Strong Message To Warring Youth

The sentencing by the High Court on Monday this week of an 18-year-old to life imprisonment, the ultimate punishment under the laws of Anguilla for murder, sends a strong message to young people who are engaging in acts of violence on the island.

It was a sad spectacle to see an Anguillian stripling, charged for committing the crime when he was 17, being led to prison more than a year later, to spend the rest of his productive life having been found guilty of committing the crime. It is a fate that other youngsters will have to face if they continue to cruelly fight each other with intent to cause grievous bodily harm or death.

Fighting among youngsters with grudges among themselves as individuals or in gangs has become a sickening and frightening situation. There is an urgent need to find ways to deal with the situation which is now a serious indictment on our society. It seems to indicate that something is terribly wrong and that if corrective action is not taken quickly, many families will find themselves in mourning at the feet of their dead youngsters and at the spectacle of seeing those responsible for the heinous crime being led off to life imprisonment and ruined living. Those in jail would be almost as dead as the ones who suffered violent death. In both cases they would be wasted lives, robbed of golden opportunities to grow up into proud achievers and to contribute to the leadership and development of the Anguillian society.

Every effort must be made to find out where our society is crumbling in terms of violent acts and what can be done to arrest the situation before it becomes unmanageable. The critical investigation must involve the home and parental responsibility and accountability, the school and what, if anything, can be done by teachers to encourage good behaviour in the classrooms and school grounds.

The investigation must also look at the performance of students and whether their inability to cope with certain levels of learning eventually leads to frustration and violence. As a possible solution consideration must be given to any apparent need to overhaul and change the school system to accommodate students of low academic ability who may be more inclined to technical skills. Consideration can also be given to the possibility of meeting with youngsters in the various communities who may tell about the root causes of their differences and how these problems may be addressed. It is also likely that there are persons who may wish to leave the gangs and may be looking for a safe way out. If this is found to be the case, it could lead to the disintegration of such gangs and a fresh breath of air in Anguilla.

There are various useful roles which can be played by such departments as Social Development and Probation, by community organisations, churches and other bodies. Except there is a coming together of society in Anguilla to address the situation among our warring youngsters, many of whom are involved in gang warfare, irreparable damage can be done to the island and our cemeteries and prison cells will be filled with wasted bodies and lives.