Contributing writer Dickson Igwe
A Village Square Plato’s newspaper review of the Island Sun
A West Indian village square thinker reviews the local, regional, and global news. This week’s review looks at the local sex industry and criminal gangs in the British Virgin Islands, through the prism of the Island Sun Newspaper of April 21, 2012
Now this Layman reads his newspapers prodigiously and in detail. For him, the daily or weekly stories found on the pages of national and international newsprint, including online media, are a critical source for information, knowledge, and even education.
Newspapers, whether paper or digital, in his opinion, are loaded documents. Valuable sources of information, filled not only with the great stories of the day, but with interesting tidbits, drama, intrigue, and even hidden messages. He sits before an open paper with great gusto and expectancy, excited at what great treasure his 35, 50, or even sometimes 100 cents of investment in the news of the day will yield. Or he will read with excitement the latest news piece on an online forum. Yes he is a very curious type.
And the Island Sun Newspaper of April 21, 2012 was excellent reason enough,
A moral distraction? Photo courtesy bossip.com
for this Village Square Thinker to have his big nose buried deep in its print. On the front page, a story headed ‘’ INFLUX OF EXOTIC DANCERS, BVI STRIP CLUBS, AND BROTHELS, ARE WELL KNOWN SECRETS,’’ was very interesting.
It would appear that the sex industry is alive and well in the British Virgin Islands. The Island Sun described how at a recent panel discussion held at the New Life Baptist Church titled, ‘’ BVI’s dirty little secrets,’’ on April 15, 2012, that ‘’ police officers who were part of the panel were mum on whether any plans are afoot to tackle this issue.’’ One thing cannot be denied: prostitution and related services are a worldwide narrative, and the sex industry is a global business worth billions of dollars annually, and described as the oldest profession on earth. So, one is not surprised that the problem is present in these Spectacular Virgin Islands.
The reason why this problem is so very traumatic for the community is simple. The British Virgin Islands remains a very religious place. And there is a feeling of deep discomfort with the idea that while some are praising and worshipping God in church, a few hundred yards away, a number of men lust after a woman dancing on stage dressed in next to nothing. Enough said!
On the second page, the problem of criminal gangs in the territory was highlighted in a story headed ‘’ TEN GANGS OPERATE IN THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS.’’ At the New Life discussion, the public was informed by the police that ‘’ at least ten gangs operate in the territory, four of those as far back as 1992.
Inspector Patrick Harewood of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force listed these ten gangs as: the Crips, the Bloods, Brave Heart Soldiers, Squad Up, Lower Estate, Purcell Estate, and the Black Shirt gang out of Baughers Bay. The gangs highlighted were described as being operational from as far back in 1993 and included the Sudan Posse, the boys from country, Rasville Posse, and Lower Estate Posse.’’
According to Inspector Harewood, ‘’ the problems we are experiencing now with steady increases in burglaries, occasional robberies, and thefts, are usually committed by young people between the ages 14-25, where a concerning percentage of those young have been found to be involved in either one or seven new gangs on the block.’’
According to the Senior Police Officer, ‘’ over a period of time, we have discovered that some of those gang members were operating in twos, sometimes in groups, depending on the type of violence, particularly gang fights with rivals, or to settle a score in support of one or two gang members, resulting in what we believe to be gang related murders, or incidents of shooting.
Some gang members were being influenced by foreign gang members coming into the territory from some places in the Caribbean to commit serious crimes. The inspector talked about a shady fellow who was covered from head to toe with stab and bullet wounds, and who described himself as a traceless killer who came into the territory to recruit youths looking for an identity. ‘’
One of the reasons given for rising crime in the BVI according to Harewood was this: ‘’ many parents, who came through the 60s, 70s, and 80s, became very complacent.’’ Yes, I agree Inspector; the problem of juvenile delinquency in this community can be laid squarely at the foot of poor parenting, and today, we are all living with the consequences of that parental neglect.
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