Let’s organise in the fight against violent crimes

Tue, Aug 16. 2011

Editor: It has been three years, seven months and a few days since Lloyd “Lazo” Samuel has been taken away from his loved ones. The pain of this loss is always present with me; the pain emanates mainly from his death, not just that he died, but the manner in which he was killed.{{more}}

I could remember his last words “Doctor, help me, help me please”. This gave me the idea that he wasn’t ready and wanted to continue living. Although some time has passed, the pain is still there as if it were yesterday. The anger and the hate has left my heart, but I am still very concerned about the direction in which we are heading.

Our society has reached the stage where a murder of a human being can be as simple as killing a cockroach. There has been a serious breakdown of morals, respect, tolerance and self restraint in our society. Many of us are seriously failing as parents, as aunts and uncles, as godparents and fellow citizens. We are not making a concerted effort to impact positively on the lives of all those with whom we come into contact.

Mothers and fathers especially, but also the wider society, need to work extra hard to curb the level of violence and the violent tendencies that we have seen being exhibited by our children, especially the young males. The males have been the ones perpetrating a lot of the serious crimes here in SVG. A lot of parents even go as far as to support the illegal and violent tendencies of their children. They would know that their kids don’t have jobs, but they are willing to accept all sorts of gifts that come from the illicit activities that their kids undertake on a daily basis. They are not doing enough to keep their children away from a life of crime; they will gloat and condone their children’s acts of violence and aggression, instead of offering sympathy to the persons whom their children have hurt. They will continue to support the wrongs of their children, just because they gave birth to them.

We have to analyze ourselves as parents, as citizens of this blessed land, and ask ourselves if we are doing enough in our power to assist in curbing the problems of crime and violence that we are facing. If we are not, the burden and even some of the guilt of the actions of our children rests squarely on our shoulders. We need to be more involved in the lives of our children, know their friends, their whereabouts. We need to be better role models for our children, teach them morals and principles of high standards.

• This is not the first time I have written about the death of Lloyd “Lazo” Samuel, but, finally, some closure has come with the convictions of the two murderers. This situation begs the following questions:

What is the punishment that should be given to persons who plan, plot and execute these vicious crimes against humanity?

• Is there a need for the reintroduction of the death penalty?

• Is there any way that these convicted persons can be rehabilitated?

• What is the root cause why someone can be so wicked/ evil?

In my opinion and based on the teachings of the Bible, (it states an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth), I therefore state that persons found guilty of murder should be put to death, except in cases where we could sincerely prove that the person(s) are remorseful, and can be rehabilitated. If so, then their prison sentence should be one of the maximum penalties, with hard labour, where they will work and contribute to the national development.

As a mother of two sons, who constantly ask me the question “Mommy, why did they kill my dad?”I have the very difficult task of bringing them up alone, and trying my best to eradicate all hate or vengeance they might have in their hearts. I have to work extremely hard to make sure that they are not victims of the vicious cycle of crime and violence. It is also my job as a human being to extend a hand to more young males, to give them some guidance, love, friendship and a listening ear. If I fail at this, I am as guilty as the future perpetrators for acts they might commit.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is not lost. We can still regain the love and respect that we had many years ago, but we all have to start working at making the community where we live a lot better. We have to start paying more attention to our children, getting them involved in productive activities. We have to show them more love, spend more time with them. We also need to instil in them, from a very tender age, the values of respect, patience, tolerance, love, humility, the fear of the Almighty Creator, forgiveness and all the other good virtues that we know.

I call on persons who have been affected by this type of violence to let us form a committee, a committee where we could sensitize persons on the effects that these acts have on families, how we can overcome them, and how we can work on sensitizing persons not to fall victim to being the perpetrators of these acts of violence.

Angella “Ideisha” Jackson

NB: Please note that there is generally a mix-up between this Ideisha and another who carries this name. I would like persons to be clear that there are two Ideishas. I was given this name by my mother Rosemary Hannibal upon choosing the life of Rastafari, and there is another who copied this name for whichever reason.