There is no softer way to say this, it is time for the United States of America to accept that its permissive gun culture and obsession with firearms represent a clear and present danger to Caribbean people.
We in this region do not manufacture guns or ammunition, however, we are suffering from the tidal wave of these illicit weapons entering the Caribbean and getting into the hands of young men who use them to settle petty disputes and to have their way against innocent citizens.
The situation in the Caribbean has reached crisis proportions with the likelihood of a young male being injured or killed by a gun increasing significantly.
Islands like Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and even St Kitts and Nevis have become hotbeds for gun crimes. We in Barbados have been lucky to have enjoyed a period of relative abatement in gun offences but most residents are hoping the ceasefire between warring groups can have some permanency for the good of the entire nation.
The guns here have not been handed over to law enforcement. They are still on the streets, and so, we can reasonably expect that they may be used at some point in some criminal activity.
The Bahamas archipelago is situated literally at the United States’ back door with just 110 miles separating the islands from the coast of Florida. The borders of The Bahamas are as porous as a sieve and one only has to observe how many Haitians are able to make it there illegally in rickety old boats.
The CARICOM country, with a population slightly more than Barbados, is suffering the effects of illegal guns entering its borders and worsening the crime situation there.
We regard it as unfortunate that this week the US authorities issued a security warning and travel advisory to its citizens against travelling to The Bahamas. The US has labelled the popular tourist destination as unsafe for visitors as the island has recorded 18 murders for the first four weeks of the new year.
“Murders have occurred at all hours including in broad daylight on the streets,” the US embassy wrote in a statement.
We fully appreciate that the United States must ensure its citizens are safe and provide warnings if they are likely to be in danger, but at the same time, we find it offensive that the US is not accepting responsibility for the illegal gun crisis that is affecting countries across the Caribbean.
Just days ago, President of The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association Robert Sands described the crime situation as a “very concerning” and “vexing issue.”
“It is important for a country to be considered safe and hospitable. That is paramount for the socio-economic well-being of our country. It is very concerning. In my 70-plus years on this earth, I would not have fathomed that we would have had 18 murders in one month,” Sands lamented.
It is time for Caribbean leaders to speak more forcefully to the United States Government to reinforce the point that most of the guns finding their way to the region are coming from the US.
Frankly, the US owes it to the Caribbean to help it wrestle this problem to the ground. The industrialised nation and most powerful country in the world must take responsibility for its role in the crisis facing the Caribbean.
Last June America’s Vice President Kamala Harris announced a US$100 million package to crack down on weapons trafficking, help alleviate Haiti’s humanitarian crisis, and support climate change initiatives.
That is a pretty long list of issues that US$100 million is expected to cover. With the exception of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, the nations of the region are extremely tourism-dependent and a travel advisory related to crime or some other crisis can have a debilitating impact on the economy of the affected country.
The US cannot sit on the sidelines and watch the gun situation escalate while leaving it to the region to resolve a problem that is fuelled in America.
