THE EDITOR, Sir:
MY NAME is Shanique Sinclair and I speak on behalf of myself and several other concerned young Jamaican citizens on the tragic and inhumane crime that took place on June 30, 2005 in Burnt Savannah, Westmoreland. It is heartbreaking and mind-chilling to pick up the Gleaner and see a headline that reads, 'Girls raped, murdered'. As a 17-year-old young female it brings tears of both empathy and sympathy, along with fear, to my eyes.
What kind of human being could have the heart, or lack thereof, to take an eight-year-old and a nine-year-old, two babies, into a cane field and sexually and physically abuse them to the point of eternal sleep? I will tell you what kind! The kind that should not be allowed to prowl the streets and be a plague to others or even be allowed to wake up and enjoy all the luxuries of life. Who is he to play God? These two girls could be our next politician and lawyer or musician and gynecologist. How can we have a brighter tomorrow if people like the suspect in question create the genocide of our young people?
'SWEET JAMDOWN'
We listen to a song that speaks of our 'Sweet Jamdown'. They say 'what a nice place to live... the only problem is money naw run'. They are incorrect. Money is not the only problem. Teenage pregnancy is a problem, AIDS and other STD's are a problem, illiteracy and unemployment are problems and above all ,crime and violence is a problem ! It is as if we have lost our compassion, our love for one another, nationhood and brotherhood, and above all the other values that we as Jamaicans so proudly stand for. What is happening to our country?
JAMAICANS UNITE
I refer to two quotes from the Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips, where he urges "every single Jamaican not only to pause and reflect, but also to come together to stop the senseless slaughter, and to restore some sense of decency and caring in how we relate to one another in this land of ours."
Let us not simply overlook or regard it only for the moment but to do what we can as we look towards a brighter future and a better Jamaica. My condolences go out to the families of the deceased children and others who have lost loved ones as a result of such crimes. Jamaicans, I plead, let us not send our country into destruction and damnation but work and pray together to make Jamaica a land of love.
I am, etc.,
SHANIQUE SINCLAIR
Miss Teen Jamaica Finalist
