Another Sunday. Another young life lost.
Twenty-nine-year-old Leyandrew Hubbard is dead after a gunman opened fire while he and others reportedly played cards beneath a roadside shed in Potters. Another man remains hospitalized, fighting to recover from his injuries.
The police will investigate. Politicians will offer condolences. Friends will post photographs and broken-heart emojis. Then, as often happens, life will move on.
Except for one group.
Tomorrow, young men will return to that same shed. They will pull up chairs, shuffle cards, light cigarettes, pass drinks, and laugh as though nothing has changed.
This letter is for them.
Many young men have become so attached to “the block” that they no longer realize it is holding them hostage. They wake up with nowhere to be, no goals to pursue, and no urgency to build a better future. The street corner becomes their office. The gambling table becomes their workplace. The conversation never changes, and neither do their lives.
Then one day, gunfire interrupts the routine.
Some believe they are safe because they are “not involved.” But bullets do not stop to ask who is innocent. Violence does not check whether you came only to lime for an hour or whether you were simply passing by.
Wrong place. Wrong time. That is all it takes.
Every funeral reminds us of the same painful truth: life is precious, but it is also fragile. Yet too many continue living as though tomorrow is guaranteed.
Ask yourself an honest question: What has the street given you?
Has it helped you buy a home? Has it taught you a skill? Has it helped you support your parents, raise your children, or build a future?
Or has it simply consumed your time while convincing you that doing nothing is normal?
Hours become days. Days become years. Before long, the dreams you once had are replaced by excuses. You become known not for what you accomplished, but for where you spent your afternoons.
There is another way.
Learn a trade. Start a small business. Go back to school. Find a mentor. Volunteer. Get a job. Leave the people who celebrate wasting time and surround yourself with those who expect more from you.
No one is saying life is easy. Jobs can be hard to find. Opportunities are not always equal. But sitting on a corner every day will never improve your circumstances.
The saddest part about tragedies like the one in Potters is that they become familiar. We read the headlines, shake our heads, and move on until the next shooting.
It does not have to be this way.
If even one young man decides today that he has spent enough time on the block and chooses instead to invest in himself, then this tragedy may yet save another life.
Do not wait until your family is planning your funeral.
Do not wait until your photograph is printed on a memorial T-shirt.
Do not wait until your mother receives the phone call every parent fears.
Walk away from the corner while you still can.
Your future is waiting somewhere else.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Citizen
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“the block” bought me a car and made me live comfortable..the younger ones just don’t know how too use it too their advantage.
Well said 👏
Very well said.
Sadly, most of them will learn too late.
In this case, I expect that there will be retaliation, and it will go on and on and on.
Concerned Citizen, that is great advice, but sad to say it will fall dead ears. We have lots of idiotic people in this Country such as @ Sherfield Bowen Shot Tessa
Wise words but they will fall on deaf ears. Antiguans prefer crime. Just look at the comments. First one up is glorifying the block and crime. Oh they’ll say now that that isn’t what they meant but it’s there for all to see. Until the island rids itself if this mindset and the people involved in that lifestyle Antigua will not change. There needs to be no loitering laws put in place to prevent these types congregating on the block and disperse their illegal activities. Antigua needs to stop harbouring these thugs, stop glamourising the lifestyle and start reporting them to the police instead of keeping silent. Only when Antiguans grow tired of the crime, corruption, fraud and antisocial behaviour will there be change for the better.
That’s life in the ghetto, and am not just talking Wadadli ghetto, but in every ghetto and government housing projects across the world where poverty, unemployment and drugs all mixed together. Some may find their way out, but for most they will continue to hang on the corners, in the stairways and make old abandoned houses a useful post. The madness here is, one gets gunned down in the streets and there is always a few who tries hard to convince us how pure and clean this individual was, but with such sentiment, it will then seems as if we have a number of heartless, sick gunmen in this country who are just walking around or driving around and randomly shooting innocent young men. Keep in mind if you’re clean but hanging with the unclean, you may need to check yourself cause when bullets a fly, they seldom have a name attached.
