On behalf of the One Bermuda Alliance, I would like to extend my condolences to the family of the young man who tragically lost his life last night.
Bermuda is in a crisis and it behooves no one if we continue to remain in denial. Young people are not valuing life and sadly, it is undeniable that young, Black males are being lost—whether it be as victims or perpetrators. I am not saying this to be alarmist, but we cannot ignore reality. The question remains, where do we go from here.
The community has marched, prayed, created social media posts and even extricated their children from the island, but the fact remains that these heinous crimes continue. It’s time for each of us to look inward, examine what’s going on inside our homes, and in our streets. Turning a blind eye and thinking that crimes like this won’t happen in your backyard can no longer work. It doesn’t matter what economic class one is in, we have seen over the last 12 years that when shooters want to hurt, they will.
Newly appointed National Security Minister Michael Weeks has a very challenging journey ahead of him. As always, I am willing to work collaboratively with him in order to forge a new way forward to end this scourge that is overshadowing the true beauty of our island.