Sustained outcry for Jamaica
Published:Monday | November 6, 2023 | 12:06 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
While there is an outcry for what is happening in the Middle East and with Ukraine and Russia, we must not forget the outcry that needs to be heard in our own backyard.
Last Thursday evening a drive-by shooting in Trench Town left two dead and five hospitalised, including a 10-year-old boy.
One of young men who was killed was in final year UWI and was recently promoted at a prominent bank where he was working since 2015.
This Saturday morning, a young man approached my car to wipe my windshield. I enquired to which community he belonged. In his response, he went on to tell of how his sister and two other close relatives were killed. He said a pastor helped him during that traumatic period. That is the story of so many from most of our under-resourced communities. Recently, for example, a mother lost her son to violence, and her two brothers were also previously murdered.
Speak to any of the guidance counsellors in the schools in these communities and you would hear of the multiple traumatic situations that many of the students have experienced.
Please note that several formerly peaceful areas have become volatile and are having drive-by shootings as well. When will we as a nation pull out all the stops to put an end to this carnage and the loss of precious lives?
We need to be willing to have every kind of skill involved, along with multiple interventions to break this cycle of violence in Jamaica that has been perpetuated for over decades.
Can you imagine what Jamaica would be like if we were able to turn the tide? We would see the increase in investment in Jamaica, not just by foreigners, but by our own people who want to return after retirement, but afraid to do so.
While not negating international issues, where is the sustained outcry against the violence in Jamaica? Also, too the consistent agitation that will lead to the mobilisation and engagement of all sectors of our society, including the Church, for everyone to live peacefully?
There must be a persistent outcry that results in the formation of strategic partnerships and targeted actions for these communities to bring about solutions and to end this genocide.
B.A. FLETCHER