This is happening on EVERY ISLAND in the Caribbean and far worse in places that traditionally had lower levels of crime like St. Maarten and the BVI. A simple Google search might open some peoples eyes to what is happening with the youth of today in the entire region not just little Wadadli.
@ Concerned Citizen; very true words you wrote / and as for Anansi ; I agree with you 100%.
I’m sure like me , many of you guys know of the hotspots around the island , where weed is being sold or criminal activities happen , some even know where to go to get their hands on a gun .. So if the ” Regular Joe” can know these things , so should law enforcement. That means one thing is clear to me ……. The corruption is from within .
Yesterday I noticed something: I was driving along Lightfoot main road when this white car was travelling northwards driving somewhat slow , heavily tinted and no license plate , and driving Infront of me was a police vehicle.
I was kinda amazed that the police vehicle just drove past the car like it was invisible. Mind you , I don’t know why the vehicle was driving so slow , could be mechanical issues , person could be on their phones or they could be scoping out the area, who knows , but one would think that this should arouse some kinda suspicion on the officers who passed .
I’ve watch videos on YouTube where drivers in the states are pulled over and ticketed for just driving thru a stop sign or even having no number plate lights.
Too many things slide in this country .
There’s a new trend I’m noticing now where windshields are being tinted and the only exemption is apparently an authorised letter from the police headquarters. Ok that’s understandable, I’m guessing if you’re business require you to need added privacy on your vehicle , whether you handle money or you operate certain transportation services like limo or even taxis you might require that.
But I’ve seen alot of vehicle lately especially on social media getting their windshield done and even have the audacity to brag about no police can stop dem. Lol smfh . Anything really goes in this place .
Police have no crime fighting skills whatsoever. They don’t patrol in unmarked cars , the don’t set up dragnets , they still rely on their ancient ” Stop and Search ” method that leads to a few confiscated knives and joints .
To catch criminals you gotta think like a criminal .
Everyone has a point. However, has anyone of you every taken the time out to speak to some of these young men? Minister Turner and others stand up every day and give these wonderful speeches about the protection of women and young girls. Nothing is wrong with that as I’m a father of a young girl. However, what about our young men? Our young men needs help. Many of these young guys go to the block because this is where they find someone to speak to. The block is where they find comfort. Am I saying that it’s right for them to be liming on the block wasting their lives away? No.
We found the money to renovate a wonderful Juvenile center in Willikies. To do what, isolate these same young men that needs help. At the same Juvenile center, there is no form of rehabilitation for these young men. All we do in Antigua, is dump our young men in prison and expect them to get better without even trying to get them some counseling.
Something else that I’ve noticed. These same young men that we give a tongue lashing day in, day out. Whenever they try to start a small business or some kind of positive venture, we try our best to tear them down. As soon as these young men get in trouble, the only thing the system knows to do is to send them to prison.
As a man, I’m tired of us casting out our young men.
@Avery,
But the police in front of you did not even stop and search.
@ Concerned Citizen,
You write a letter of advise to a group of people who will never read your letter.
There must be a better way to reach these young people than through a letter in ANR.
How serious are you? There has to be some way they can be reached but not through letters in the media.
Street life! It’s the only life I know.
Street life! There’s a thousand roles to play.
Until you play your life away.
THEY ALL WANNA BE KING VON AND THOSE DRILL RAPPERS……..WHO I SMOKE???!?!?!? WHO I SMOKE!?!?!? SOME WILL GROW OUT OF IT AND SEEK BETTER …..SOME WILL SUFFER THE PETER PAN SYNDROME AND NEVER GROW UP GOING IN AND OUT OF JAIL…..SOME WILL HAVE THEIR LIVES CUT SHORT…..FOR NOW THEY ALL WANNA BE LIKE KING VON….
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