Westmoreland youth praise dispute resolution campaign launch

WESTERN BUREAU:

Some of Westmoreland’s youth have expressed appreciation for the Ministry of Justice’s newly launched alternative dispute resolution services’ public education campaign, while also voicing disappointment that violence in schools has become almost a norm.

Miltahnu Thompson and Malaika Uter, both 18-year-old lower-sixth-form students at the Manning’s School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, shared their views on the issue with The Gleaner on Friday, shortly after Justice Minister Delroy Chuck launched the new initiative at their school. The campaign is geared at promoting non-violent conflict resolution strategies.

Thompson expressed sadness about the current epidemic of violent incidents involving students, including the March 21 stabbing and subsequent death of William Knibb Memorial High School student Khamal Hall in Trelawny, and the March 30 stabbing and injuring of a female student of Petersfield High School in Petersfield, Westmoreland.

“I am actually overjoyed that this launch happened here today, and I think it is a good initiative. I would love to see a long-term effect from this programme for Jamaica,” Thompson told The Gleaner. “It was definitely needed at this point in time, with the violence now taking place in schools. I am sad to see that this is what has become the norm in our schools in this time, with the violence.”

In voicing her sentiments, Uter said that persons who may potentially get involved in violent confrontations should consider walking away before things escalate.

“I believe that this was a well-needed launch, and from here I think that we have the perspective to move forward to great things. Violence, as we all know, is not the best option, and I know it is very hard, especially when you are in the heat of the moment and you are tested to do things you do not want to do. But the best thing to do is to just walk away for that time and come back,” said Uter.

AN UPHILL TASK

Both students were echoing sentiments expressed earlier by Chuck during his address at the launch, where he acknowledged that teachers and school administrators have an uphill task in reining in the escalating acts of violence among students.

“Jamaica is under siege. We are not yet Ukraine, but we have far too many battlefields across Jamaica. Our schools have become battlefields, and in the fighting, violence is used,” said Chuck.

“You have students who are coming from war-torn areas, and these types of abuses and violence are what children who are coming from those communities are learning. Teachers, you have a great challenge in that many of the students are coming from difficult communities,” Chuck added.

The minister also promised that the Ministry of Justice would provide assistance to educators in the form of programmes that they could use in the schools to address the issue of violence.

The assurance came more than a week after calls were made by Linvern Wright, president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, for more resources to be made available to tackle violence and other delinquent behaviour in schools. That call came the day after the fatal stabbing of Hall, who had been in an altercation with another student at William Knibb.

In addition to the launch of the alternate dispute resolution campaign for Westmoreland, representatives from agencies, including the Restorative Justice Programme, the Child Diversion Programme, and the Victim Services Division, were on hand to provide information on how students and residents can participate in and benefit from similar initiatives.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com