In these very difficult economic circumstances where staying above the water has become a heroic battle every day for the ordinary man and woman, one admires the courage and resilience of the micro-entrepreneur who tries to defeat the odds and provide for his family at the table.

This was the daily challenge for 25-year-old Garvin France of Field Six, South Sophia who ran a little shop adjoining his modest abode to upkeep his 23-year-old wife Radica and his two children - four years and four months old. It all came to a gory and brutal end for him in the dead of night when bandits sneaked into his bedroom and mercilessly killed him as he lay next to his wife on Saturday morning. He sustained bullet wounds to his mouth, stomach and foot and stood no chance against his attackers who then proceeded to rob his wife of cash and even cram their pockets with goods to be sold in the shop. A spartan 12 ft by 6 ft existence became his death-bed in Sophia.

Ironically, also on Saturday morning, another brave victim of these fiends in Sophia, passed away after battling for life in the Georgetown Public Hospital. Jagdai Singh - a 37-year-old housewife - had valiantly tried to pull off the mask of a bandit terrorising her family when her assailant retaliated by shooting her in her chest at point blank range. Her husband was also beaten in this incident while another family was terrorised by the same criminals.

These two deaths are not isolated ones in this sprawling urban squatters land. There have been other deaths - including the wife of another shopkeeper - and numerous robberies and attacks on the citizens of this area who not only have to cope with the day to day trials and tribulations but also with the absence of basic infrastructure and services in a settlement inhabited by thousands. In the run up to the March 19 general elections, an ambitious programme had been announced by the government for the regularisation of Sophia. One of these included the permament stationing of police in the area. The initial steps to have this materialise were taken but it is still to be realised.

Things run much too slowly in this country but at the very least it must be within the competence and capability of the government to speedily set up the permanent facility for the police. In the interim - now - temporary accommodation could be rapidly set up in the various fields of Sophia so that police ranks could be stationed there. If the police can't do it, undoubtedly the citizens of Sophia who are adept at putting up these structures would lend a helping hand considering that their security is at risk.

This is where the Symonds report on restructuring of the police force cries out for implementation. More and more policemen and women should be freed from their desk jobs so they could help stem the tide of crime in besieged areas like Sophia which are more or less cut off from the rest of the city.

The ministries of housing, home affairs and local government together with the police force must make Sophia a priority for determined action on crime-fighting. An urgent meeting should be convened between the police and residents of the various fields to work out a viable plan for confronting these mindless criminals. Residents of Sophia must no longer have to rely on the Prashad Nagar police outpost or other distant and infeasible possibilities. They must have policemen stationed in their own community to provide them with some peace of mind.