Letter of the Day | How did we come to this?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The front page articles of The Gleaner on November 7 – ‘Arianna’s last letter’ and ‘Two 9-y-o boys among three slain in taxi’ – should give all of us much food for thought as we ask ourselves these questions:

“How did we get to this point of our history, that the lives of six-year-old Arianna and nine-year-old Justin and Nacholive, gunned down in two separate incidents, might become another ‘nine-day wonder’?”

“What might be the antecedents of which we could all be held accountable?”

First, there is the so-called sacred ‘code of silence’ whereby we look out for our own selfish well-being; this is also coupled with the lack of trust in those responsible for security because of possible collusion with gangsters.

Second: the poor family structure where the absence of fathers gives way to the dons and other gangsters filling that void of love and proper responsible direction.

Third: the irregularity of school attendance partially due to lack of means to provide expenses or parents’ lack of appreciation for formal education.

The fourth antecedent – and this is by no means secondary, for it affects livelihood – is the need for government’s appropriate attention to the development of a micro economy that impacts the lives of those struggling to make ends meet.

I shall forever remember the words of our former beloved prime minister, the Honourable Portia Miller, as she was about to address the gathering at the King’s House lawn after she was re-elected. She said to me after I had invoked God’s blessing on the gathering: “Now, we must look about the micro economy that will affect the poor.”

That fourth antecedent is relevant to the situation of those scrambling to make a living ‘by hook or by crook’.

So, when we decry the senseless and cruel massacre of our children, and ask ourselves, “Look what we have come to?” let us not forget the multifaceted antecedents that have brought us to this sad, regrettable situation.

Those in authority, those in opposition, the Church, civil society, as well as each individual family must take some blame for our coming to this regrettable and heart-wrenching situation, inclusive of infanticide.

May our corporate contrition to Almighty God, and a firm purpose of amendment to do better, signal the possibility of a more humane and loving society where our children will be safe, sound and joyful. Yes, there is hope, and each one of us, under God, can be a harbinger of that hope.

We invoke the Almighty as we ponder and internalise the meaningful words of our National Anthem:

“Eternal Father, bless our land,

Guard us with Thy Mighty Hand,

Keep us free from evil powers,

Be our light through countless hours.”

ARCHBISHOP DONALD REECE