Letter of the Day | Begging for a real change

THE EDITOR, Madam:

As an educator, I have lived for more than 40 years in the community of central Kingston. I would love for peace to prevail over my home again. But we must be sensible; over the many years that I lived here, no peace negotiation has lasted.

No police? How do you or I expect to see real change if this continues? It’s like in school; I tell my students that that is the definition of insanity. Dem mussi mad! Work with me. Work with my community. Together, we can create real peace. Together, we can turn away from allowing the gangs to have power. I’ve seen the horrors they create and seen the damage they do. That is not what we need for the future of Jamaica.

I hear what people think about those of us who come from these communities. Every time I hear it, it breaks my heart and I want to say something, but where would my evidence be to say otherwise? But, I know we aren’t all bad people. A lot of youth turn to violence to survive. Politicians should be working on the side of real peace and create legal ways for them to pursue an alternative means of earning an income. A legal and uplifting way.

Instead, our political leaders seem to support them. What kind of message are they sending to the children, to the country? What kind of constituency do they want to build? I not only speak for myself, but I speak for my community. Help us help you make Jamaica better. You should have seen how people ran off to go lock up in their houses. They just didn’t know what to do. Who to trust?

BETTER EXAMPLES

How can we grow our children up like this, knowing the world we are sending them into? How can I feel good or sleep at night, knowing that these young, bright, gifted souls have the chance to be great. How can they learn that there is better out there, when there isn’t even better outside their front door? Or even in their homes for that matter? When I talk to some of these children, my students, I have to ask God why.

How am I to explain to a child that he should become a productive member of society and to vote for a government he believes in?

Please, Jamaica. We beg you. Make real change.

ANNETTE FRANKS

Central Kingston