by Adrian Gibson

With all this talk about a gang war between Bain Town and Black Village gangsters, we should awaken to the sad state of affairs afflicting our society. When Bahamians are fearful of young men retaliating against each other and taking a life as if its as simple as discarding garbage, it is high time we realize that our society has lost its moral fibre and has eroded from one that was sociable and docile to a sad, violent freak show.

In recent years our society, particularly in Nassau, has become reminiscent of the wild, wild west with gun crimes and murder soaring ever so high. The irony is that whilst the social fabric of our society rips and the crime rate soars, our national exam grade averages plummet.

I grew up in Long Island, so I’m aware of the peaceful, serene environment certain parts of the Bahamas still has to offer, but even in places such as this, the crime wave is spreading. Whatever happened to the days when Bahamians could sleep with their doors open?!

The social degradation we are now witnessing began with the destructive drug trade, when greed would turn sibling upon sibling, when the lure of easy wealth took precedence to the social consciousness of many Bahamians, leaving cold-bloodied and ruthless misfits in its wake.

Why is it that I must require the services of an security alarm company, a gated living facility and security bars to feel somewhat safe at night? It is a shame that each night I must enter a security code before sleeping or each time I leave home!

What have we come to in this country when we MUST live behind security bars, in our own little prisons?

How far are we now behind Jamaica and Trinidad?

We need to wake up and address the sociology of our current population now–we need to address crime and the social collapse of Bahamian society NOW!!