Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 28/Jan 04:33

Forgiving the criminals

THE EDITOR: The gardener with fork and hoe on his shoulders goes to till the land. Some time later he returns with produce as proof of his labours. The student burns the midnight oil and is rewarded with the expected results. One wonders how the police come up empty-handed when searching for criminals. Are they looking in the wrong places? Are they unable to identify the bad elements? Or are they outsmarted by those operating from underground? We hate to think that they are afraid to venture into badman territory. Are they reactive or proactive. Are the criminals taking the initiative? Who is going to restrain a society described as violent? All plans have failed. The state of emergency gives all the rounds up to the penultimate to the criminals and the law-enforcers respite to recuperate and launch another assault, this time a successful one. Some philosophical questions we need to answer: Did God make prime ministers and presidents? If yes, then He also made citizens. If no, then ordinary citizens are a figment of man’s imagination. Are police part of the creation? If yes, so are criminals. If no, certain activities in the society are producing persona non grata. Religious leaders have exclaimed from the pulpit, time and time again, that we were made in the image and likeness of God. Does that mean all men or only certain people? If the statement is true, why have some elevated themselves to the “chosen ones” and others relegated to the “damned?” Since the greenery was removed from the Trinity Hills making us a republic, the Trini spirit has descended to the abyss of heartlessness. The land is crying out for the blood of people who are making life uncomfortable: with merciless killings, illegal invasions of our homes, imposing unauthorised taxes on the business community, the poor driven to destitution, victims deprived of justice, people in high places forgiven for serious infringements of the law, amnesty given to those who owe taxes and national insurance premiums, and the rich suing the wealthy to dispossess them. These unwanted events are all in the public domain. Water for all happens as floods only in the rainy season. Potholes, the new bandits, holding up the flow of traffic. Salary increases with back pay given generously to public officials who volunteered to serve. Inaccurate reporting by the people in the counting houses. Only crumbs remaining for social services to allocate to those in need. The bread that the devil did not knead seems to be devoured by insiders. Do we need a state of emergency to catch the plunderers or are we going to be selective in classifying some as criminals and the others given a slap on the wrist to continue their white-collar crimes? Are the defenders of the law trying to use reverse psychology to deter the criminals by making the jails and detention centres unsanitary and deplorable? Then they are also punishing those who have to manage these “hellholes.” We who are claiming to be more civilised than criminals should be more understanding. The unwanted reactions to events and people in the society are their way of dealing with the partiality, injustices and unfairness as perceived by them. The way of the establishment does not allow the criminals to use a less belligerent approach. Its motto is give a dog a bad name and hang him. Don’t criminals deserve more humane treatment to cure their mental illness, therapy for their antisocial behaviour and loving arms to restore their normalcy? This is a predominantly God-fearing society with the chosen ones claiming to live by the good book. The society does not forgive criminals (its own by-product). Don’t the scriptures say forgive 70 times seven? We have not even exceeded the seven. Instead, we hunt criminals and prefer to bring them in as dead weight on a stretcher, ignoring one of the national watchwords – tolerance. Again we are reminded that whatever we do to the least of our brethren, that is how we are serving the Creator. Are our problems mounting or diminishing? If TT does not redefine criminality, those posing as “the just” will take us down the same route as Sodom and Gomorrah. We are producing and drinking our own poison. LENNOX FRANCIS via e-mail The post Forgiving the criminals appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.