Dear Editor,

This is an open letter to Minister of Education Andrew Holness.

About a year ago, the front page of a Jamaican newspaper carried a large photograph of a little boy whose arm sustained a fracture when his teacher hit him with a ruler. At that time, Minister, we were encouraged by the fact that you spoke out against the use of corporal punishment in schools. Your reaction implied that teachers would be held responsible for such actions.

We have now become aware of the case of Tajoery Small, the 11-year-old student of New Providence Primary School in St Andrew who, it is alleged, through the physical discipline imposed on him by his teacher, has lost sight in one of his eyes.

We are extremely disturbed by these incidents and indeed by the knowledge that a society might be tolerating this kind of abuse of its children.

Minister, we see these not only as incidents that occurred in schools where children have been seriously hurt by people responsible for their care and development, but also as a warning that society must take a strong stand in favour of the protection of its children. Whether these incidents occur in schools or in shopping centres, or for that matter in the children’s homes, we are calling upon the government and people of Jamaica to take responsibility for the protection of each other. To understand that it is in fact our responsibility to be our brothers’ keepers, and

most unequivocally to demonstrate intolerance for the imposition of abuse upon children.

It is time for the people of Jamaica to understand that the practice of physical abuse of children serves only to propagate an abusive society.

Please pardon the reference to legislation from a jurisdiction outside of Jamaica’s geographical borders. The reference is provided to inform the people of Jamaica of the situation that exists in a jurisdiction where hundreds of thousands of people of Jamaican heritage reside, the province of Ontario in Canada. The reference is relevant because there are Jamaicans who love Jamaica but have chosen to live elsewhere, and to raise their children under a legal system that while not without its flaws, does not tolerate child abuse.

To be clear, Ontario’s Child and Family Services Act defines child abuse as a failure to provide for reasonable care. Sub-section 79 (1) of the Act defines abuse as “a state or condition of being physically harmed, sexually molested or sexually exploited”. Further, the Act states that “No person having charge of a child shall (a) inflict abuse on the child; or (b) by failing to care and provide for or supervise and protect the child adequately, (i) permit the child to suffer from abuse, or (ii) permit the child to suffer from a mental, emotional or developmental condition that, if not remedied, could seriously impair the child’s development.”

The Act further states that those guilty and convicted of such an offence are liable to fines or imprisonment.

Minister, this letter is addressed to you because these very disturbing incidents have occurred in schools. We see you, as Jamaica’s minister of education, as having an integral role in addressing this situation. However, we know that this is not a matter to be addressed only within Jamaica’s education system.

If Jamaicans agree that the nation’s children represent the future of Jamaica, then it is essential that every person see the well-being of children as their responsibility. This includes members of the Government, members of the Opposition and every other member of the society.

Children live up (or down) to what they experience and observe. Let it not be that violence and abuse be what they grow to expect of others, and by extension, themselves.

Please take action now, with the highest priority possible, to establish and enforce legislation for the protection of the children of Jamaica from abuse.

Mary Anne Chambers

President

PACE (Canada)

maryanne@ica.net