ppersad@eng.uwi.tt

Case for community activism

A community is not just a group of people living in the same neighbourhood. They must share some common values and possess some sort of kinship.

Historically, at least in the village where I grew up in north Trinidad, there was a strong sense of shared concern for all children and for the welfare of all residents.

The purpose of raising this issue is not for the purpose of nostalgia. It is to point to the positive benefits that were derived from such a social norm.

I still vividly remember the initial terror that swept the village when the infamous “grease-man,” a thief who rubbed grease on his skin so that he could not be easily held, started a programme of thievery.

The initial paralysis quickly gave way to the organisation of watch groups. Soon enough, a group of men, alerted by the alarm raised by a family, chased and caught the interloper, who was given a gentle reminder as to the consequences of his nefarious activities. Community activism triumphed.

During the coup attempt of some 17-odd years ago, again the village was subjected to the extreme trauma of having unknown elements traversing the village roads while the inhabitants stayed indoors. A state of paralysis and sheer terror pervaded until community activism and courage surfaced.

Residents came out, prepared to deal with the exigencies, and in a remarkably short period of time a sense of security and order was restored. Another triumph for the community spirit.

Let’s shift to central Trinidad, to another village, one that has produced many cricketers for the T&T team. It was a normal, peaceful and quiet village. A few months ago, this tranquillity was shattered by a spate of break-ins. Not even the religious institutions were spared. In fact, they presented the easiest targets for no one lived in them.

Despite the fact that the entire community was being targeted, there was no move to deal with the perpetrator. It took the activism of two sets of victims. Soon enough, the unconscionable thug was interrupted during a break-in, chased by members of the community, and caught.

The perpetrator, a well known resident drug addict, was reported, several times, to the authorities, who seemed unwilling to treat with the matter.

Despite the fact that almost the entire community was aware of his nefarious activities, he felt so emboldened that he actually went to one of the religious institutions that he had pillaged and brazenly declared that he was an honest man. That being the case then, a miracle must have occurred, for since his later incarceration there have been no break-ins.

These examples point to the benefits of community activism. It’s only when cowardly self-interest predominates that we become targets to these social predators. Why do we wait until it is so late in the day before the community spirit kicks in? Is not prevention better than cure?

While not being a fan of the cable TV, but being somewhat of an insomniac, I was recently watching on Animal Planet a documentary of lions hunting wildebeests.

These creatures, especially the vulnerable, are targeted by lions. Interestingly, if they were to mass together and charge the lions, they would have an excellent chance of removing that threat from their lives.

Instead, they generally mindlessly charge forward on their migration drive. Of course, the majority survive but many are slaughtered by the predatory lions and crocodiles in the process.

Take a look at society today. As we spout hot air, both victims and the apologists shop and mindlessly follow other daily routines, subjected to the crime roulette. We must ask ourselves this: how is our situation different from that of the wildebeests?

The rationale for living in communities is that there is strength in numbers. Amazingly, we live in neighbourly isolation. We are defeating the purpose of the community.

Community spirit is absolutely essential if we are to have a sense of patriotism. It is unlikely that a person who does not give two hoots about his community would care anything about his country.

Furthermore, developed status is more a function of the attitudes and mind-set of the population than the number of cars per capita or the infrastructure. In fact, if one were to examine developed countries, one would realise that community activism is fundamental to development.

In light of this, it then behooves us to take our destiny in our own hands. Yep, that is why God gave us hands. To clasp them in prayer and to think and act in order to create our destinies. So that those who tell us to only pray and leave the rest in the hands of God are negating the purpose of our creation and going against God.

Surely we also do need the help of the law enforcement authorities and the State. We should insist that they too fulfil their duties and obligations but we cannot, should not, and must not leave the destiny of our families and communities to others. We must be the masters of own destiny.

This is a world of action. We are all empowered by the Lord with an organ of analysis and those of action. To not be able to rationalise the need for unity of purpose and subsequent action is to reject our very humanness and innate divinity, not to mention our future.

n Prof Prakash Persad is the director of Swaha Inc

* Prof Prakash Persad is chairman of Swaha Inc