During the motion to adjourn at last week’s parliamentary session, PLP MP for St. George’s West Kim Swan, JP, MP, said that the recent killings and deaths in St. George’s have been particularly taxing on residents’ emotions.
He highlighted to the House of Assembly that this problem of gun and gang violence is nothing new to the island and that former Premier the Honorable Dr. Ewart Brown planned to bring in
some gang mitigators from the US to help tackle the issue while he was Premier. According to Mr. Swan, back then, the Governor did not allow Dr. Brown to do that.
Mr. Swan then asked why the British government have not ordered a commission of enquiry to be conducted into the propagation of murders in Bermuda which has disproportionately affected the black community and black males in particular. He also asked if anyone in the UK sees what
is going on in Bermuda and views it as a national crisis.
“ We have national security ministers with limited budgets who are impacted by financial constraints and have to make decisions on whether money will go towards one area or another,
but do not the number of murders and amount of families that have been disrupted and the generational problems that have come as a result of all these murders warrant a commission of
enquiry from the British Government ?”, Mr. Swan asked.
He then voiced that murder and violence affects all segments of the island, not just one or two particular segments.
“ When a murder happens on South Shore Road in Warwick, it is less than one mile away from Harbour Road in Warwick,” he said. “ I’m calling on the British Government, the European
courts, or someone involved in human rights in this world, to look at the proliferation of murders which is disproportionately ripping the soul out of our country and people . . . I’m going to send these comments to people and organizations around the world, because the social fabric of this country is ripping us asunder.”
Mr. Swan ended his almost 20-minute speech by saying that, regardless of where he sits, whether as an elected parliamentarian or as a patriotic citizen, he will fight for Bermuda and the
best interest of its people until the day that he dies. He made one final plea to the UK to order a Commission of Enquiry to be conducted on the proliferation of murder and violence in Bermuda.
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