A parent’s clarion call to action. Unfathomable loss and tragedy.

On behalf of the parents in my groups, nationally and regionally, and on behalf of my family, I would like to extend heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the parents of young Shawnaton Chase, and to the rest of his family, his friends, and all those who loved and cherished him. We also try to understand and imagine how The Lodge School family would be impacted by this loss. One does not have to be a parent to be shocked by this senseless murder.

While we try to empathise with Shawnaton’s parents, only another parent who has lived through this unimaginable, unnatural pain can truly feel the agony this child’s parents are going through. We, as a nation, can only rally around this family, as best as we can, to offer them support.

We thank Mr Chase, Shawnaton’s father, for being so brave in the immediacy of his pain, to be willing to share his son’s life with the entire country, and to speak to us all, demanding justice for his child. We, an entire nation, mourn with Shawnathon’s family.

The swift Government response, including communication, led by PM Mottley’s statement, is impressive. All the commentary and analysis by the experts in sociology, psychology, and grief support are invaluable. We pray and hope that the support and resources which Shawnaton’s family need now, and for the foreseeable future, will be provided.

Is there any way this tragedy can lead to lasting change in the scourge of gun violence on our society and our children? Surely this is a wake-up call for us all! I call on all Barbadians to agitate, in every way we can peacefully and constructively, for meaningful change in how we address this crisis of our society, particularly our boys and young men, who too often are the perpetrators of violent crime. We hit the streets for far less important issues. Enough is enough.

We know that this gun and other violent crime took decades to develop, so there is no easy quick fix. Some of the reasons are generational, due to poverty, learning challenges experienced by the boys and young men leading to little educational certification, sexual and physical abuse, toxic home environments, communities under siege due to gang behaviours, entrapping boys early. The lasting impact on families and children of COVID-19 – serious illness, death of family members and close friends, loss of family income and resultant deprivation, death, extended isolation (the right public health response during a once-in-a-lifetime, highly contagious, novel disease) – is not spoken of sufficiently. More resources are likely needed to specifically address the impact of COVID-19 on children and those who are now young adults.

But more is needed in the short term, simultaneous with long-term strategies, to address this never-ending violence. We say we have zero tolerance for gun and other violent crimes, and yet their incidence appears to be increasing. Our country does need an enhanced law and order response to address this daily gun crime, including the apparently growing proliferation of guns. Clearly, whatever we are doing to address this scourge is not working. Whether it is gun amnesty and financial incentives to surrender guns, more, even permanent police presence and patrols 24/7 in communities which are reported to suffer weekly, if not nightly, from gunfire incidents, enhanced port security and nighttime coastline patrols (where are the cameras in the Bridgetown Port?), more needs to be done.

Too many of us in this country now live in fear. This should concern us all. And anyone who thinks they escape this violence because it only affects ‘certain’ people, but it won’t affect them as they live in their exclusive community – they are only fooling themselves.

Shawnathon’s family, and too many families, have now paid the ultimate price for this crime wave, which now seems to have become our national, no longer new, normal.

We are losing too many of our children, the tender fruit of our society, as victims of crime: either as innocent victims such as this child, or as those teens and very young men who are pulling the triggers of all these illegal guns. Do not get me wrong: I am not saying the types of victimhood are equal. Yes, those who are carrying and using the guns must be held accountable, with swift action and zero tolerance, and punished for their crimes.

But our society is failing too many of our boys. And after prison, what then? It is often too late to save those teens and young men found guilty of these crimes. Research by expert criminologists has revealed how often these young male perpetrators of gun and other violent crime are so hardened by their circumstances, and so lacking in opportunities outside of crime, that they return to crime. How can we catch them and save them before they are irreversibly hardened?

Those who are supplying the guns must be held accountable too, if we are serious about solving crime, or we are spinning top in mud. We risk ending up with full prisons and too many guns still on the streets if the sources of these guns are not cut off. We see the foot soldiers in crime in the daily parade in the courts; how often do we see the suppliers of guns in the courts? Why don’t we?

Let us commit to making sure that Shawnaton’s name and memory live on in real, transformational change in how we, top to bottom, Government to family, address violent crime in Barbados.

Again, our hearts go out to Shawnaton’s parents and to all who loved him, and to all those who have lost their loved ones to gun and other violent crime. However, thoughts and prayers can only go so far, and are cold comfort to the victims of violent crime. New, concrete action is needed.