Williams urges youth to take destiny in hand
Published:Tuesday | November 22, 2022 | 12:05 AM
Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams has rallied young people to recognise the role they have in charting Jamaica’s future and urged them to find the courage to embrace the mandate of law and order.
Speaking at the annual general meeting of the National Youth Council of Jamaica on Saturday, the minister charged youth to change the status quo which has resulted in Jamaica’s soaring murder rate, with domestic violence claiming the lives of many in disputes over trivial matters.
Alluding to the late-September stabbing death of Kingston Technical High student Michion Campbell and other violent incidents at schools across the island, Williams lamented that the “slightest triggers” escalate into violence.
“I know that you know the situation where somebody may step on somebody’s brand new sneakers and then in a few seconds that person could be injured, stabbed or shot, and you say, ‘over what?’ Just because somebody stepped on your sneakers?” Williams asked rhetorically of her audience at the HEART College of Construction Services in Portmore, St Catherine.
“We have to be able to teach that message of patience, endurance, respect, pausing before we react,” she pleaded.
Williams also urged young people to commit themselves to responding to interpersonal conflict differently.
Extending her appeal to the many youth groups that fall under the umbrella of the Youth Council, the education and youth minister reminded the membership that Jamaica was depending on them to steer the country into the right direction as they assume leadership.
However, she reminded them of the awesome responsibility that comes with positions of power.
“You are the leadership that we are depending on. Nation building means shaping the future. We have free will and the ability to make choices. Choice comes with uncertainty, fear, anxiety, choice comes with insecurity and in that it’s okay.
“You have so many choices now in life that you have to get comfortable with making decisions about your life, about your community and become a part of the decision making of the country in which we live.”
The youngsters, aged 15-29, turned out from various parishes across the island. They were challenged to create the future they wanted and to act with self-restraint.
“If they come to me with anger, I don’t have to reciprocate with anger. I can reciprocate with patience. I can respond with love. I can respond with respect, even if somebody is disrespectful to me,” the minister said.