April 28, 2023
On the one hand in the Caribbean we have health leaders from the The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) teaming up with professionals in our leading industry, tourism, trying to find ways to organize themselves in the event another pandemic like the COVID-19 hits this region hard again like it did the entire world. But on the other hand, we have a report by the Small Arms Survey in conjunction with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) to analyse a growing public health crisis in that of gun related assault and death.
No one wants to deal with another pandemic like the COVID-19, but often times these pandemics are not avoidable. But how we manage them is within our hands. Collaboration across the region is a fantastic start and furthermore data sharing on particular symptoms and diseases that crop up is a second thing. We would also venture to say better surveillance of all of these tourists that enter into our region from various parts of the world. Now, some of them may not like the hassle. But consider it like wearing a condom when having sex, no one likes the hassle but it saves lives.
Considering how most pandemics are spread and go viral by travellers who go undetected through air and seaports, a word to the wise is sufficient.
Speaking of travelling in and out of the ports, guns are trafficked heavily to the Caribbean from America, leading to an unprecedented public health crisis as outlined in the most recent CARICOM regional crime symposium. The Small Arms Survey said that a majority of the deaths by firearms are from guns brought into the region from the US. No one is shocked, considering that they manufacturer more than half of the world’s firearms and hold sacred to their right to bear arms in their second amendment to their Constitution.
However, we need to work around that to ensure that we minimize the death and misery brought in by these firearms. Of course, just like with tracking communicable diseases, we need to take it digitally and by doing so register every firearm brought into the region into a central database so we know where the legally imported firearms are. While this does not stop the illegal guns being trafficked, at least it creates a framework for registering firearms so when we do find illegal firearms we can enter them into this same database.
We cannot run away from the illegal drugs trafficking game. This is primarily why all of these guns are needed and what has enticed many of our young men into the life of despots and criminals. We can sugar-coat it all we wish, but at the end of the day until we take drug trafficking seriously we will always have these gangs the way they are and they will always be safe havens for our young men.
I wish we can get our minds around the concept of manhood and what is expected of a man and not these stereotypes of what it is to be a man. Being a street thug is not a man, even though it is not a woman either.