Save our children from this injustice

THE EDITOR: I must confess that my heart never fails to pain me when I witness on television or read in the press the injustice which so many parents, teachers as indeed adults in general inflict on our minors in their quest to press demands for the improvement or provision of amenities and facilities in our communities. It is not the first time that I have tried to enlist the understanding of adults that they are doing serious damage to the minds and souls of minors when they engage them to become involved in protest action of any kind. The latest has been the protest action taken by the residents of Bamboo Settlement highlighting their resentment to the manner in which the authorities implemented the adjustments in traffic flow which adversely affected their traditional lifestyle.

This involvement of minors in protest action is a practice which began in the late seventies/early eighties when every effort was being made to dethrone the government of the day. The perpetrators of this type of injustice to our minors know themselves very well. Some of them are now projecting themselves as paragons of virtue and laying themselves blameless before God and man after having contributed so alarmingly to laying the foundation for the incontrollable spate of crime and lawlessness which have now become a way of life among so many of the young people of our country. Many of the young criminals and bandits of the day are the very minors who were groomed by these self seeking politicians. Now having learnt from their elders, some of these same minors, now further advanced in age have now turned their guns against society.

They are now resenting being disciplined; they show their protest by satisfying their cravings through the barrel of a gun. They are the ones who were given on-the-job training on how to defy authority in protesting the lack of school crossings, inadequate water supply in their villages, poor road conditions, poor electricity supply, disciplinary action taken by teachers, lack of school supplies etc, etc. Let me hasten to say that by no stretch of the imagination am I passing judgement on the integrity and/or legitimacy of the demands or grievances. What I am saying is that, whatever the classification, these demands and grievances are best addressed by adults, not by innocent, immature and unsuspecting minors. Yes, we are guilty. We have contaminated the minds and souls of our minors and we are paying the price today. But alas! We continue the folly. We have not learnt our lesson. We are still bringing out our minors with the placards and exposing them to the obscenities and lawlessness which characterise many of these protest demonstrations.

Should the Government not take steps to curtail this? To protect our minors from this unfair, unkind and unpalatable injustice which we are inflicting on our children? Children whose minds are not yet developed enough to understand and appreciate all the ramifications and implications of the protest actions which they are being coerced to participate in. Some of them look so bewildered, some confused. Others are there because they consider it fun. And yet others because they have simply been instructed to do so by their elders. Have we ever stopped to think what is going through their innocent minds as they stand bewildered before the cameras, before the police and before the nation? Please parents, please teachers, please adults let us put a halt to this injustice and save our children from themselves. Perhaps if we start now, it would add some value in decreasing the crime rate in the not too distant future and eventually help us to reclaim our communities.

ROY MITCHELL
Port-of-Spain