Outrage

It appears to me that we are not getting the kind of public outrage that is needed for some of the despicable, atrocious and horrifying things that are happening in this country.{{more}} I am sure that as individuals we feel the repugnance and revulsion that are demanded, but the public anger that should follow does not seem to be there. Is this a result of complacency or is it because some of these things do not personally touch us? Remember that when they came for the Catholics you paid little attention because you were not a Catholic. Today you might not be a victim but tomorrow you just might be.

I was totally ‘horror -struck’ when I heard about the burglary at the home of the deceased David Bonadie on the evening of his funeral. It appears that we are not dealing with persons who have any semblance of a conscience or any sense of humanity. How can you rob a family grieving over the death of their loved one at the time when they are paying the last respects to the deceased? I have difficulty coming to grips with this. Are these the kind of people who we expect to influence with signs of ‘Crime does not Pay’? Can we get any lower than this? What can motivate any human being to indulge in such atrocities? This is obviously some kind of sickness that will not be easy to cure because something of a human personality and feeling is clearly missing. Given the kind of things that were stolen, we can assume that the items were going to be sold. Persons who buy items which they certainly should know were stolen are just as guilty of these evil deeds as those who have done the actual stealing. If this was an isolated incident or issue, we can then hope that something of this nature will not happen again. But unfortunately, it is not. It follows a pattern of absolutely madness that has taken hold of our land. Are we going to continue to put the blame for most of this on the deportees?

What I have described above happened on Thursday. On Saturday, there was more shock in store. A 75 year old blind woman was raped and murdered. It was no simple murder. The reports indicate that she was stabbed eighteen times. Now, is all of this for real or are we dreaming? A blind, aged woman raped! This alone is disgusting, and is the product of a sick mind. But then to stab her eighteen times is really beyond belief. Add to this the fact that it was only a week before that another woman, a young woman, was stabbed eighteen times. Is there some meaning to the eighteen stabs? Where is the outcry about these things? Have we come to accept these as things that will happen and over which we have no control? What is even worrying about the stabbing of the younger woman is that it was apparently done in the presence of her two children. What psychological effects might this have on the children? Have they been getting help in this area or do we think that this is only something you will do in a more developed society? What compounds this even more is the information that the young lady was for fourteen years the girl friend of the person who allegedly did the stabbing. Incredible!

I really have difficulty understanding what is taking place. Is it that we simply have to sit back and wait for the other monstrous act to take place? The daughter of the 75 year old was quoted in SEARCHLIGHT Midweek as saying, “…I don’t think I can live in St.Vincent anymore. I am just afraid for my life.” This, however, is not an option for most people. We have to stay here and fight it out or endure it and hope for the best.(As I write this ,I am hearing two more cows patrolling the street near to where I live. Is there really no order in this place?). The other issue that has to be constantly kept in focus is the fact that women are the victims of a lot of these criminal acts. SVG has already developed a reputation for our treatment of women. All of this would only provide more ammunition, especially when you introduce the fact that one of the victims is 75 years old and that she was raped. I am told that quite a number of women, especially older ones. are dreadfully afraid of being out of their homes after dark.

While I was in the process of writing this article, I skimmed the weekend papers and found the following. Burglars stole prominent lawyer’s safe with jewellery and documents; “Tied and Robbed”, – an elderly gentleman, tied up at home by lone masked gunman who had duct-taped him and placed him on the floor. He took jewellery and money and poisoned one of his dogs. The newspaper quoted an officer from the Calliaqua Police Station as saying, “…that in his opinion, it was an isolated incident. He said that since he has been stationed at Calliaqua, the area has always had burglaries, but it is nothing that should cause an alarm.” I am not sure about the context in which this was said. I am not sure what was regarded as an isolated incident, and furthermore, how can one suggest that there was no cause for alarm. In fact, the newspaper article went on to say that several persons indicated that within recent weeks burglars have been targetting the more affluent persons in that area. Another thing to bear in mind is that a number of burglaries do not reach the news. How do we handle this type of insanity? Who is to take the lead?

Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian.