Mothers torn
Published:Sunday | May 9, 2010 | 12:00 AM
IT IS almost two years since her 20-year-old son, Theophilus Samuels, was killed in what was said to be a shoot-out, but Kelsada Linton is still a woman torn apart.
The broken pieces of Linton's life are still scattered on the ground. "I keep remembering him, I can't forget him," she told The Sunday Gleaner.
She is sad today. Mother's Day reminds her that she has lost a son. "I am looking forward to it (Mother's Day) sadly. He was a good son to me. It's hard to believe it was a shoot-out," she said.
As she recounts the precious memories of her beloved son, her voice is thick with emotion. It is evident that Linton will always remember the October 30, 2008. It was the day her son died in circumstances which have left her with many unanswered questions.
The last Mother's Day gift she received from Theophilus was a refurbished kitchen. The kitchen was badly in need of repairs and Theophilus, along with his brother, worked on it as a gift to her that year.
Mother's Day the following year was especially difficult for her. The memories were like open wounds that year. "That was a sad one for me because everything come back how him build back the kitchen."
It hurts even more when Linton ponders what could have been.
Theophilus was a Manning Cup star and a member of the 2006 title-winning team during his days at Bridgeport High School. He was a footballing talent; a promise, a possibility of a different life for Linton.
Youngest and best son
He was her hope. She was depending on him using his feet to take them far, far away from where they lived in Trench Town, one of Kingston's toughest inner-city enclaves.
"He was my youngest son and one of the best ones. He was my future. I know he would have been a Reggae Boy (a member of Jamaica's national football team)," she said with confidence.
Linton said she bought him his first ball when he was seven years old. After it got raggedy, Theophilus turned to kicking boxes and pans, destroying his shoes in the process. "Sometimes the shoes front kick off and tru we don't want that, we have to buy him another ball," she recalled.
Ironically, it was a member of the police force who told Theophilus' mother to allow him to play football. She had taken him to the police station because he would not listen to her and stay home. He always found some football game to play in and around the community. His mother had had enough, so she took the 10-year-old to the police station. Ironically, at age 20, his life was cut short by bullets from a policeman's gun.
Linton told The Sunday Gleaner that she asked that Theophilus be given a plot near to the entrance of the May Pen Cemetery, and her request was granted.
"I pass and call to him and look for him all the time. He'll never be forgotten by me," Linton said.
... tragedy to triumph
Philip Hamilton, Gleaner Writer
Her face beams upon entering the room, her bright smile masking a tragedy which has managed to turn into a personal triumph over the years.
For 49-year-old Minna Styles, Mother's Day still bears painful memories of an incident that occurred exactly 11 years ago in her Arnett Gardens community.
"I was by a friend's house this morning and couldn't explain this strange feeling while the cricket was on television, as I'm not a cricket person. Then I remembered," she said, reflecting.
Styles' oldest son, 17-year-old Sheldon Forbes, was shot dead during a feud over turf between gangs from Arnett Gardens and an adjoining community.
Even more painful for her is that Mother's Day this year falls on the exact date of Sheldon's death on Sunday, May 9, 1999.
Although no one ever came forward to give an account of what happened, Sheldon is believed to have been killed when he innocently crossed the zone over which the rival gangs were fighting for control.
Styles, who at the time operated a grocery business, recalls hearing the gunshots on apart that fateful morning of Saturday, May 8, 11 years ago, as it if had just occurred yesterday.
She pauses, a look of reflection crossing her face momentarily before continuing her story.
"We were in the house and shortly after he left, I heard gunshots. Someone called me and told me my son had been shot and killed."
On receiving the news, Styles ran outside to look for her son, who she found suffering from gunshot wounds, barely alive. She immediately picked Sheldon up and took him to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries the following day, Mother's Day, May 9, 1999.
At the time, Styles says she felt as if her entire world had come to an end, as Sheldon, who had lived with his grandmother prior to moving in with her, had been enrolled to attend HEART only two days before he was killed.
Improved relationship
The relationship between mother and son, despite being strained initially, had been improving. Only hours before the shooting, both had been dancing to their favourite song at the time on a cassette he had given her as a gift on Friday, May 7.
Styles, who was at a loss as to why anyone wanted to kill her son, says following the shooting, she was given two hours' notice to leave the area by persons within both warring communities.
"They wanted me to point fingers and I couldn't do that, as I did not know who did it or why, " said Styles.
But Styles decided to stay.
The next few days were the most challenging she'd ever encoun-tered. Persons in the community began avoiding her as her family had begun receiving death threats, putting a strain on both her family relationships, as well as her business.
Styles recalls asking God for help, promising to serve Him if He could deliver her through the crisis she was experiencing.
"At that time, I had no idea how many days had passed because when it had happened, it was devastating and shocking," said Styles.
Styles says she vividly remembers feeling hands placed on both her shoulders at that point, only to look around and see no one there. It was at that moment, she realised she had not bathed in several days, and that she also had her son's funeral arrangements to deal with.
After the funeral things got rough, the grocery business, which Sheldon had assisted her with, began falling apart. A motor car that she had also purchased was returned to the dealer, as she could no longer afford the payments.
During this time, Styles remained in the community, where she still resides, something she attributes to God's intervention.
She recalls feeling extremely bitter on Mother's Day the first year after Sheldon's death, even as she attended church, which she says God has since removed.
Styles, who attends the Power Faith Ministries on Grove Road in Kingston, takes pleasure in administering and sharing her powerful testimony with others, even gunmen despite people asking her how she could do so given what happened.
She describes her experience as moving from personal tragedy to triumph.
"I've spoken to gunmen and have shared this testimony. Sometimes it brings them to tears. And even if they are not saved, they are convicted. The best part of it is when you can sit and talk with them for an hour or even half-hour and they will listen to you, then you know you have reached somewhere."