Start change to save youth

THE EDITOR: As our nation is once again plunged into mourning at the murder of another young woman – Andrea Bharatt, coming on the heels of the killing of Ashanti Riley – we ask ourselves: who are these monsters snuffing out the lives of our women? Where are their parents? Who’s next? What can cause young men to commit such gruesome acts?

There is the constant fear among women of finding themselves at the mercy of these criminals.

In the midst of all this, there is the outcry from the public to legalise pepper spray. But would this have prevented the death of any of these women? How do we prevent these criminals from acquiring pepper spray, if legalised? Let us take a step back and consider for a moment. Let’s not continue to have knee-jerk reactions to these heinous crimes. Let’s be careful for what we ask.

Where have we gone wrong as a society? How are we failing our young men? What intervention strategies are being developed by the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service to address this societal crisis? We need to act. A holistic approach that involves church, state and civil society needs to be explored now.

To help in this effort, I have created a Facebook page, Save our Youths. Let’s start the change.

ALTHEA BRERETON

La Romaine