Copyright trinidadexpress
If you have a highly prized fruit tree in your garden, and parasitic vines start to overtake it, one must be very deliberate in how one treats this particular situation. You can occasionally trim the vines to clear the tree, but this would not alleviate the problem over the long term. Over time, the vines would return to stifle the growth and productivity of the tree. Unless one undertakes the task to totally and completely eradicate that vine from the root, eventually the parasitic vines would ruin that tree. This is exactly what the drug trade is doing to our beloved nation. Just like a parasitic vine stifles its host, the drug trade has stifled our growth and development for decades. It is extremely difficult to calculate the true economic and societal cost of the burgeoning drug trade in our nation, but one can imagine it is extremely costly. When one considers the human capital lost to the ravages of this insidious business, where differences can only be settled by guns and death, we can see the vines wrapping around our borders. When innocent lives are lost to crime and foreign direct investment is wary of coming to our shores because of our crime statistics, the vines continue to swallow our once-prosperous country. When we speak about diversifying our economy by investing in tourism, but our -reputation as a narco-state continues to make international headlines, the vines continue to overrun our country. It is no secret and, quite frankly, very ironic that drugs, guns and many illegal activities are trafficked over our calm blue waters. Let us not be delusional; dealing with this illicit trade within our current legal framework is like trying to put out an erupting volcano with a garden hose. It is simply not working, and we are fighting a losing battle. We are doomed like Sisyphus, a figure in Greek mythology, who was condemned by the gods to eternally roll a huge boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down. That is, until now. The actions of the US government are pulling the vines from the root. We cannot fight this battle with silk gloves on, and these actions are bearing fruit. The once-stifled tree is now being efficiently and effectively cleared of its suffocating vines. It must be recognised that the Prime Minister, Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar, is stuck between a rock and a hard place, and she is bearing the brunt of much criticism for her support of the US actions for our betterment. However, she is standing firm in the face of adversity, and her bravery must be commended. Continue to fight the good fight, Honourable Prime Minister! Ricardo Jimenez Diego Martin
