Panic And Incorrect Perception Can Be Avoided

2025-10-31 09:01:15

(MENAFN- Caribbean News Global) Dear Sir

For months after the 1990 attempted coup, almost every other Friday, the“talk around town” was that another coup attempt was to take place in hours. This caused mass panic, leading to schools and offices being closed prematurely, etc., all because of the state's failure at the time to have a proper communication platform to advise the public of the facts.

This is why the Commission of Enquiry into the attempted coup submitted as its main recommendation the formation of a National Operations Centre (NOC). Its purpose was both to ensure that all law enforcement and intelligence agencies could accumulate information in one place, allowing for proper intelligence sharing and hence enabling informed decisions. The other critical value of the NOC is to ensure that the public is given proper information in real time to avoid undue panic, meaning that it is much more than someone using a walkie-talkie to talk to police on patrols.

Thirty-five years later, unfortunately, we are encountering a similar situation, yet again due to a failure to provide proper communication to the public in real time.

With rumours and reports of an impending strike on a neighbouring country by another country within days, the expected rumour-mongering, which can cause panic to set in, has obviously started. But it becomes further intensified when the“talk around town” is that all 5,000 soldiers and sailors of the Defence Force have all been directed to report to their respective camps.

Whether this camp confinement is true or not, the fact is that it has circulated around the country. The NOC should be aware of this and hence be able to confirm which of the following is taking place:

A) Confirm that this is untrue, and no camp confinement has taken place.

B) That only specific military personnel have been called to camp.

C) That all military personnel have been directed to report to camp.

Whichever one it may be, this information should have been immediately submitted to the prime minister, as the chair of the National Security Council, so she can properly advise and direct the NOC to then inform and guide the public accordingly.

Pertaining to the information on the army confinement, the chairman of the National Security Council and prime minister should be the first to be briefed (whether true or not), upon which the public can be advised through the appropriate channels to stymie the current and ongoing misinformation. Failure for this to have taken place means those responsible for imparting such information to the chair should have been more proactive.

Whether this is true or not, the national population requires timely, objective, and fact-based communication from the authorities. This is not the time for political banter, social media sniping, or one-upmanship. Again, this is the time for clear, consistent messaging from one authority, which, ideally, should be the National Operations Centre or the ministry of defence.

With these situations being known, and with the absence of proper communications to the public, it opens the window for incorrect perception, exaggeration of the facts, and misinformation. This leads to panic, mass buying frenzy in groceries, massive traffic gridlock, mass congestion at gas stations, and schools and offices being closed, all because of the absence of real-time information being given to the public.

Again, I humbly recommend that the ministry of defence and the NOC must be fully functioning to amass all rumours and gossip, to have it dispelled immediately. At the same time, if anything is factual, they must ensure that the public acquires the facts to prevent it from being exaggerated. All of this can cause what we are seeing now.

If this is done, it can eliminate or at least greatly reduce wrongful perceptions being perceived by many, which in turn can cause wrong decisions to be made, and also reduce me getting hundreds of calls and messages to find out“what is going on.”

Regards,

Gary Griffith
Giving a Voice to the People.

The post Panic and incorrect perception can be avoided appeared first on Caribbean News Global.

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