Social care

A respected university academic has warned that failure to invest in initiatives to address problems such as crime and violence in Barbados could result in fallout for the entire society.

Former University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus principal, the Most Honourable Professor Emerita Eudine Barriteau said crime, broken homes, and other challenges were symptoms of the economic struggle being experienced by low and middle-income earners. And she underscored that Government had a responsibility to respond to suit through the provision of social services.

“There are indications that worrying social challenges are on the ascendance. If these are not contained, the social cohesion which has been the defining feature of Barbados, and for which the country is well known and widely admired, would become increasingly fragile,” warned the keynote speaker of the 2022 Ermie Bourne Memorial Lecture held virtually on Sunday.

“The prevalence of young men shooting and killing each other are symptoms of economic hardships and deprivation, failed families, overburdened mothers, absent fathers, declining community and extracurricular programmes in schools.

“It would be to the detriment of the wellbeing of Barbados if we take the position that the problems of crime-ridden neighbourhoods; the underperformance of far too many of our children in primary and secondary schools; the struggles, indifference, or inability of parents in raising children are all challenges that belong exclusively to those experiencing them,” Barriteau added.

Speaking on the topic The Values of the Village? Preventing Social and Economic Alienation in Contemporary Barbados, she insisted that the societal decline could not be blamed on any one sector, adding that it is “our collective responsibility and our collective failure”.

However, the academic lay the overarching responsibility for protecting the public good at the feet of the Government.

Professor Barriteau was adamant that while some oppose heavy investment in social services, believing that money should go towards more “lucrative” areas, the strength of the social fabric has proven to make or break small and large economies.

“Investment in social programmes produces far greater returns than an investment in security guards for schools or more prison officers and correctional officers for the prisons and juvenile detention facilities,” she argued.

“The Government and citizens together have to ensure that we introduce or strengthen all appropriate strategies to protect and enhance the wellbeing of the country. These strategies should be anchored in social policies that recognise the rapid changes In Barbadian society.”

Professor Barriteau added that although some social commentators are often quick to blame the current state of affairs on a decline in the historical values of the ‘village’ and of the social support Barbadian communities once provided, that stance often ignored the harsh realities faced by Barbadians at the lower end of the economic scale.

During her speech, the former university principal also renewed calls for more support to be given to Parents Education For Development In Barbados (PAREDOS) and other social programmes to stem the rate of violence and antisocial behaviour plaguing society

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb