THE videos and voice notes now being circulated via social media in which a young Saint Lucian male is seen and heard making spine-chilling pleas for his captors to be paid should serve as ample deterrent to anyone contemplating becoming involved in the dangerous drug trade.
That the youngster accuses his own relative of causing him to become entwined in that predicament should underscore the point that in the criminal underworld, human lives matter less to material benefit. Friends can become monsters when just a penny is accounted for in an industry estimated to worth hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide.
While many people contend that the latest episode of a drug deal gone wrong has elements of Hollywood attached to it, no one can deny that seeing and hearing a young literally beg for his life is as real – and perhaps, as fragile – life can be. What compounds the situation is that the youngster is in another jurisdiction and his present condition remains unknown.
If good advice continues to fall on deaf ears, these are just some of the haunting scenes that can result when especially young people find solace in making quick money rather than persevering in their educational pursuits and earning a paycheck the legal way.
No amount of money is worth committing illegal acts that not only serve to tarnish one’s reputation but can also result in one losing his or her life. As cliché as it may sound, stay in school and educate yourselves on how to map the way to making an honest dollar. Further, stay away from bad company and any involvement in illegal the drug trade and other forms of criminality.
Your life depends on it – literally.