Crime, income inequality and poverty (Pt 2)

Dear Editor,
Please allow me to respond to Dr Mark Devonish’s letters regarding the crime problem.
Dr Devonish contends that poverty drives failure in schools, but he does not want Guyanese to know that crime produces poverty, and this in turn contributes to failure in schools.  Dr Devonish, Guyanese deserve the complete truth, not half-truths.  And Dr Devonish must know that the majority of children who fail in schools turn out to be admirable human beings working hard to put food on the table. We must look up to these people as role models, and we must copy their values and use them. There is something special about these people:  they know how to avoid a life in crime, and if they are approached, I am not surprised they would reveal that they live off of their own sweat, they work hard for success, they respect others, and they take responsibility for their actions.
Dr Devonish, only a fraction of Guyanese drive up the sky-high crime rate.  And to advance an argument by invoking the lyrics of Bounty Killer to express that these people are selectively deprived of economic opportunities is nothing but a hoax.  Dr Devonish, it is folks like you and those within the APNU/PNC/AFC Government and others that uphold poor values which effectively steer these people into crime. You must take responsibility; you push Guyanese into crime, and this cripples them.  Where is your heart?
To understand what you have done to criminals, you must walk armed robbers up the Maslow’s pyramid and observe if they are able to do so.  And you will quickly realise that they can’t simply because crime is immoral, destructive, dangerous, deadly, and plain stupid.  There is no survival value to it.  And the reality is that most criminals would likely remain at the bottom of the pyramid, preoccupied with basic needs like hunger and safety.  And they may even sadly end their lives there.  Just look around you and you will see what I am talking about. Plus you can see this picture if you examine the fate of the 2017 jailbreakers.  Remember, they were either recaptured or killed.  And you must know that criminals also prevent Guyanese from climbing this pyramid.  This translates to a country that will never develop and prosper, because folks like you peddle and reinforce poor values which destroy this country. So, Dr Devonish, I hope you understand the destructive impact of your message, and allow Guyanese a fair shot at life.   Don’t be selfish.
Also, Dr Devonish expressed that he is concerned over the fact that the Police kill criminals, but at the same time he instigates armed robberies and he promotes poor values about guns.  Does this make any sense? Basically, Dr Devonish instigates criminals into a deadly business, but acts surprised when criminals are taken down. Dr Devonish has got to be the most insincere person to criminals.
Dr Devonish, you need to apply common sense and you will quickly realise that if armed robbers shoot at people, then the Police and others will shoot back in self-defence and to also protect lives.  And so the Police, criminals and innocent citizens will be killed.  How can you not see this picture?  And then you have the audacity to outrageously label the killing of criminals as extrajudicial killings.  Your dysfunction serves to undermine criminals and to drive up the crime rate.  How heartless and disrespectful of you.  Dr Devonish, you must respect human life to be considered a decent human being.
Also, the crime picture becomes even more dreadful when the Government-controlled Chronicle newspaper supports Dr Devonish’s dysfunction on crime.  The world must know that Guyanese are traumatised and are hurting beyond comprehension due to the dangerous armed robbery problem.
Armed robbery is a very serious problem, but the lawless APNU/PNC/AFC Government encourages it by using the state newspaper to attack citizens who voice their concerns. My voice on crime has been twisted and attacked by the dysfunctional Chronicle because my values do not match their lawlessness.   Guyanese are in desperate need of relief from the murderous crime problem.  To this end, the international human rights bodies and members of our diplomatic community and others must step in to save the lives of Guyanese, because the Government of Guyana largely ignores the crime problem, and even instigates this problem for political gains.
Unlike Dr Devonish and those in Government, I remain sincere to my fellow Guyanese, and my previous letter on crime is a testament to this. Thus my message to my fellow Guyanese is: Please move away from crime. You have the ability to do so.  And please understand that crime never pays.  And please do not kill anyone or anything.
Further, Dr Devonish, I have no trouble supporting interventions aimed at reducing armed robberies, but they will never yield results when you and others — which include the Guyanese Government — undermine criminals.  And I stand by my position that it is downright hypocritical to visit criminals in jail and shed crocodile tears at their funerals, because it is your dysfunction that misleads them onto a dark road to death.

Sincerely,
Annie Baliram