As violent crime surges throughout Barbados, the Muslim neighborhood is taking further precautions to guard properties, companies, and livelihoods, with members urged to stay vigilant.
Barbados has recorded 25 homicides to this point this yr, with 16 (64%) involving firearms. Anwar Nana, President of the Barbados Muslim Affiliation (BMA) and chairman of the Affiliation of Public Transport Operators (APTO), advised Barbados TODAY on Wednesday that Muslims are feeling the affect straight.
“We’re a part of the broader neighborhood and we additionally will probably be impacted like all people else. We had a case a few weeks in the past the place two of our members had been held up. So, it would come all the way down to us as nicely,” Nana mentioned.
Highlighting the character of many Muslim-owned companies, he defined:
“It’s only a matter of being vigilant and being cautious in what we do, as a result of lots of our guys are on the highway. Our enterprise is on the highway and never in a hard and fast location. It’s a matter of being vigilant and hoping for the perfect.”
Nana pressured the significance of fixing routines and taking precautions, particularly since some Muslim enterprise house owners additionally function shops on the town.
“I don’t suppose it might have an effect on them as a lot as the fellows on the streets. Proper now, there’s lots of crime usually throughout Barbados and we must be very vigilant in all of our dealings.”
At house, neighborhood members have strengthened safety measures. Nana identified, “Even at house, we strive to ensure doorways are locked, the place earlier than, it wasn’t like that. However now, we make it possible for doorways are safe.”
Money dealing with, notably for these in public service automobiles (PSVs), has additionally turn out to be a spotlight. Nana urged limiting the amount of money carried to keep away from turning into targets:
“Even with that, you strive to not have massive sums of cash on you. You restrict the sum of money that you simply carry. Nevertheless, there are lots of methods you’ll be able to transfer cash. There are lots of precautions you’ll be able to take to restrict the amount of money that you simply carry. We do this. We attempt to restrict the money so the fellows wouldn’t have huge sums of money on them.”
He welcomed the forthcoming cashless fee system deliberate for route taxis and minibuses, which he hopes will additional scale back dangers. Nevertheless, Nana acknowledged that some points stay earlier than its implementation:
“There are some points that we are attempting to resolve. We’re engaged on it. There are nonetheless discussions occurring each week . . . two weeks on it . . . negotiations with the suppliers, the suppliers of the service. We’re at that stage proper now. We’re negotiating with two or three totally different suppliers, the perfect charges.”
The cashless system is predicted to roll out by early subsequent yr on the newest, however could possibly be applied inside three months if all goes nicely.
With simply over half the yr accomplished, Barbados has already recorded 25 murders, surpassing half of the 49 homicides recorded in all of 2024, underscoring the urgency of heightened vigilance throughout the island.
