This week saw two 18-year old men facing the court on animal cruelty charges which we think should send a serious message on the difference between the wrong and the right thing to do. This again has prompted us to ask the question –How did we get here -savagely beating and hanging a poor dog in public? At the time of writing this editorial, we could not confirm whether the charge was the first of its kind for Grenada. But, that type of cruelty is uncommon here. In our culture, dogs are known to be ‘man’s best friend’, and they are mostly taken care of and loved by the young people. It is our hope that the penalty for such a crime is strong enough to send a much-needed deterrent message. Our young men are definitely going astray!
That case in Saint Andrew during the Carnival Season still rests heavily on our hearts. In broad daylight while launching a Jab Jab band, a young man was stabbed twice. He has since died as a result of his wounds. His image while struggling for life at the hospital was shown in local news. It is alleged that he went to assist his friend who was knocked down by being struck with a bottle. It was while being bent down as he tried to pick his friend up that he was stabbed in his back. It is alleged that he turned around, looked the perpetrator straight in the face and asked him what he was doing, only to get another stab in his belly area. As this happened in the middle of a crowd, it is clear that the perpetrator did not care about witnesses nor being caught. Is it because he knows that a lawyer may help him to get out of jail after just a few years on some kind of technicality? Parents on both sides, who in some cases are neighbours, are hurting and are struggling with the question –why?
At the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Women’s Arm meeting at Grenville Secondary School, the issue of our men in crisis was focused on and Prime Minister Mitchell –the keynote speaker, urged the women to take an active role in mentoring young men facing challenges in their communities as he focused on the spate of violence that has raised its head.
Is the recent drive in the media on mental illness, a sign that attention is really needed since it was even revealed that a lot of young people are on mind altering drugs and need help? On Thursday evening MTV had an interesting health feature on the dangers of Cannabis –the drug that a lot of people see as ‘no big deal’. However, there is that worrying fact that marijuana leads to mental illness which can be manifested sometimes in dangerous ways. While people were reminded of the restrictions in Grenada, many people can attest to seeing the ‘herb’ being sold openly during Carnival activities. Was anybody arrested? The discussion on legalizing marijuana has seen more countries looking into the issue; but it’s still not clear whether it is being seen as a quick fix to get rich, or a genuine need for the extraction of chemicals called cannabinoids for healing purposes. It is interesting to note that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized the raw marijuana plant that is popular here as medicine. Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems and seeds of the Cannabis plant which contains the mind-altering chemical THC and other similar compounds.
It may be considered the most commonly used psychotropic drug after this ‘alcohol habit’ that we have inherited from the colonial days, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchel has promised the nation that he will not fall for the legalization. In some circles, people have called on him to rethink that decision; but he probably is aware that the benefits may not be as big as some people think. So, let’s support him on that one! A serious look should be taken at the number of delinquent young people being incarcerated as suggested by Catholic Bishop Clyde Harvey, and we must all agree that something is going very, very wrong. It is known that students are introduced to marijuana in school by their peers and a few were even caught selling it on the compound and had their day in court. We have learnt that in some cases, the fathers are the ones behind supplying it to their sons to be sold on the school compound. Speaking to a young man on the issue, we were told that he learnt to “use the weed” in the secondary school on the hill where they stayed back and studied late into the night for CSEC. He shared his opinion that marijuana is, in most times, the gateway to harder drugs later in life because it fuels the temptation.
In looking for solutions to keep the youth on the positive path, popular tennis player –Ray Roberts is suggesting a nationwide drive to organise and strengthen community clubs and engage them in physical education programmes. His opinion is that boys and girls who are introduced to a variety of sports during their eight years of primary school education, and later at secondary and tertiary are likely to stay focused and be strong enough to avoid developing an appetite for the negative things of life.
The problem is a big one because even the prime minister, in speaking on the rise in sex cases, expressed that some men are beyond redemption. The call is for stiffer penalties!
