In one of my many commentaries on the novel coronavirus pandemic I raised the possibility of a pandemic of violence that would plague the world in its aftermath.

I had no statistical data to back up this assumption as the pandemic was new to all of us. I just figured that, judging from the stress factors caused by mental health deprivations and the economic dislocations caused by the pandemic, violence, by speech or action, would seem to be a viable path forward for many people as they seek to deal with their discontent. When people fail to amicably deal with the things that cause them pain, violence often becomes the tool out of their dilemma. Never mind that this approach often gets them more deeply enmeshed in the things from which they want to disentangle themselves.

I do not believe that the violence that the “Butcher of Moscow” unleashed on the Ukrainian people is necessarily a pandemic or post-pandemic phenomenon. This conflict was gestating in his heart long before COVID-19 struck. But it is horrifying that the conflict was engaged at a time when the world, including Russia, was going through the worst consequences of the pandemic. The violence of this war has impacted the world in more ways than can be presently determined.

It is quite clear to me that the seismic rearrangement of societies and people’s relationship with each other occasioned by the pandemic, with its attendant hardships, will be a serious factor in the violent behaviour of people toward each other. I sincerely hope I am wrong in this assessment, but recent events of violence that have been emerging around the world, especially from young people, do not give me much hope.

Where are we in Jamaica? Of course, our epidemic of violence continues apace. We have always had our own unique set of problems in the Caribbean as a leader of murderous violence in the region. Since the pandemic has abated, murder by the gun seems to have taken on added dimensions, with more gangs being formed and too many of our young men finding comfort in the bosom of gun violence. I strongly believe, again, just a belief, that the epidemic of horrific violence that we have been seeing since the pandemic has elevated violence and murder to a level that we have not seen it before.

Let’s be frank about it. Jamaican’s fear index has gone up exponentially. We face the existential threat of violent criminality, which is not just threatening life, limb, and property, but whether we can continue to exist as a democratic society, free from fear. We must have no doubt that we can go the way of failed States such as Somalia, where gangs and warlords have transformed an otherwise promising country into an ungovernable State. Nearby Haiti is hurtling toward that status. It is not to be believed for one moment that unless we gain control of the situation, it will not be long before we are overrun and reach this unenviable status.

Already we are being accused of exporting violence to other Caribbean countries. Nationwide News Network recently interviewed journalists from Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) on the level of violent crimes in their countries. To Jamaica’s shame, Jamaican nationals hovered in the background as the reason for the spike of gun violence in these countries. There are gangs that are wreaking havoc in these societies, especially in the TCI where schools had to be shuttered, some businesses closed, and at least one hospital secured.

Our reputation for gang violence is well known in the region and the wider global community. Have we ever seriously pondered why Britain requires visas of Jamaican citizens when it does not for other Caribbean nationals? How long will it be before other Caribbean countries start asking Jamaicans for visas to enter their countries? Do not be fooled by the vaunted talk of Caribbean unity. When small nation States are threatened by murderous violence by the gun, they have to protect themselves by all means necessary.

The solution to our crime problem lies in our hands. We have identified the growth of gangs disposed to violence as the primary cause of our discontent. When Commissioner Owen Ellington was the commissioner of police, he targeted the dismantling of gangs as the primary focus of his mission. He reaped some success but later resigned from the post.

To the best of my knowledge the nation has not been given the full details of why he resigned or otherwise was unceremoniously removed from his job. What I do recall is that he was making some headway with the gangs, and to the point of his resignation/removal from office, he was reaping some success in his mission. Is he being consulted by the powers that be in this obvious need to seek out and dismantle the burgeoning gang crisis in this country? Do we believe at all that we are faced with a crisis? Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang, do you have any answers to these questions?

Meanwhile, it must be appreciated that the solution to the problems we face with violent criminality has to be a joined-up effort between the governing authorities and the people. We have reached an inflection point with violent crimes, with or without the gun, where Government or the police by themselves cannot solve the crisis. This is as plain to me as night follows day. In a sea-locked country of almost three million people, where under one per cent are the violence purveyors terrifying the rest of us, citizens must be motivated to play their part in giving no haven to the gunmen. They have to be at the vanguard of holding back the tsunami of lawlessness by this small minority that threatens to overwhelm the large majority of us. They must stand up as bastions against this rampant criminality that is loose upon the land.

It is within this context that I find calls for the resignation of the present Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson and Dr Chang to be unfocused and as vacuous as they are juvenile. Yes, they are at the helm of leadership, but it is a jaundiced view of crime fighting to assume that crime is their responsibility alone and not the citizens in general. Yes, the leadership can do a great deal more in getting people aboard. There must be town hall meetings in every parish to help people to appreciate that they are important stakeholders in this struggle. There must be the same kind of passion which infused the fight against the pandemic. Think about it. Over the last two years in excess of 3,000 people died from the pandemic; meanwhile, for the past 10 years we have had an average of 1,000 people per year dying from violent crime. Why are we not treating violent crime as an existential crisis? Any answer, Mr Holness?

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books: Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storm; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.