Due to various acts of senseless violence on the island of Bermuda, the government has decided to implement a National Service Programme which is funded by the island government in order to restore harmony and peace within the community.
A study conducted by the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development on the situation of Caribbean youth has revealed that youth's risky behaviours such as youth violence (gang related), teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS are wreaking serious havoc on the economies of Caribbean nations.
The study found that murder rates in the Caribbean – at 30 per 100,000 annually – were higher than any other region in the world and that youth were the primary perpetrators, as well as the victims, of crime and violence.
The report revealed that the economic costs of youth crime had two components: the first being direct financial costs related to public expenditure on security, policing, arrest, judicial processing, and incarceration. The second component was indirect costs linked to the foreign earnings of the criminal while s/he was in prison and to the losses in tourism revenues linked to youth crimes.
Lost tourism revenues as a result of crime has reached in excess of US$200 million per year for the CARICOM region and overall youth crime was costing at least seven per cent of the region's Gross Domestic Product.
The National Service Programme could be one of the interventions for other Caribbean nations to implement and we should also consider as an avenue for our nation's youth. The Bermuda programme is designed to engage young Bermudian men and women in positive and meaningful activity to not only counter the feeling of entitlement currently held by some of the islands young people, but also address anti-social behaviour and youth problems.
The National Service Programme would allow even more of Bermuda's young adults to contribute to Bermuda's national interest, personally and professionally. It is felt that by sharing their acquired knowledge and talents with other younger Bermudians and by assisting seniors, the participants in the programme will be contributing to the development of Bermuda as a whole.
The programme is not uncommon, and has been successfully implemented in other countries, such as in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the USA and Jamaica. The Bahamas is also considering a similar program.
The Bermuda program is catering to individuals who are male and female between the ages of 24 and 30-years. Those who volunteer will be required to provide 16 hours of service per month for two consecutive years in order to complete the programme. Those who fall within the qualifying age and who are abroad studying may serve upon completion of their studies, and complete their national service before their 30th birthday.
Government and non-governmental organizations will be encouraged to provide internship programmes which would allow young adults to train and mentor younger Bermudians giving them an insight into available future careers.
The private sector would also be encouraged to become part of the national project. Businesses would also be asked to offer internship programmes that will allow those who volunteer to gain their national service hours by training and mentoring younger Bermudians. This will enable young people to gain practical knowledge of the work environment.
To encourage the success of the programme, the Bermuda Government proposes that incentives be given to participants during and after national service is completed. Such incentives may include free public transportation, funding for further education, discount card packages from various retailers, or preferential lending rates, just to mention a few.
Roddy Heyliger