Thinking about Manelaus Jocelyn and Godfrey Ashton

Fri, Apr 20. 2012

Editor: I am disappointed and disturbed, to say the least, that two citizens of this country, Godfrey Ashton, from the Rose Hall community, and Manelaus Jocelyn, from Cane Garden have been missing since December 2011, and our communities appear unmoved by their disappearance and reduction to a state of ‘nothingness’.{{more}}

While there have been attempts to search for at least one of these two brothers by relevant state authority and concerned citizens, the lack of any timely and up-to-date information relayed to the public on any on-going investigation, or whether these matters have in fact been discontinued by the Police suggests an attitude of indifference towards these cases.

I interpret this attitude as a kind of prejudice which is often meted out to persons in our society who are perceived to be of lowly standing and who appear to have no obvious ‘class’ connection. If there is any truth to this at all, then it reflects a society that is losing the essence of what it means to be a community. How could someone go missing for almost four months in this country, without any reasonable explanation, and our society is not alarmed by this apparent disinterest towards the missing and the state of their family’s wellness or un-wellness?

Further to this, the Church to which these brothers are closely affiliated sits quietly, waiting and hoping that the circumstances surrounding their disappearance would suddenly come to light without any meaningful intervention. While the Church need not pretend to play or replace the role of state authorities, it certainly has a calling to demonstrate solidarity and care for its members or any human being for that matter in times of distress and tragedy.

This state of affairs must be a very painful one for the families and friends of those missing, and they are yet to bring some closure, or make sense of these disappearances. Let’s respect their dignity by demanding that something better be done.

Ronnie Daniel