Two mothers and one father who lost children to violence met each other for the first time on Sunday and discussed among themselves over dinner at a St Andrew restaurant the need for proper support systems for Jamaican parents in similar circumstances.

Among the three was Gwendolyn McKnight, who lost her daughter, 31-year-old Kimesha Wright and grandchildren 15-year-old Kimanda Smith; 11-year-old Shara-Lee Smith; five-year-old Rafaella Smith; and 23-month-old Kishawn Henry after their throats were slashed by their cousin Rushane Barnett at home in Cocoa Piece, Clarendon in June last year. Barnett was found guilty and will have to serve 61 years in prison before he can be eligible for parole.

Also at the Mothers’ Day dinner discussion at the Jade Garden Restaurant was Ruth Green, the mother of Shanika Anderson, the six-year-old girl who was lured from the Coronation Market in west Kingston in 2005 by a man who promised to buy patties for her and an 11-year-old boy. Anderson was raped and strangled to death. Her body was found in Manley Meadows in east Kingston, roughly a 10-minute drive from Coronation Market. Her killer or killers are still at large and the lack of closure, 18 years later, still has her mother reeling in pain.

Lionel Francis was also at the table. He is the father of Yetanya Francis, the 14-year-old girl who was raped, stabbed and burnt to death on August 24, 2018, after she ventured to purchase a meal in Arnett Gardens, St Andrew.

Francis lauded the idea of bringing parents who have lost children together for support to help them cope.

“This dinner on Mothers’ Day gives us the opportunity to reflect and enjoy moments together and make most of the moment. My experience today surpassed what I was expecting. The experience is fullfilling. This felt like a family occasion. It didn’t feel like we were meeting each other for the first time. I look forward to having more of these kinds of gatherings,” he said.

Green, the mother of Shanika Anderson, encouraged Francis and Mcknight to “stay strong and believe in God”. She also thanked the organisers of the dinner, Big Stone Records and Norman Gentles of Musical Heatwave in the United Kingdom.

“It’s a privilege to be here,” Green said while emphasising how difficult it is to cope, especially when it comes around to Mothers’ Day each year.

Mcknight had encouraging words for her newly found friends.

“This evening was so fabulous to me. I prayed to God to let this Mothers’ Day be a blessing to me and it turned out to be just that. I just want to bless up each and everyone one of you who participated. It was wonderful. As a mother to a mother I just want to tell you Ruth, to stay focused and put your faith in God. Put your trust in God. To you my brother Lionel, if you are not serving the Lord as yet, it is time for you to make a step. Seek the Lord and you will see solution come out of it,” Mcknight said.

Claude ‘Big Stone’ Sinclair of Big Stone Records highlighted that parents of slain children need to be given more attention.

“The government is out there and they have all the resources to make their lives comfortable but we don’t. These three human beings should be going through therapy. I am still affected by what happened to Shanika 18 years ago. I met her mother Ruth Green 18 years ago and I have never really seen her smile. We really need to do something about these people who are committing these hideous crimes and still walking the streets.

“There are so many unsolved cases. We have been fighting the struggle for a long time now and we are tired of talking. We need some action, by any means necessary. We are not thrill seekers. We want something drastic to happen,” Sinclair added.

In the first 116 days of 2023, nine children were killed and 15 injured by the hands of gunmen.