Barbara Gloudon

"We went to the school to calm down a situation and protect the students and they turn around and fling stones on us.What has the society come to?"
- Elletson Road Police Officer.

THE BEMUSEMENT of the Police Officer quoted in yesterday's edition of this newspaper, reflects the sentiments of a whole lotta other persons. To put it another way, what the hell is going on? Who would've imagined that a day would come when a father, unable to deal with problems with his own son, would take the child to school and hand him over to a mob of his peers to crucify him?

According to the report, the father is said to have had suspicions that his son had homosexual leanings. So what does he do? Respond like a beast without a heart, without a conscience, without compassion for his own flesh and blood.
He turns his son over to his classmates, certain in the knowledge that as members of a homophobic society, they would not scruple to kill a "b-man."

No doubt the father hoped that the murder of his son would put an end to his problem. "Death before dishonour" and all that. Whatever lay at the root of the parent's desperate act (and there must have been difficulties leading to this intemperate act), it deserves nothing but condemnation.
Parents are expected to protect their children, not kill them.
In the Jamaica of today, where we make heroes of entertainers who urge girls to "tek buddy" and young men to prove their manhood by "bunning b-men," there may be many who will see nothing wrong with what the father did. I'm not even sure if the law makes provision to censure him for what he did. All I know is that if I had my way, he would be appearing before some court or other. Name the charge, but it shouldn't just go so.

One can only wonder what was in the hearts of the young people who responded to the father's request to crucify their classmate. Thwarted in their efforts, thanks to the intervention of teachers and ancillary staff at the school, they turned their rage on the police when they arrived on the scene later. Do the words: "hurled stones at the police" have a ring of familiarity? And where have you heard before "in the process, damaging police vehicles and motorbikes?" Seems pretty regular, eh?

There is indeed cause to reflect (yet again) on the words of the unnamed Elletson Road cop who invited us to ponder: "What has the society come to?" It is barely a week ago that a similar lamentation was evoked after yet another youth rampage, this time at Denham Town where students, reacting to a rumour that one of their own had been shot by the police, hit the violence trail again, torching nine or so vehicles used by the security forces to patrol their violence-prone community.

From the images on the TV evening news the young people had blood in their eyes and vengeance in their hearts; especially when they were joined by adults on the battlefield. Ironically, Denham Town station is one of those which could boast of a very active community policing programme which includes inter-action with the schools clustered around the station steps. How could it all go so wrong?

Last week made the third time that the Denham Town station had been attacked by children. The nation couldn't believe it in 1997 when school children staged an onslaught on the station, consequent on a rumour that a female teacher had been unjustly treated by the cops. The facts were later disputed but by then the damage had been done. The juvenile mob went on the rampage again in 2001 over yet another rumour, this time that their principal had been taken into custody by the police. It was not true, but youthful blood was on the boil and the police station was stoned and the cops disrespected by children - yet again.

The police returned to the drawing board with the school authorities and set about increasing efforts at community policing. Last week's event, in which the youths went on the attack again, over the rumour this time that the cops had shot one of their classmates, disproved the adage that lightning does not strike twice. These days it does.

OUR YOUTHS LIVE on the knife-edge of rage, despite all the much-vaunted efforts to direct their energy into more creative and productive channels. There is not a school which is not either raising money for a computer lab and expanded learning facilities or already has such and is trying for more.
Uptown and downtown, non-governmental agencies, churches, social organisations, Police youth clubs and other agents of civil society are working with the young to try and turn the tide of madness which is not confined just to the poor, by the way, please note that the indiscipline and disorder are not constrained by gender or social class. We make a serious mistake when we think that it is only in the inner-city that youths are out of control.

In the report from Dunoon Park, one teacher is quoted as saying of the students who were mauling their colleague: "They were intent on killing him. They were like a pack of wild animals who had smelled blood." Another teacher, commenting on the volatility of some students said: "The slightest thing sets them off. What is disturbing is that even those youngsters, who have been groomed for leadership, who you would rejoice in as the finest and the best, can descend to appalling depths in a flash. I don't think the wide society is fully aware of the crisis of the times."

AT EVERY SCHOOL, the story is the same. Many hours are devoted to behaviour modification - for example, controlling anger, conflict resolution, making decisions for career advancement, etcetera. The problem, however, lies beyond the school gate. Sometimes it starts literally at the gate where adults, proclaiming that they're "poor people jus mekking a bread," see nothing wrong in selling drugs to children. (A popular variation uses eucalyptus oil to mask the smell of cocaine-laced ganja).

Then, there are the sexual predators who exploit the prevailing economic anxiety, turning young girls and even boys into prostitutes. Lately, we have become aware too of the criminals who adopt school uniforms as a cover for their true identity.

Above all, there are the parents, the careless parents, who simply don't get it.that if they nurture their young to engage in lawlessness and indiscipline, that if they only come to school to fight teachers who dare to reprimand their children, that if they curse and abuse the name of the police at home and out in the streets their children stone the cops and burn their vehicles. Then, they shouldn't be surprised at the results they're getting.. Children live what they learn. Check the mob.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World