Dear Editor,

“It is not acceptable,” should be the cry of all well-thinking Jamaicans in response to the killing of the future.

The life of 15-year-old Jamila Cole, who was a student of Troy High School, was senselessly taken. The attack on Jamila and her family is an attack on every child and by extension every Jamaican.

If we normalise the slaying of our children it means we have accepted the termination of the future. The incidence of murder, especially of our youth, is one too many.

The gruesome slaying of 14-year-old Yetanya Francis, 14-year-old Tianna Clarke, and nine-year-old Kadijah Saunders in 2018 should have motivated us to action.

However, in 2023, cases such as the abduction and murder of little Danielle Rowe and autistic child Gabriel King remain unsolved. The aim should not be to erect murals across the country to commemorate deaths of children but to prevent having to erect them in the first place. Our vow should be to care for our children and protect them from danger.

Can our children trust us to protect them? Will they get the chance to live their dreams? Or is it that their life span has been reduced to 14 years?

We cannot sit idly by and allow criminals to murder our children and walk free. We should show by a united approach that we are serious about protecting the lives of our precious gems.

It is important to note that if we continue to treat the loss of our little ones lives as inconsequential by not solving child murders, our tears will continue to flood the streets.

There seems to be no safe place for our children to play and be themselves without fear of being kidnapped, raped, beaten, and murdered. An example must be set by apprehending the culprits and bringing them to swift justice.

Criminals who hurt children should experience what a bee does when they sting a human being — they should never again get the chance to hurt anyone else or see the light of day.

We call on our leaders to be proactive in protecting our children. The meetings and counselling after the fact are band-aids over the wounds of mourning families. All the stops needs to be pulled out to find and bring to justice those who murder children. And they should not have the benefit of sentence discounts or minimum time, the punishment should be simple.

I call on all the the children advocates, agencies, and the Government to get it together and assure our children a happy childhood.

Condolence to all families who have lost a child to criminals.

Hezekan Bolton

h_e_z_e@hotmail.com