What message is being sent to young people?

08.FEB.11

Editor: In recent times, the National Youth Council noticed that fingers have been pointed in the direction of the youth of this country, for repeated violent acts and behaviours of crime. It has even been questioned, what is to become of our “blessed Hairouna”?{{more}} Two Fridays ago, I had to take a few steps back and clear my ear on several occasions, just to be sure that what I was hearing and became aware of, was actually taking place. It led me to a point of disbelief.

As Vincentians, we are a people known to be friendly, peaceful, loving and law abiding. But the question is, do we still have a society of such? As a young person, it leaves me with mixed thoughts and emotions to hear and see Vincentians become more devoted to partisan politics than to being a patriot of our country.

As Vincentians, we have the right to picket/protest, but it must be done within the constraints of the law and when doing so, we need to be mindful of the effects of our actions. What message is being sent to us as young people of this country? Is it that when we need something and think it’s our right to have it, that we must do so with no regard for the law and with utter disrespect for others and public/private property?

We are of the firm belief that the members of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) did the best they could, given the circumstances, in order to maintain peace and we highly commend them for the use of their good sense of judgment during such a trying time. But we strongly feel that the individual/s who instigated, encouraged and executed the acts on Friday, outside the House of Parliament, need to be held responsible and should give an account for their actions and behaviours portrayed.

During the sitting of the House of Parliament to debate the 2011 budget, there were some very good “dramatic productions” that were broadcast live, yes, “dramatic productions!” Is it that the members of the House of Parliament have forgotten that they are being listened/viewed by the rest of the national, regional and international arena? Is it that these noble men and women are forgetful of the examples that they ought to set for future members, or is it that they just don’t care about the rules of the House of Parliament, the appointment of the Speaker of the House and more so the many persons who might be listening /viewing the debates, that might not know or understand the rules of the House, but yet continue to act in the manner that they do, with no regard for the rest of the population? What is the message that is to be conveyed from such behaviour? These are some of the questions that we kept asking ourselves.

With all this said, it brings me back to the first point, of fingers being pointed at the youth of this country. We are in no way trying to discard the actions of some of our young people, but we ask, should the finger be pointed only to the youth of our nation, or are we all to take some blame of what is going on in our country today? Before we point the finger or cast the blame on someone else, maybe we need to take a good look at ourselves and ask ourselves what we have done to help to make things better or even how we could have helped in preventing it in the first place.

The NYC wishes to call on the leaders and members of both sides of Parliament to be careful of the examples shown, because your supporters are just looking and waiting on you to know what is to happen next. The examples one sets will become part of your legacy and they are what we as young people will know and follow.

We also wish to issue a call to all Vincentians for a time of reconciliation. St. Vincent and the Grenadines does not belong to any party or any one individual, but it belongs to you, me and all of us, regardless of party colours or line and we must take stands for the development and in the best interest of our country; after all we are all Vincentians.

Altocha Anderson
President
National Youth Council