Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre has urged young people to avoid criminal gangs and not allow anyone to influence them to commit crime.
Pierre, responsible for National Security, said Thursday night that young people should not believe they must belong to a gang to survive.
He spoke at a Castries Market steps political rally of the ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP).
“The gang leaders living big and large. All over the world gang leaders live big and large. You never see any gang leader child involved in any gang,” the Castries East MP declared.
“They send their children to the best schools. They send their children abroad. But they leave you – you the young people, tell you ‘Be in a gang and do this and do that’,” Pierre stated.
He appealed to young people to refrain from listening.
“We are working with you. We are creating opportunities for you. Do not let anybody use you for their own selfish motives,” the Prime Minister said.
“Do not break the law. Do not allow selfish people to make you break the law,” Pierre warned.
He noted that his administration had worked hard as a team to deal with a spike in deadly gun violence.
And Pierre disclosed that the approach would not only involve the police and the Regional Security System officers whom he invited to assist in the anti-crime battle.
But he explained that his administration was working with civil society and all men and women of goodwill in addressing the problem.
Pierre thanked his colleague Prime Ministers in the region for allowing their officers to come to Saint Lucia to help fight crime.
However, he called out detractors.
“They try to take us on crime. Anytime there is an unfortunate crime, they laugh. They are happy. Like they get up in the morning and they pray, they say, ‘Bon Dieu, let them have some more crime so labour can pay’. That’s not happening.” Pierre told party supporters.
“We had a crime problem. We had an issue with murders, but we did not hide. We, as a government, we faced it man to man. We confronted it, my brothers and sisters and we looked for help from overseas. But while we looked for help from overseas, we were like men and women. We didn’t run. We didn’t run away – run away and go and call our father. We stayed, and we worked hard,” the Prime Minister declared.
Then give us some other avenue! Give us a factory to work at with liveable wages, give us an apprenticeship program so we can learn a trade properly, give people with education in medical care an opportunity to work at a hospital, give us an opportunity to be successful without doing nastiness. Poverty creates crime and crime creates poverty.
Excellent, Prime Minister. You are doing the right thing.
You so ashamed to post your stupid comment, you call yourself “young person”? So you’re pretending that you are not aware of all those opportunities that are being provided by the SLP Government of Prime Minister Philip J Pierre? Who you fooling?
@Young person the youth economy, vocational training just starting 3000 young person registered and are about to be trained, Medical scholarships to Cuba and Taiwan to name a few.
It is about time that the government enact a minimum or livable wage, as the young people will not go and work at hotels and security companies for 2 to 5 EC dollars an hour
Kids you heard the pee emm. Stay away from politicians.
Let’s be realistic.it starts with us parents. We are our children first teacher and the values we instill in them no matter where they go simebif not all must remain with them. Some of us are not examples to our kids from early o’clock. Children learn from what they see and are being taught. Stop saying that a child will not remember or cannot understand what we do in their presence at age 2. They do and kids don’t forget even when they do not talk about it. Let’s teach our kids what is good and bad from an early age, let’s prepare them for society. Let’s not cover their wrong and say it’s because we love them. Doing that will make them grow up believing that their wrongs are rights. If we do it right then they practice what they are taught in our society then we will help create a better society. Also society (our politicians) let’s lead by example. While we cannot blame politicians for crime they too have their part to play in making our society a better one for our children. Peace and love
God is love, you are correct to an extent. Kids learn from the environment they are in. The environment is not only their homes. It also includes the neighbourhood, larger community and their society as a whole. This society is sick. Violence and vulgarity are totally glorified. We have rum shops next to schools. We have strip clubs across the street from churches. We have bars pumping obscene and violent musical content next to people’s homes. We have leaders blatantly fraternising with criminal elements. What do you expect this kind of society to produce?
You sir are not working hard enough. Two years I cannot get my day in court. Excuses alone from the court office in Vieux Fort. I cannot travel like you guys to see my family. I cannot eat all the good stuff and shop at Macy’s. How can you say you are tackling crime and the courts especially in Vieux Fort is on Autopilot. The backlog is growing and my patience is wearing thin. All I hear is Daddy Daddy or Chas Chas. Get to WORK !!!! Three years not ten.
Re Article..
I think the PM should focus on implementing a fair living wage system of $10+per hour to help the parents of those kids his preaching to stay away from criminal activities. .PM if you don’t enact a fair living wage for working poor, things will never change. You can dance on the streets as long as you wish, but, without a livable wage system you are will be dancing until Doom’s Day.
Prime Minister Urges
“They try to take us on crime. Anytime there is an unfortunate crime, they laugh. They are happy. Like they get up in the morning and they pray, they say, ‘Bon Dieu, let them have some more crime so labour can pay’. That’s not happening.” Pierre told party supporters.
HOW MORE DUMB CAN OUR PRIME MINISTER BE. I AM NOT DENYING IT HAPPENS IN THIS SILLY POLITICAL CLIMATE BUT HE MAKES IT APPEAR THAT ALL OPPOSITE ARE CULPRITS. THERE ARE MANY HARDCORE UWPs WHO PRAY FOR PEACE IN OUR BELOVED COUNTRY. ST LUCIA BELONGS TO ALL ST LUCIANS AND NOT SLP. MAYBE THIS SILLY PM BELIEVES THAT ST LUCIA BELONGS TO SLP OR IS IT A CASE OF HIM WISHING FOR KILLINGS WHEN HE WAS IN OPPOSITION?
Stop blaming the government for poor and ignorant parenting. It is not the government responsibility to care for your children that you decided to bring into the world. The government did not ask you to sleep with Tom, Dick and Harry who does not even have a penny to their name with numerous children all over the place …use wisdom God gave you a brain. The government did not ask you to sleep with other people husband….Avootaye
The government did not tell you not to educate yourself. The government did not tell you to call people who work very hard living aboard in snow rain and hail to ask for funds. Some of you people think that your family who struggle abroad is your personal ATM..you bad mouth them like they owe you something..ungrateful …saa ouuu faire saay saa ouu wear ..Amen
There will always be crime, once we have leaders who telling us LIES black is blue and the house slaves supporting them. Politicians stop telling lies to the 43 percent.
We have 2 criminal gangs in house of parliament.