The Editor, Sir:
It is crystal clear that the Jamaican society is becoming more and more unsafe everyday and this generation of young people may never know what it is to feel truly safe. When I was younger it did not take much to feel safe. Once a person was in his or her home or with someone they knew they would feel a measure of safety. Apart from those of us who were scared to death of ghosts, real or imagined, we all felt that we were safe. Nowadays, even with a policeman or woman outside our bedroom doors, we are not safe. In fact, our lives could be in greater danger since members of the security forces are now prime target for gunmen. No one is safe anywhere, not even in church. This sad state of affairs is causing many people to wonder how this country has reached this perilous state.
Guidance for our young people
As a part of that generation that knew true safety, I would like the same experience for our young people today. It is my plea to the persons who are leaving death and destruction in their paths to desist from doing so and allow Jamaica to be the paradise it once was. The money that is being spent by Government and private people to make the country safe could be used to further develop the country.
Most Jamaicans would like to see the country rise from the mire that it is in and this depends on many factors and safety is one of them. If investors do not feel safe they will not come to invest, if workers do not feel safe they will not rise early to go to work or stay extra hours at nights for the betterment of themselves and the country. If young people feel that they may not live to fulfil their dreams they will not make the effort to learn in school as they will see it as an exercise in futility. It is obvious that many decisions that people make with regards to their lives and the country hinge largely on how safe they feel residing here.
Jamaicans, one and all, let us turn over a new leaf for the new year. Let us cultivate more love and respect for each other and help to create a safe Jamaica for ourselves and our children. We should aim to banish the image of Jamaica as an unsafe place. It can be done it will be hard and cannot be accomplished on a short-term basis. We are truly a resilient people and in the same way that our foreparents overcame slavery we should be able to conquer the ills that are plaguing our society. It is my fervent hope that Jamaica will be a safer place to live in 2008.
I am, etc.,
VIVIENNE PITTER
Kingston 20
