CMC – Former West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara has warned that without “the skills and resources necessary to succeed, some young people will turn to crime as a means of survival,” as he lamented the upsurge in murders in Trinidad and Tobago.
The country has recorded more than 200 murders since the start of this year, following the record 603 murders last year.
Lara identified one of those murdered as a childhood friend.
He said feuds were settled years ago “on the field of play” with guns and that while there had been some notorious persons, people in the village focused mainly on sports.
The cricketing legend said growing up was fun and that “most of the positive news we got via transistor radios stuck to our ears as one of our people from the Atlantic Archipelago achieved greatness”.
He said he could never forget the excitement when Trinidad and Tobago’s first gold Olympic medalist Hasley Crawford returned to the island, saying “it was an emotional day watching one man celebrated as he put our small country on the map just by following the dream he had as a kid”.
Lara said that Trinidad and Tobago, like many other countries, faces challenges with youth involvement in crime and that the issue of youth crime has been a concern for many years and is driven by a range of complex social, economic, and cultural factors.
He said another factor is the breakdown of family structures, which can lead to a lack of guidance and supervision for young people.
Lara said the availability of guns was also a major situation in the crime situation here and “has become a symbol of power and status among some young people.
“Encouraging and investing in sports programmes can help channel the energy and passion of young people into something positive, while also providing opportunities for personal growth and development. It’s important for all members of society to come together to address this issue and work towards creating a safer and more prosperous future for Trinidad and Tobago,” Lara said.
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