Garth Rattray TO ALL gunmen - murders, double murders and triple murders highlight the sanguineous, maniacal society in which we live. The blood of our citizens continues to splatter and stain the fabric of our fledgling nation. Spouses, relatives, friends, acquaintances and fellow Jamaicans are shot and killed daily by unconscionable denizens of our criminal underground. Our security forces seem powerless and bewildered in the face of the relentless tidal wave of brazen crimes.
IMPASSIONED PLEA
At the launch of "Anti-Crime Month" last week, Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke, made an impassioned plea for our citizens to unite (in nation-building) in order to fight crime and violence. But perhaps we need to attempt direct communication with the perpetrators of these crimes against God and man. Perhaps this will spark a glimmer of understanding deep within their hearts and minds.
To all gunmen: To you who have embraced the culture of the gun as a way of life, this is an invitation for you to stop and consider the consequences of your actions. Are you fully aware of the repercussions of your deeds? Can you feel your country's pain? Can you smell your people's fear? Can you see your nation dying? Can you hear your fellowmen and women wailing? Can you taste the defeat that you are about to bring upon this little island that once dared to dream of peace, prosperity and greatness?
You are being misguided, manipulated and exploited by others who are using you to do their dirty work (robberies, intimidation, extortion, terrorism and contract killings). You are being fooled into believing that society is your enemy and that those who stand in your way should be eliminated. You may even have been told that you are soldiers, fighting for some kind of cause, doing what is necessary to survive.
But a real soldier is one who is engaged in noble military service. Soldiers fight for their country, not against it. You are in fact mercenaries, mere gunmen serving someone else's interest just for money. You have been brainwashed, duped into believing that when you rob or kill someone, that person is only a casualty of war. But there is no war and no casualties, only unnecessary suffering and victims.
YOUR TRUE ENEMY
You have been programmed to think that society owes you and that you have a right to kill and take if it pleases you to do so. In your mind, anyone who has any kind of difference of opinion is your enemy. Anyone who refuses to bend to your will should be murdered. But your true enemy is that individual who supplies you with instruments of death and destruction (guns, blood-money, drugs).
Your true enemy does not want you as their equal; they want to use you as an expendable drone to do their nefarious bidding. They will never give you the opportunity to make yourself a better human being. You will forfeit your life and your very soul in their service. Drugs, money and guns will only enslave you; they will never give you freedom.
Don't shed the blood of your fellow human beings. When you kill you forsake your own human dignity, you degrade yourself, you become a mindless barbarian. But worst of all, you fly in the face of God by committing a grievous sin against Him. Stop now before it's too late. Don't wait until one of your own turns against you and your family. Don't wait until a member of some rival gang, a policeman or soldier shoots, maims, or kills you. Don't wait until they imprison you. There's no power in the gun, any idiot can squeeze a trigger.
True power lies within you. Whenever you kill you cause families to migrate and investors to shun us. You drive away businesses that provide legitimate jobs for poor people. You are destroying your own future and that of your children. When you kill someone, you also kill the hopes and dreams of millions both here and abroad. Your actions are cruel, inhumane, thoughtless and selfish. There is no honour or bravery in what you are doing. There is no future in a life of crime and violence. Save yourself, save your country.
Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
