By Neals J. Chitan

Edmund Burke is well known for his famous saying, “All that is needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing about it.” During my years of addressing crime and violence internationally, I have met scores of good men who have spoken to me about the need to respond, but who are locked in a “status quo” box.  They know the problem, they see the effects on their community, but the systemic box within which they operate keep them at bay and they become the subjects of Burke’s statement.

However, I must applaud the efforts of another kind of good man, the one who really steps out and do something about it. Despite the infamous suspicions and trickery that are sometimes attributed to politicians and clergy, I must say, I can truly sing of the praises and courage of Pastor Charles Leader, a son of the soil of St. Kitts and Nevis.

As a former high school teacher at Cayon High, one of St. Kitts premiere secondary institutions which have contributed to some of the brightest minds of the land, even the Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris, Leader’s work now as an Adventist Minister in the downtown core of the city of Toronto among the homeless, the disenfranchised and hopeless reflects the patience and love of a courageous and humble teacher, and I am proud to be associated with him as a colleague.

However, amidst his devotion to his parishioners and the so-called bottom feeders of Toronto, I have seen the fire of concern in his eyes as he summons my help in addressing the upsurge of crime that has tarnished the good repute of the 156 square miles twin island birth places of him and his wife, Psychologist, Dr. Ermine Leader.

The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis with a population of just under 55, 000, closed last year, 2015 with 27 plus murders, and currently stands close to 10 murders on record already for the first two and a half months of 2016. This unexplainable steep rise in crime rates has the possibility of deeply damaging St. Kitts and Nevis’ tourism, a primary product that the economy depends on, while seriously tarnishing the name of the nation, internationally.

In “THE GUARDIAN” , a UK publication, columnists Nick Mead and Jo Blason on November 04, 2014, published a list of cities with the highest murder rates per 100, 000. Surpassing; Kingston Jamaica #10, San Salvador #9, Panama City #8, Cape Town South Africa #7, Maseru Lesotho #6, Tegucigalpa Honduras #5, Belize City #4, Guatemala City #3, Caracas Venezuela #2, Basseterre- St. Kitts and Nevis held the #1 spot with 136.6 in 2011. “This is troubling and should be immediately addressed,” said Leader! And off he went to work to do something about it.

Seeing the impact of our crime reduction concepts in the downtown core of Toronto and experiencing it himself, Leader made contact with my office and requested that I dropped everything and join him on his upcoming trip. I promptly responded and “Project STOP ‘n’ THINK”- St. Kitts and Nevis 2016 was born.

With a couple of phone calls and WhatApp messages, he contacted faith groups, schools, law enforcers, alumni groups and communities in St. Kitts and Nevis, and I was booked with a full schedule to accompany him back on a mission to his homeland to do something tangible about crime reduction.

Now, just 48 hours before touch down in St. Kitts and Nevis, the cauldron of expectancy is boiling over with excitement as we are ready to climb the iron eagle to deliver our crime reduction concepts in; town hall meeting, schools, churches, communities, professional development sessions and even to the office of Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. Timothy Harris.

For sure, Edmund Burke was right! “All that is needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing”, but I proud that Pastor Charles Leader and I are not in Burke’s classification of good men. Here we come!!  St. Kitts and Nevis, March 19-26, 2016.