A for Alpha, F for Lisa Hanna

Carolyn Cooper

Alpha Boys' School is no longer in the news. Just like that. Sensational reports dominated the airwaves and newspapers for a short while. And then they disappeared. That's the problem with old media. News stories have a very short life cycle. News is really entertainment, and once the taste for the melodramatic story is satisfied, that's the end of that.

I may be wrong, but new media seem to keep issues alive much longer. Perhaps it's because the stories are owned by people who are passionate about causes. Decisions about editorial policy are not made in corporate boardrooms. And advertisers don't determine what's newsworthy. I still want to know what's really going on at Alpha Boys' School. And I'm vexed about the way in which the minister of youth and culture, Lisa Hanna, responded to the concerns of the Sisters of Mercy at her press conference held on April 8.

The press release issued by the minister remains troubling. It opens with the big picture of the abuse of children in places of safety - including sexual exploitation. This is not 'news'. It's a long-standing problem we've not been able to solve. Vulnerable youth are often victimised by powerful adults. And the issue isn't limited to underfunded state institutions. Even in elite, same-sex boarding schools, the problem of sexual abuse of minors persists. British boarding schools are notorious on this score, and our brand-name schools often follow fashion.

ADOLESCENT SEX

Christopher Hitchens, the irreverent British-American journalist who died in 2011, gives a frank account of adolescent sex at boarding school in his autobiography Hitch-22: "There were two ways in which this hottest of all subjects could 'come up' in an all-male school featuring communal showers, communal sleeping arrangements, communal lavatories, and the ever-present threat of an official thrashing on the rear. The first was unambiguously physical.

"Most boys decided quite early on that, since their penises would evidently give them no rest at all, they would repay the favour by giving their penises no respite in return. The night was loud with the boasts and groans that resulted from this endless, and fairly even-matched contest between chaps and their cxxxs. To even the dullest lads, furthermore, it would sometimes occur to think that self-abuse was slightly wasted on the self, and might be better relished in mixed company."

Despite Hitchens' satirical tone, which seems to make light of the matter, I wonder if all boys equally relished mixed company. Were some of them forced to participate? Were they not victims of sexual abuse by their peers? Hitchens makes it all sound so innocent: "It's very important to understand that 90 per cent of these enthusiastic participants would have punched you in the throat if you suggested there was anything homosexual (or 'queer') about what they were doing. ... The unstated excuse was that this was what one did until the so-far unattainable girls became available."

As attorney Jacqueline Samuels Brown confirms, many adult males are unable to speak about the abuse they suffered in boarding school. They have been traumatised for life. One of my friends did tell me about the master at a respectable boarding school who would inveigle boys into his bed. The first time, he didn't know what to expect. The next time, it seemed futile to resist. Over and over again. It's a terrible story.

SMOKESCREEN?

Minister Hanna is absolutely right to highlight the issue of sexual abuse of minors. But why was Alpha Boys' School singled out? Why did the minister decide to finger Alpha? It now seems as if the press conference was not called to address the recurring problem of child abuse across the board. It was designed to respond specifically to the decision of the Sisters of Mercy to end the residential programme at Alpha.

According to Minister Hanna's press release, "The Sisters of Mercy cited the grave antisocial behaviour of children in the care system, the sexual predatory nature of the boys on one another, children who are witnesses of serious crimes or are victims of heinous acts, and who are non-responsive to traditional interventions ... ." This sounds very much as if the Sisters of Mercy were condemning the perennial state of affairs in all residential institutions, not so much the boys in their care.

In addition, Minister Hanna downplays one of the major reasons for the decision to end the residential programme: Despite many appeals from the Sisters of Mercy, the Government has consistently failed to pay its fair share of the cost of running the boarding school! Of course, there should be no cover-up of sexual abuse in or out of school. But talk of sexual abuse should not become a smokescreen, distracting attention from other fundamental problems in the childcare system.

On May 1, Alpha Boys' School celebrated 134 years of service to Jamaica, especially as an incubator for our A-class music industry. Instead of unapologetically drawing down scandal on Alpha, Lisa Hanna should have graciously accepted the decision of the Sisters of Mercy. After all, even the merciful can get tired of being mercilessly exploited by the Government.

Carolyn Cooper is professor of literary and cultural studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona. Visit her bilingual blog at http://carolynjoycooper.wordpress.com. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com.