A call to my nephew, Devon La Touche, a library assistant at the Beetham Gardens Community Library (BGCL) and the Shared Community Service Center in Gonzales, on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, led to two days of learning.
Devon caters to young learners who visit the library to use the internet and play online games. Before doing so, they are asked to read for half an hour. Such is their anxiety to get to computers that they happily do their reading just to get to computers. Adults hardly ever go to the library.
When I called Devon, he was doing a session with about 28 students. They were playing PlayStation games, board games and doing coloring activities. Such was the enthusiasm of the students that even I was amazed by the joy I heard in his voice and in the voices of the students.
I asked if I could visit her in the library to see what the students were doing and to get a better feel for the physical and social environment. He said he would be happy if I visited him, but informed me that I would have to write a letter to Oswain Subero, Senior Superintendent of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), so that the police would offer me the necessary security. I did this early Wednesday morning because a power outage prevented me from delivering the letter the night before.
I turned up at the library on Wednesday morning and was greeted by Insp Ian Charles, a warm and humble brother. He informed me that Devon hadn’t arrived yet, but invited me to sit in the library.
Corporal Kevin Romany was also in the office. They showed me what the IATF was doing at Beetham Gardens, Sea Lots and by extension the East Port of Spain area.
The IATF had introduced several programs to improve the lives of the youth in the area (netball competitions, parenting programs, youth mentoring programs and TTA youth camps, basketball training, etc.).
While these young people enjoyed the sports aspects of the programs, they were not as interested in the educational and cultural aspects. Although some of them did well in the SEA and CXC exams, many of them feel ashamed of their illiteracy and hesitated to expose this deficiency to their peers.
There is a tremendous lack of self-esteem among young people. Romany explained that their environment creates a “cognitive perception” of inadequacy that seems to hold them back. Peer pressure has added to many negative influences leading to many anti-social behaviours, such as smoking and gambling, which are reinforced by poor parenting patterns.
These officers were particularly proud of their Hearts and Minds program, launched in 2007, to “bridge the gap between citizens and the Police Service”.
The creators of the program noted: “It was intended to help the traditionally hostile communities of Laventille (to the police) to see the police as friends, not as adversaries, while aiming to unite the warring elements of the Laventille communities” (Wendell Wallace, “The Social Impact of hearts and minds program”).
At least 100,000 people live in the 53 communities that make up the Laventille area. Wendell Wallace points out: “The population in the district is predominantly of African descent, with many having family ties to other Caribbean countries.
“For many, the Laventille district has become the focal point of the crime control debate in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Paradoxically, for most residents, the Laventille area remains a safe space. Many of these young people never see outside their immediate communities. Romany believes that this insidious isolation of people in their individual communities (he calls it “Community Individualism”) prevents them from getting to know each other. So how do we help young people?
Insp Charles suggests young people are not the main problem. He believes that the lack of proper parenting is one of the main problems these citizens face. Even the youngest children, in their last holiday program, expressed their thoughts in the murals they painted on the walls of their community. They wrote: “Don’t tell the Men of Man Up”; “Stop the cycle of killings and shootings”; “Know the signs: I’m worth it.”
In Gonzales, near the interagency building where “A Walk for Peace” culminated, there were two homicides in the area in the past two weeks.
At the corner of the street where the meeting was held, the remains of the flambeaux stood in memory of those who had been killed. Hence the theme of the march: “This is not a show of force; [but] a display of love.”
The people of Gonzales were concerned about making their community safer; they resented being stigmatized “by a rebellious minority” who thought their community was unworthy. One speaker said his trauma was real. Minister Hinds declared that “the madness and chaos must stop”.
And that is why the work of the Hearts and Minds program is so important. The police officers involved genuinely care and are doing their best to reach out to their fellow citizens. This exercise humanizes them. It also helps us to see them as fragile human beings performing an important national service.
In 1829, Sir Robert Peel, the father of modern democratic policing, observed that “police officers also perform similar roles to social workers, marriage counselors, educators, priests, and parents in an effort to prevent the commission of crimes… or to discourage individuals. from engaging in criminal behavior” (quoted in Wallace).
In carrying out their duties as conscientious public servants, the police officers of the Hearts and Minds program are carrying out the best tradition of citizen responsibilities. It’s time we recognize the incredible service they do to their community.
— Prof Cudjoe’s email address is [email protected].
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