A catastrophe of major proportions

When Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., Raymond Alcide Joseph called it “a catastrophe of major proportions" he was correct. So major that it affects a number of countries in the region and has even prompted Senegal to offer land (a whole fertile region if Haitians accept the offer and arrive en masse).

It is so sad to see the photos and videos showing daily life in a country with an overnight homeless population of two million. This is one time when the strong survives and the weak fall by the wayside. Literally. Gangs of marauders, armed with machetes, sticks, guns and make-shift weapons pounce on the weak, defenceless and unprepared. Daily. Nightly.

Escaped prisoners are wreaking havoc. So out come the dogs of war. Foreign soldiers patrol and secure. Can you imagine in the aftermath of a major environmental disaster, foreign soldiers patrolling our ravaged country, giving orders to civilians at the end of a rifle, in languages we don’t understand?

But there is hope. There’s a story about a neigbourhood watch on steroids—a mini local government-of-sorts—protecting their inhabitants and territory with organization, planning, co-operation and force of arms. They even have checkpoints, patrols, a food/water distribution system and medical care. Their leader, Dickens Princivil, is a polite cello-playing, pistol-toting man who never even knew his neighbours before the disaster. What’s more he has options. With a US visa and the means to leave the country he continues to stay. To help.

Generosity is outpouring to Haiti now. Even small businesses have been collecting donations—cash and food—to send. The challenge is getting the money to where it’s meant to go, rather than ending up in private bank accounts in foreign countries.

Surely now is the time to take stock of our own situation here in T&T and boost up our own preparedness levels with more and appropriate supplies, training and planning.

Scenario planning: What if T&T has another emergency like 1990?

What if T&T has another major emergency? Would you be prepared? Would you feel comfortable that the protective services can, or will? Any major emergency event can happen: T&T experiences a severe hurricane, great earthquake, an invasion from a neighbouring country, terrorists disrupting energy supplies or even another coup. Should the emergency occur over an extended period, can you feed, protect and shelter you family?

Within the first three or four days, the police will go around to the homes of those listed in the firearms register. They will confiscate all firearms and there isn’t a thing you can do about it (read sec 22[1] of the Firearms Act). No pleading, no reasoning, no calls to your superstar constitutional attorney can prevent it. You will be stripped of your legal means of protecting yourself and loved ones, right at the very moment that you need to the most.

The criminals and their families must eat and drink, so the looting begins. After HiLo, TruValu and the other major groceries have been stripped bare, then the smaller groceries and mini marts will also be attacked. Next, unless order is restored, the little neighbourhood shops and parlours will experience the same treatment. Finally, home invasions will be so rampant, that the protective services-being stretched so thin-may not respond.

Armed gangs will terrorise entire communities, picking off the weak, unprepared and unarmed at will. Home invasions, murders, rapes, kidnappings, auto theft, praedial larceny and illegal forcible evictions will be the order of the day.

We are told that one prepares for war in the time of peace. We missed that boat, the war is already on.

Scenario planning is a strategic planning method used by military intelligence and other organisations for flexible long-term plans. Neighbourhood watch groups, families, businesses and NGOs can adapt the methods to their particular environment. It is one way to build community resilience.

Get together with other stakeholders and develop your emergency plan now. Remember, a plan is not a plan, unless it is written down and can be shown to someone else. Otherwise it is still only an idea.

In ‘the fog of war’, ideas may be easily forgotten, and people revert to training and conditioning. Without plans, bad decisions are made, with sometimes fatal repercussions. Develop your plans today. Test them. Do an emergency drill. See what works, what doesn’t. Make your changes and test again. Refine your plan until it is good enough for your survival, and ensure all stakeholders internalize it, or at least have a copy.

Trust in God. But have recourse to lethal force.

Have a plan to survive. Prep your beans, bullets, band-aids and training.

Customs and Excise Exhibition

TT Customs & Excise officer displaying what looks to be an air rifle to onlookers at the TT Customs & Excise Exhibition last week on the Brian Lara Promenade, in downtown Port of Spain. From this Newsday photo it appears as though the officer is handling the rifle in an unsafe manner, by pointing the muzzle in the direction of the persons present. It may just be the angle of the photo though. Regardless, it’s in a busy public area with hundreds of pedestrians, so there is no ‘down range’ to point the rifle safely. As such, he may have pointed up or (less preferable, but safer than horizontal) down. Even our protective services professionals need firearms safety training. The caption also incorrectly labels the air rifle a ‘firearm’.

A Civilian Marksmanship Program would educate the public enough to be able immediately spot the unsafe practices of those entrusted with the public safety and security.

NO SHOOTING PRACTICE
We haven’t been shooting much over the past couple weeks, as rain, family and professional commitments has kept us busy.

BANK RUN & COMMUNITY DEFENCE
Last Friday, Republic Bank limited withdrawals to $5,000 per customer, according to Caroline Kissoon of the Express newspaper. Despite assurances from Anna-Maria Garcia-Brooks, group marketing and communications manager, the run on the bank continued yesterday.

Yes folks, it has started. When the largest commercial bank in the country with branches in several other Caribbean countries, experiences a loss of depositor confidence, then what follows will not be pretty. Can this lead to a banking panic, where there’s a run on several banks at the same time? We’ll see.

Turn some of your paper investments into tangibles. Stockpile food, water, tools, fuel, first aid supplies, drugs your family use and have a way to protect your family and property. Even if you cannot legally own a gun, then co-operating with your neighbours will gretly enhance your chances of protecting your family.

An effective neighbourhood watch programme will reveal both strengths and weaknesses in your security preparations. There may be neighbours with guns of which you aren’t aware. Hunters, police and soldiers on special duty, retired police, businesspersons, sport shooters et al, may all be quietly living in your midst, armed, and an untapped resource for community defence.

All will be reluctant to share this info with you, due to OPSEC and our dramatically rising violent crime rate. However, if handled with tact, and the necessary confidentiality assurances given, then some may be coaxed into being part of a well run NW programme.

Hoplophobes may be your second biggest obstacles though. The first being criminals living in your neighbourhood, along with their relatives who encourage and condone their activities.

There are a number of options in dealing with this problem, which will be discussed in a subsequent post.