A former police officer who is a member of the adult red-shirt gang, also known as the big red machine, asked me if I meant to compare the Antigua Labour Party and the United Progressive Party with the gangs of young people who have been engaged in violent crime? I replied that I did, because words can be weapons, and can be used to incite persons to fear and hate each other.
One only has to listen to some of our radio stations to hear the disgusting, disgraceful, disrespectful things that we say about each other. This can cause neighbours in a peaceful country to turn against each other, it can divide families and communities, it can cripple and render ineffective institutions such as the police and the courts and in some cases it can lead to violence. When this type of violence erupts the dead are usually counted in hundreds or thousands. We cannot afford to let this happen.
We could use these same radio stations in meaningful ways, for example, to disseminate public information and provide further learning for adults.
Rupert E. Henry
Although I am concerned about the behaviour of our youths and their involvement with gangs, I am afraid that any effort to solve the problem will fail unless we also look at the behaviour of us adults. A gang could be described as a group of individuals, juvenile and or adult, who associate on a continuous basis, form an allegiance for a common purpose, and are usually involved in delinquent or criminal activity. The gang may range in size from a small group of individuals who hang around together and commit crimes together, to a large formal organization with a leader or ruling council, gang colours, gang identifiers, and a gang name.
While we focus our attention on the small groups we ignore the actions of the larger ones but the young peoples behaviour is just a reflection of our adult behaviour. The two largest adult gangs in Antigua are the Antigua Labour Party and the United Progressive Party, and it is the war between these two gangs that is preventing us from been able to find ways to mobilize effective forces for corrective changes in order to rebuild our families and communities.
Please help me find this song.
Proposals for a Community Bank
The older we get, the more preconceived ideas we have about things. These preconceptions often prevent us from seeing beyond what we already know or believe to be possible. They inhibit us from accepting change and progress. These preconceptions destroy the ability to accept change and the willingness to play with new ideas and possibilities. The creative person realizes that there are other possibilities. Throughout history creative thinkers have often been ridiculed, despised, jailed or even murdered. Their ideas have often been greeted with laughter and contempt. This is a fact of life and I am aware of it. So at the risk of been ridiculed or worse I will continue to voice my belief that we in Antigua and Barbuda can find new and better ways of doing things.
In it’s 2008 budget presentation the Government made the following statement:
In 2007 the Government advanced its Digital Agenda by continuing to implement various elements in the overall Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy. In particular, the Government launched seven new Community Access Centers in communities across the island through which Antiguans and Barbudans can have ready access to computer technology. Each centre is equipped with state of the art equipment and manned by technical experts who can guide users in understanding and utilizing the technology. To facilitate the effective implementation of elements of the ICT policy, The Government spent about $10 million on ICT in 2007.
I cannot see what we got for $10,000,000.oo, but I know what we can get for $1 million. We can get 1,000 computers and more, therefore I am making the following proposal.
I suggest the government could give the tiny sum of one million dollars to the All Saints West Constituency, with which we could start a constituency bank. This could then be used to purchase and import one thousand computers which the community could in turn sell to the residents at a reasonable price of Fifteen Hundred Dollars. I suggest that at the beginning the bank should only finance computers, because I believe all the residents of the community should be given the opportunity to help decide how the bank should be managed and the internet is the best and most efficient way for us to communicate with each other.
As I envision it the constituency would appoint a five person committee to oversee the bank. The Government would then place the million dollars in a commercial bank, if possible in an interest bearing account. Once the money is in place the computers would be ordered, perhaps two hundred in the first instance. This committee would interview persons and approve or reject applications for loans. Once a loan is approved the person would be given their computer in the constituency, but payment would be made at the commercial bank where the real cash would be located and because every transaction would be done on line we would have full transparency. One result of this policy would be that unlike the central government which conducts the peoples business locked away somewhere In some cabinet, the community bank would conduct all it’s business online for all to see.
Another advantage that the bank would have is that the residents of the community; the shareholders, would receive no cash payments from the bank. What they would receive would be benefits. This would begin with a cleaner environment, but according to the success of the bank could expand to include even our roads. The shareholders could also decide what percentage of the profit should be reinvested, and how much should be used for social transformation
Email: dadianhenry@hotmail.com
