An expert on gang violence who grew up in the Bermudian neighbourhood where teenager Jason Lightbourne was shot dead last month warned yesterday that the Island needed to act now to stamp out a growing thug mentality.

Dennis Rahiim Watson, chairman of the New York-based National Taskforce on Black Male Violence, Gangs and Achievement, told that the 18-year-old?s murder and other recent violence, including a drive-by shooting in Warwick and a machete attack in Devonshire, was ?a wake-up call?.

Mr. Watson, a motivational speaker, was brought up on Ord Road, where Mr. Lightbourne was gunned down on July 23. He left Bermuda in 1969 to live in the US but visits the Island each year.

?My message is that Bermuda has no need to panic because there is no ?gang warfare? going on,? he said. ?There may be a gang or two on the Island. But right now it?s a random act of violence that has taken place. My condolences go out to the families of the people who have been killed.

?But random murders are going to take place, even in the most perfect communities. It?s not an everyday situation.

?However, it has the potential and we have to nip it in the bud. One death, any death, on the Island of Bermuda destroys tourism in some way.

?The disgruntled youth can destroy the economy in five minutes. All we need is global headlines saying Bermuda is a hotbed of violence.?

Mr. Watson, whose late mother was Eula Watson, of Warwick, claimed the violence happening here was on a tiny scale, involving as few as 50 youngsters, and did not compare with the inner-city gangs in the US.

?What we have in Bermuda is wannabe gangs? he said. ?These are not real gangs. I?m dealing with real gangs. Bermuda has 65,000 people. How can you get a gang going on there? It?s too small. Gangs are locked into inner cities.?

The former pupil of Ord Road, Paget Glebe and Robert Crawford schools claimed that hip hop music and American television had ?taken over the minds? of today?s youth.

He said: ?My generation had fads ? Afros, bell bottoms and so on ? but today the fads have been replaced by a mentality. They need to lash out. It?s called the thug mentality and that?s what has hit Bermuda.?

Mr. Watson called on the Island?s churches to open their doors to black teenagers every evening to help them develop a ?spiritual core?. ?When you love yourself you are not going to go out and kill or stab somebody.?

He also said older men needed to act as role models and that a series of major youth conferences should be held to give teenagers the chance to air their grievances.

?The violence that we saw is a wake-up call to say that attention must be given to our youth,? he said. ?I can identify 200 to 300 Bermuda males who acted as father figures and role models when I was young. We were a very family-orientated society. We had nothing but everything.

?This generation has everything and nothing. They have got everything you can imagine but the core of them is hungry for attention, for affection, for a hug, for some validation.?

He added: ?There is too much energy based on sport in Bermuda. We need to take some of that energy that we place on soccer and cricket and really develop a youth agenda. Bermuda is in a position with all of its wealth to be a model of youth empowerment from Somerset to St. George?s.?

The father-of-four, who is also president and chief executive officer of America?s National Black Youth Leadership Council, was the keynote speaker at CedarBridge Academy?s graduation ceremony in June.

He said: ?I was so impressed with the young people that graduated at CedarBridge. They were some of the most brilliant young minds. Most of them were accepted into colleges and universities. They want to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, politicians.

?We have got a handful of people, maybe 50, whose behaviour ought not to distract from all the great works that young people are doing in Bermuda.?

q Mr. Watson is coming to the Island in November to hold a series of conferences for families. The themes will be An Evening of Black Love, A Celebration of Black Women and a Tribute to Black Men.

For more information on these or the gangs taskforce email successdrwyahoo.com.