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The sad loss of Oraine Simpson
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Every day Jamaicans wake up to news of violent deaths - the result of shootings, stabbings, beatings and so forth.
It is reflective of the chronically high levels of such brutality in the society that most such stories just pass us by - unless, of course, the victim, perpetrator, and/or the circumstances are somehow connected to us.
But every now and again we are all forced to take notice. Such was the case earlier this week when news broke that one of the country's outstanding national footballers, Mr Oraine Simpson of Tivoli Gardens, had been stabbed to death.
In this case, Mr Simpson, a speedy, skilful attacking wide player, whose industry - particularly down either flank - has resulted in many goals for Tivoli and who represented the national team as recently as this year, was not killed by a stranger.
According to the Observer news story, he died during a dispute with a man who shared the same tenement yard in West Kingston. So far as this newspaper is aware, Mr Simpson's killer was not even an habitual criminal.
It brings to the fore a difficulty that has haunted Jamaicans for generations. We speak of the seeming inability among so many to resolve disputes outside of violent behaviour. So we get what is loosely referred to as "domestic violence", which contributes significantly to Jamaica's homicide toll.
A reduction in incidents such as that which led to Mr Simpson's death won't happen overnight - rooted as many of them are in ignorance, illiteracy and abject poverty.
The unfortunate reality is that too many of our young people come to maturity in poorly supervised situations with little or no concept of dispute resolution and/or of how to behave when relationships come under stress.
We know it's hard, but it
means even more work for the community organisations, including the Church, and even more so for our already overworked, under-resourced teachers.
Ultimately though, all of us in our everyday lives, regardless of who we are or where we are, have a responsibility to convey the value of moderation to those around us; to show by example, that there are ways other than confrontation, contention and violence to resolve quarrels. If we can do that, we would have shown, in our own small way, excellent leadership qualities.
In the meantime we are forced to mourn the loss of yet another young, talented Jamaican who was also a son, a father and a brother. Mr Oraine Simpson, proud, committed, skilled footballer, gone for no good reason that any of us can fathom.
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