The time to act to save our young people is now

Mar 26, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
In the news recently, I read that a teen, just fifteen years old, wept as he left the court charged with the terrible crime of murder. A while ago, I wrote the following letter and did not submit it in view of the new initiatives that are already in place. Yet, there are far, far too many youths wallowing in idleness; youths being enticed into violent atrocities; youths whose minds have been warped before they are fully formed; youths who act then cry when they realize the enormity of their actions. Therefore this is why I write.
With the opening of schools for the new term, groups of teenagers – mainly boys – can be seen riding their bicycles aimlessly or just liming around. These youths have either reached the school leaving age or what is more likely, have opted out of school. There is an urgent need to ‘rescue’ these young people before these groups degenerate into gangs and the fertile minds, energy and strength become subsumed into a world of lawlessness and crime.
As evidenced by recent happenings, a high percentage of the heinous crimes have been committed by young people who as the saying goes ‘have not lost their mothers ‘ features yet’. Young people who maybe just a short while ago were the ones who had left school and limed aimlessly about. What is to be done, how can this disastrous pattern be changed? President David Granger continues to show a great interest in the welfare of the youth of our country and has initiated a number of admirable programmes.
However, despite these, too many, especially, early school leavers seem to be falling through the cracks, getting caught up in lives that are no credit to themselves, their families, or our country. As I said earlier, there is an urgent need to ‘ rescue ‘ these young people. A need to give them feelings of self worth, to awaken their interest in, and train them in skills and occupations to enable them to take care of themselves. Of course, such a programme should include the tenets of good moral values without which, a person is lesser indeed. In motivating these young people, giving them feelings of self worth, and providing them with the ability to earn a livable wage, we will be going a far way in making our country a safer place to be. These youths are at risk. Our safety is at risk. The time to act is now.
Joan Collins

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