This week young people in Anguilla featured in two separate events: the first was a Youth Justice Seminar at the Teachers’ Resource Centre and the second was a meeting of the House of Assembly at which the Caribbean Examinations Council Bill, 2005 was debated. Both were matters of concern affecting the wellbeing of the young people themselves and that of the Anguillian society.

The seminar had two objectives: to begin a process of discussing and evaluating the impact of the criminal justice system on Anguilla’s youth, their families and the wider society; and secondly to discuss with stakeholders various strategic plans for an improved service delivery. It was disclosed that there were increasing numbers of young people getting into trouble with the law with many of them being referred to the Probation Department rather than sentenced to prison where the cells are already overcrowded by other offenders.

The degenerating behaviour of some of our young people is giving rise to much concern and it is becoming clear that some serious efforts must be made to deal with the situation before it worsens. There was a great deal of talk at the seminar on what could be done to stem the tide of indiscipline among our upcoming generation, and that talk must eventually be put into action before it is too late.

The Ministry, the Departments of Social Development and the Probation Service must do all in their power to save our children, the future of Anguilla. They must not be left alone with this increasing dilemma. Parents and other relatives, church and community organisations and civic groups, must all do their utmost to find redress for our growing problem and to re-direct our youth in paths of positive and productive living.

At the House of Assembly, the lament was that a number of young people were not paying enough attention to their educational development. As a consequence, being unqualified, they were missing out on opportunities for some of the top jobs in the employment sector, a matter that could eventually cause further social problems on the island. The call in the House was that our youngsters must sieze the opportunities available to them to educate themselves, as far as possible, in order to quality for the jobs and skills in the various business establishments including the hotels.

Government must do everything in its power to encourage learning on the island and to make sure that those youngsters who are unable to follow an academic syllabus are given opportunities to pursue vocational and technical studies. The matters raised at the two events, referred to above, present some well-founded concerns which will not go away unless they are properly addressed either by the young people themselves or those who can persuade them to take their future into their own hands. Delay or apathy is not on our side.

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