in now, much less the one that is being created with each passing day. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of what other people and entities ought to be doing, but little clarity on their own responsibilities and opportunities to engage young people in meaningful, productive, life-shaping ways.

We are seeing, every day, the failure of families, but do not seem to recognise that individuals can only do so much in a system that demands we overwork, then figure out how to use limited pay to meet ever-increasing needs. Far too many children are left to fend for themselves and build families of their own because their biological family members have little to offer.

Parents are absent for various reasons. People often assume this is a personal choice, refusing to acknowledge systemic issues that force parents out of homes, leaving children to their own devices. Some parents work shifts and cannot be at home whenever the children are home, leaving them unsupervised for long periods. Some work multiple jobs, and this has the same result. Some parents do not know how to be parents, are resentful of the job, and/or expect children to figure it out for themselves once they reach a certain age.

In our society, we have come to expect quite a lot from elders. Grandparents are expected to swoop in and parent yet another generation. In many cases, grandparents and great-grandparents step up to the plate, doing school pick-up, preparing meals, ensuring homework is completed, enrolling children in summer programmes, and teaching basic life skills. Some do it because they want to, some do it because they share the living space, and some do it because they fear what would happen if they did not step in.

This should not be the way they have to live their later years, but what was once a blessing is now seen as an obligation. When they die before the children become adults, there is a void. Sometimes aunts and uncles try to fill the gap. Family members often do even more than is reasonable, recognising there is no system in place to support those who are struggling, but the blame is quickly assigned. When a young person lives a “life of crime”, they are the shame of a family when there are multiple systems that failed them.

Children spend most of their days, during the academic year, at school. They are expected to memorise and regurgitate information, over and over again, day after day. Their learning styles and interests do not matter. They must all sit, listen and follow instructions. While we know this is where they learn social skills, there is no formal emphasis on it. They learn to play, but they also learn to fight. They learn to argue, to hurt people’s feelings and bully. They learn to leverage relationships to get what they want and to build their own support systems when they are outside of their homes.

They may get caught and face punishment for physical fights and particularly troubling verbal altercations, but they are not taught to resolve conflict in respectful, effective, non-violent ways. When they resort to physical violence, as is modeled to them through corporal punishment, they are treated as though they chose it from an array of options, and are still left without appropriate intervention that would be useful to them in the future.

Political parties sling mud with ease, blaming each other for the longstanding issue with crime and, in particular, murder. No matter who takes office, nothing changes from one five-year period to the next. No one — not a Prime Minister nor Minister of National Security — has a quick-fix. No administration can snap fingers or wave wands to make The Bahamas crime free.

The solutions take more than five years to be proven. They can be designed and implemented and there can be monitoring and evaluation during a five-year period, but it would take consistent investment, far beyond a political term. This means the solution must be non-partisan. Political parties must agree to the measures, and to maintain them no matter which one wins the next election. It requires them to put the country and its people first, ahead of their own greedy ambition.

Families — which almost never have an adult who is not working or looking for work — need support if they are to function in the capacity of raising good, involved citizens. They must have time, in their waking hours, to spend together. They need to have enough to eat. The utilities have to stay on. They need toilets that flush, safe transportation to and from work and school, the ability to go to the doctor and receive medication, and protection from the elements. They need to work, to receive fair wages, and to access assistance when there are gaps. For families to function the way we demand, they need time and their households need to be safe and have all of the necessary resources to sustain healthy lives.

The health and wellbeing of people and the conditions of households are factors that must be considered if we are to truly address the issue of crime.

Food. Shelter. Water. Human connection. Support systems. Emotional intelligence. Conflict resolution skills. These are at the foundation of safe, functioning communities. When people’s basics needs are met, they are happier, healthier, and better able to perform necessary functions, including school and work. When people are taught to manage their emotions and deal with conflict in non-violent ways, they do not resort to violence.

When families function properly, providing the necessary support to young people, those young people are not as easily swayed to barter loyalty, committing themselves to “lives of crime.” People have to meet their needs somehow. Make it possible for them to access what they need in their homes and at their schools, through government resources and services which must include financial assistance for people experiencing poverty and regular curriculum redesign to reflect our changing reality and community needs.

Police killing suspects is not a solution. Time in prison is not a solution. In many cases, they spur even more acts of violence. To solve the problem of crime, and murder more specifically, we have to understand the conditions that push people to “lives of crime” and address those conditions.

Yes, we need better law enforcement. Yes, we need a much better justice system, including faster trials, protection of witnesses and monitoring of people on bail. These, however, cannot be the only changes we make. We have to start where the disconnect does. We have to strengthen families, improve home life and design schools to meet the needs of the children who depend on and are mandated to attend them. Properly resource the people and systems that produce members of society.

Recommendations

1. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin.

As the title suggests, this novel follows the lives of the four wives of Baba Segi who is not likable beyond his ability to financially take care of his household. Each of the wives have different reasons for marrying Baba Segi, and their relationships with each other are all unique. It is the entrance of Bolanle, the fourth wife, that threatens to shift the dynamics. She is not welcomed by the other wives, and she is under tremendous pressure to have children. She has never fully recovered from an experience of sexual trauma and fears that this is the reason for her difficulty in conceiving. When she is taken to a hospital to have the medical issue assessed, things unravel quickly, and she questions her belonging in this kind of household.

2. Design Matters with Debbie Millman, episode: Ashley C Ford.

This podcast is about “how incredibly creative people design the arc of their lives” and has been running for over 15 years. Ashley C Ford is the author of Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir which is about Ford’s life as the daughter of a man who went to prison when she was a baby. She clung to him, and his absence, believing that he is the one person in the world who understands her. In her memoir, Ford tells of her upbringing, the fraught relationship with her mother, going to live with her grandmother, experiencing poverty, struggling with her body and the aftermath of rape, and figuring out who she is, beyond what has happened to and around her. In the podcast, Millman asks questions that bring up the stories connected to these themes, and Ford answers with forthrightness and, at times, difficulty.