As violent crime surges across Barbados, the Muslim community is taking extra precautions to protect homes, businesses, and livelihoods, with members urged to remain vigilant.
Barbados has recorded 25 homicides so far this year, with 16 (64%) involving firearms. Anwar Nana, President of the Barbados Muslim Association (BMA) and chairman of the Association of Public Transport Operators (APTO), told Barbados TODAY on Wednesday that Muslims are feeling the impact directly.
“We are part of the wider community and we also will be impacted like everybody else. We had a case a couple of weeks ago where two of our members were held up. So, it will come down to us as well,” Nana said.
Highlighting the nature of many Muslim-owned businesses, he explained:
“It is just a matter of being vigilant and being careful in what we do, because a lot of our guys are on the road. Our business is on the road and not in a fixed location. It is a matter of being vigilant and hoping for the best.”
Nana stressed the importance of changing routines and taking precautions, especially since some Muslim business owners also operate stores in town.
“I don’t think it would affect them as much as the guys on the streets. Right now, there is a lot of crime generally all over Barbados and we need to be very vigilant in all of our dealings.”
At home, community members have strengthened security measures. Nana pointed out, “Even at home, we try to make sure doors are locked, where before, it wasn’t like that. But now, we make sure that doors are secure.”
Cash handling, particularly for those in public service vehicles (PSVs), has also become a focus. Nana urged limiting the amount of cash carried to avoid becoming targets:
“Even with that, you try not to have large sums of money on you. You limit the amount of money that you carry. However, there are a lot of ways you can move money. There are a lot of precautions you can take to limit the amount of cash that you carry. We do that. We try to limit the cash so the fellows wouldn’t have big sums of cash on them.”
He welcomed the forthcoming cashless payment system planned for route taxis and minibuses, which he hopes will further reduce risks. However, Nana acknowledged that some issues remain before its implementation:
“There are some issues that we are trying to resolve. We are working on it. There are still discussions going on every week . . . two weeks on it . . . negotiations with the suppliers, the providers of the service. We are at that stage right now. We are negotiating with two or three different providers, the best rates.”
The cashless system is expected to roll out by early next year at the latest, but could be implemented within three months if all goes well.
With just over half the year completed, Barbados has already recorded 25 murders, surpassing half of the 49 homicides recorded in all of 2024, underscoring the urgency of heightened vigilance across the island.
