I have but two concerns and it is palpable
that I am not the only one who has them. So I will speak about them separately.
My first concern is the murder/suicide cases, ranging from last year into this
year. I am no expert on relationships but I don’t need to have a degree in
psychology to know that if a man has relationship problems with his partner,
killing her and then killing himself will not make the situation better, as
there are persons who are severely affected, especially children. The recent
case in the farm community just outside Spanish Town left six children behind,
though a few of them might be adults, there is no doubt that they are
traumatised by the incident.
When I read the news article, it states
that the couple was having problems prior to the incident, and there was time
for them to seek counseling and additional help to mitigate the problem before
it translates into a gruesome act. I am sure that there are quite a few
professionals in Jamaica who are qualified enough to offer assistance. And
those who may have known that they have relationship problem should intervene
and recommend help and assistance. I am not saying that we ought to be up in
people’s business, but if we have the slightest idea that a relationship is
going bad, we can do something about it before it reaches a state beyond
repair, where one thinks that the best solution is murder/suicide.
The next concern I have is the amount of
young females that are being killed. Based on my readings, it seems these young
ladies are getting mixed up with the wrong types of people. Parents need to be
more involved in their children’s life. I will confess, I am not expert, but my
experience has taught me enough to know that when a parent has no clue what is
happening in their child’s or children’s lives, it opens door to all sorts of
misery, causing children to make the wrong decisions and be involved with the
wrong people. Parents, I appeal to you, yes, you might be busy trying to make
ends meet, but designate a time and call it family time. This is the time when
you and your child and children have a session where you are open with each
other, where a child could say “mommy, daddy, a boy or girl at school likes me”
and you ask questions, find out more, guide him at her. Don’t chastise them, it
doesn’t help.
So the best solution I can offer is that we
have a national campaign, where we focus on family values, family structure and
the importance of parents’ involvement in their children’s lives. There should be
designated week or month where the focus is strictly on family values. We should have what is called family day. We have
child’s month, so we could have family month. MPs could have community meetings
where family values are discussed. Similarly we institute the same thing for
those who have relationship problems. Campaigns have work in other areas and I
know it can work for this one. Let us start the campaigning because it works!
