Dear Editor,

The National Association of Retired Teachers, Kingston and St Andrew Chapter, wishes to express its concern, shock and grief at the apparent recent upsurge of violence and serious crimes, especially against our children.

We are not just “old school types or old fogies” who fret about what this world is coming to. We are senior Jamaican citizens who have experienced many levels of proper and improper conduct in our society. But these recent occurences are viewed with chagrin, amazement and regret, bordering on despair. The numbers and frequency are most alarming and we are frightened and dismayed to see our beloved country reduced to such blatant barbarism.

The second verse of our National Anthem is a prayer which expresses the need, the wish and the desire for us to be considerate, respectful and caring. This, of course, includes the love and the respect for life. We beg and implore all Jamaicans to revisit this prayer and endeavour to live by the tenets therein. The extent to which we fail here marks the degree to which we continue to descend into anarchy and savagery.

Do we want this? Can we afford this? It is time to pause, rethink and reclaim our humanity in Jamaica, land we love.

Linden Neil

Ronald R Fagan

National Association of Retired Teachers

Kingston and St Andrew Chapter