Dear Editor,

Several tragic events have unfolded over the past few weeks, catching the attention of both the local and international media: from a string of reported police brutalities locally, to the apparent suicidal death of comedian Robin Williams, and a local entertainer climbing the Irie FM tower threatening to jump.

These events call to mind a serious topic which also explains the high murder rate in this country. One may ask: What do all these events have in common? The underlying unifier of all these events is the failure of the masses to regard the value of their own lives and the lives of all human beings.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where many of us are driven by personal gain, with virtually no regard for the well-being of our fellow citizens. Many see the only meaning of life to be self-gratification — even if it means hurting others.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where many of us are driven by personal gain, with virtually no regard for the well-being of our fellow citizens. Many see the only meaning of life to be self-gratification — even if it means hurting others.

The truth is that it is only when people realise that there is a God who loves us, and created us with a unique purpose, can we really feel that fulfilment in life, even in life’s apparent lows.

Without this knowledge, our attitude towards our own lives will be one of emptiness and, in return, there will be hardly anything stopping us from ruining the lives of others for our own gain.

Bringing Mario Deane’s brutal death into focus, however, all could also have been avoided if the perpetrators of the crime really believed that life is valuable. Similarly, we may not necessarily directly commit crimes, but do we really have the love and respect for others as we should?

The entertainer’s recent decision to climb the Irie FM tower speaks volumes. But to make matters worse, crowds of Jamaicans were cheering him on to jump. Just to think that if more of us operated under the Biblical principle of loving our neighbour as we love ourselves, many tragic circumstances could be avoided.

On behalf of the church community, I would like to send sincere condolence to the family of Mario Deane, and to all others who have lost friends and/or family members, particularly because of the widespread disregard for the value of human life which pervades our society. We mourn with you all. Let us try our best to look out for each other, so that we will truly have God’s blessing as a nation.

Cristiana Fiel