The Blinkered Privileged

A carjacking occurs at an upscale pharmacy, the latest in a spate of crimes that are now spilling over into the domain of the once relatively untouchable: the privileged sectors of T&T.

Cue shock, panic and concern.

Other areas of the nation have been living with these levels of distress for some time and given the ineffectiveness of the efforts to curb crime in a nation where two murders per day is now the minimum, there is the sense of inevitability amongst the well-to-do. ?

Just as Tobago has drastically slid into a double figure murder rate with ease, there is a similar pattern emerging in the gated communities, the upscale store car parks, the fashionable malls. As with Tobago, there is the concern that sporadic is simply the early sign, which can quickly become the new normal.?

Crime in this nation has been brazen for some time and that brazenness means that there is little fear of spreading the carnage.

Last year, Caricom declared crime and violence a public health issue. That is relevant in the sense that it is disease; evolving as it spreads and finding new ways to overcome the barriers placed before it. Whether those come in the form of increased security guards, gates, higher walls, cameras or licensed firearms, the disease will find a way. To use the word that will appear a few times in this column, it is inevitable.

Thus far, this has been the methodology of the privileged areas. Like the rest of the distressed populace, they have also become obligated to cocooning themselves behind intricate burglar proofing and high-tech alarm systems, as they make the error of localizing the issue rather than seeing on a national scale. ?

It's a natural approach for all sections of a society, not one to berate. ‘How does this affect me and my immediate area? What steps can we take to protect our own?’ Safety in numbers, a sense of security with those with whom we are most familiar.

Communities have every right to take action to protect themselves and their properties, the privileged areas are no different. These areas have witnessed the type of heinous crimes that adorn the news headlines every day, intermittently. The one-off home invasion accompanied by violence or worse, murder. It would create a jolt of fright, appeased by fleeting concern, social media rants providing the outlet to air frustrations and fears, but never creating the impetus to take matters further. ?

What’s different in 2024? That word again: inevitability. The reality check somewhere in the recesses of those minds that these latest violations are the tip of the iceberg, the harbinger of more to come. That, just like the rest of Trinidad, just like Tobago, this crime situation only gets worse. ????

So why target the privileged with these seemingly harsh words? Are they to be adversely admonished because they worked hard and enjoy an elevated standard of living? Of course not.

The answer, nay, the appeal, lies with power and influence. The privileged in T&T have clout and lots of it. They recognize the problems in the society and many of them do good work to help the less privileged, through charity but more importantly, through empowerment. But they do not recognize the power of their standing in society, derived from their economic strength.

It provides them with a direct line to the powers that be, with an ability to lean hard on the decision makers and say, ‘this is not working, my family and my business are now at a greater risk’.

They have the capacity to change their tact, taking a more intelligent approach, by using their influence to tell the government to sort the matter on a national level, through relevant appointments to security positions and implementing measures to tackle the problem at the source (yes border patrol, this means you).

If you curb crime nationally, there is less chance that it will affect you locally. With the level of national crime in T&T, we can ill-afford taking only local measures, because the result would be……. inevitable.

What would that approach from the privileged look like? It would take courage, there are so many direct ties between big business and government that it could mean putting profits at risk. But business chambers made up of business owners are doing it with increasing regularity and outspokenness, even newspaper columnists are putting their company’s revenue streams at risk for a greater good.

In the utopian ideal, such a public stance would trickle down to other sectors of the society and embolden them, with a sense of solidarity now that everyone shares the same increasing risks. It would not change the disconnect between sectors – it’s still a case of looking out for number one – but that’s not the aim.

Neither is the aim to concoct a guilt trip to provoke action. We are too far gone as a nation grappling with violent crime for that. Despite the benefits of privilege, the quality of life in T&T has not improved. Personal quality of life perhaps but living with increased anxiety over the inevitable is not improvement.

The best security measures cannot withstand the inevitable. The privileged of T&T are one of the last bastions of influence to force nationwide change on crime; they can read articles like this one and get offended, or they can take off their blinkers, recognize their power and act. ?

Sheldon Waithe is the Creative Director at Communique Media Services Ltd website: communiquett.com

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