BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Amid an upsurge in criminal violence on the island, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley is urging citizens to pause for five minutes on Saturday in a symbolic gesture of national unity and peace-making.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley addressing the nation on crime and violence“I ask now every Barbadian, each of us, to pause for five minutes this Saturday at midday, for silent reflection wherever we are, whatever we are doing, other than of course the essential services,” Mottley said in a radio and television broadcast on Monday night.
She told Barbadians that they should step up in a united effort whether they “see, touch, engage or participate” in restoring peace to the island.
Barbados has so far recorded an increase in murders with the authorities saying that the estimated 30 killings are more than double the total for last year and Mottley warned that law enforcement authorities will deal sternly with “a handful of individuals who seek to cause panic in the country”.
She told Barbadians that even in the midst of the annual Crop Over activities, they should reflect on the need for a peaceful Barbados.
“I know it is Crop Over, and I know it is Kiddies Kadooment, but it is important that we pause and reflect for five minutes, even in Kiddies Kadooment at midday, to send a signal that the majority of us want to build the common peace. We want a peaceful Barbados and that we are committed to stepping up and putting in the hard work towards it.”
While Prime Minister Mottley did not announce any new policy initiatives to stem the tide of violence or address its root cause, she nonetheless highlighted gang activity, drug abuse, and the impact of social media and violent video games on youth.
She called for a renewed focus on moral and religious education, telling Barbadians “we must immediately address the absence of religious and moral grounding of our children”.
She told citizens that they should not turn a blind eye to crime in their communities, adding “by closing our eyes and remaining silent we are indirectly authorising its indiscriminate and unlawful use”.
She also called on various sectors of society to play their part in combating violence, including summer camp leaders, religious institutions, and community leaders. She stressed the importance of teaching children “the basic difference between right and wrong and the need to respect human life”.
In her address Mottley acknowledged the need for modernising the criminal justice system and increasing the efficiency of the courts, noting that the current system is “caught in a 19th/20th century position.
“But my friends, we must now come together again to confront the tendency towards violence in this country, a violence driven by anger very often and the inability or unwillingness to resolve conflicts peacefully”.
Prime Minister Mottley requested religious organisations to hold services across the island offering pr
She also suggested that radio and television stations play appropriate music for reflection during the five-minute pause on Saturday, reiterating her call for collective action and a recommitment to the values that have traditionally defined the Barbadian society.
“Where we must step up individually and collectively is in our commitment to take back our common peace in Barbados and to show love and respect to one another,” she said, identifying a range of issues contributing to the rise in violent crime, including mental health challenges exacerbated by COVID-19 restrictions, the influence of social media, and the desensitisation of youth to violence through video games and other media.
But she also expressed particular concern about the prevalence of guns and drug abuse.
“If the bulging pocket in your son or your grandson’s or granddaughter’s or your best friend’s pocket looks like a gun, is shaped like a gun, it bulges like a gun, my friends it is most likely a gun.”
On the issue of drugs, she told the nation “we have to confront this issue of the illegal carrying and use of guns in our country and the escalating use and abuse of drugs and alcohol, not just drugs.”
Mottley also encouraged Barbadians to speak up when they see signs of wrongdoing.
“Better to open your mouth now and talk, than to hold your belly and bawl,” she said, cautioning however against forms any form vigilantism.
Her address also allowed her to acknowledged the grief of families who have lost loved ones to violence.
“I saw the picture, the powerful picture today, of the three mothers in white as they carried their vigil out yesterday evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and all of the others who have lost family,” she told the nation.
