Dear Editor,

Our feet will get wet when we immerse them in water and children living in a very violent society will inevitably and regrettably have violence meted out to them. With more than 1,000 homicides annually, how can we protect children when we can’t protect their guardians?

The predicament is worsened by the fact that oftentimes the adults who should protect them are their main abusers. Physical and psychological abuse remain rampant resulting in dozens of children being killed annually in different circumstances.

The recent abduction and brutal killing of an innocent eight-year-old girl, Danielle Rowe, from Braeton Primary and Infant School jolted us, at least temporarily, from our collective slumber. Consequently, there was a number of discussion on radio, involving various stakeholders, centred on making schools safer, without the crucial issue being addressed.

We live in a very violent and predatory society in which the most vulnerable are preyed upon, and it’s unreasonable to expect children to be safe in any such society. We — the family, the Church, the community, civil society, the police, the private sector, the Opposition, and the Government — can only effectively confront and curb abuse of and violence against children when we face the aforementioned undisputed harsh realities.

It’s commendable that the education ministry plans to install closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) in schools, but the threat to our children’s safety is commonplace because lawlessness abounds.

A few days after Danielle was slain, the media reported that a taxi operator was gunned down outside Ascot Primary School while picking up students. It’s on our roads, whether they are pedestrians or passengers in public or private vehicles, because of the careless and dangerous driving so commonly observed. I dare say, I have observed on many occasions reckless driving on to school compounds by some parents and staff members.

In many homes and so-called places of safety, where they should be safest, many children commonly suffer serious abuse. Can community policing prevent underage girls from sexual abuse by older relatives, stepfathers, and in many instances, even their own biological fathers?

Can children in some communities feel safe in their beds at nights when gunmen invading houses and killing occupants or arsonists setting houses ablaze with occupants asleep are not uncommon occurrences? How long did last year’s vicious murder of four children and their mother by a relative, while they slept, keep us from our slumber?

My heart is very heavy. I hope more children will not have to suffer or die for us to fully realise that our children will be safe only in safe surroundings. Let’s make Jamaica safe and much safer for all.

Daive R Facey

DR.Facey@gmail.com