As a nation we celebrated 50 years of Independence, and all the success coming out of the London Olympics was perfect timing for the festivities.

This week, when the dust settles, the realities of all that is wrong with us will quickly come back to the fore. Although we have come a long way in half a century, our values have in large part disintegrated.

For decades we have ignored our youths, and now we are paying the price for this perhaps irreparable oversight. We have neglected, destitute, uneducated young people all around us.

Family life in many parts of T&T is non-existent and this is a huge loss. For many of us with doting grandparents, and loving parents who made us feel everything we accomplished in life was important, we cannot imagine what this lost generation endures in their broken homes. Some individuals are able to find the appropriate guidance in their schools, communities and churches and become successes. The others? We read about them every day, while others depend on gangs and such as their only way out of a deep, deep hole.

Until the Government and all concerned citizens focus attention on addressing this huge problem in a meaningful way, we will continue to read about murders, the terrible face of the scourge of crime.

As a start, we need our politicians, sporting icons and community leaders to set appropriate examples.

After 50 years of Independence and 40-plus years of societal degeneration, the future is bleak. The fix, if any is possible, could take decades. I hope I am wrong but unfortunately I feel I am not, and as a result I fear what we would look like in 2062.

Dr Nigel Camacho

St Ann's