Dear Editor,
Words cannot express the sadness I felt when I looked at the Friday 08 dailies and saw a 12-year-old girl charged for murder. Over the years especially during the period when we were being governed under PPP/C I penned numerous letters begging/imploring those responsible for our youths, religious leaders and the various organisations to come out with a clear plan to help our youths and I even got into details and used Zeelugt on East Bank Essequibo as an example, citing the huge school-dropouts, increased drugs and alcohol use and crime.
To date no help or project has been introduce to that village. Instead, there are small gangs emerging, crimes being committed (some murders) and some villagers living in torment from these youngsters because the police seem rather reluctant to act on certain reports that they seem to judge as irrelevant whilst those misbehaving keep increasing their behaviours. Because of neglect crime seems to be getting worse and the majority of them are committed by youths.
Whilst passing schools, especially high schools in the afternoon, you could observe lots of young men dressed in various fashion liming and having conversations with the schoolchildren. Those liming are mostly school-aged and their actions seem to be influencing many to drop out from schools and join them to dress and look ‘cool’.
Listening to their vulgar conversations with the school children is very appalling and if one tries to scold them, one is met with a barrage of insults, threats and even assaults.
Many parents would see the actions of these children and would openly share their opinions on proper training while their own might be worse off because they don’t care what they are doing but when problems arise they quickly jump up to defend them.
I am still waiting to see the administration come up with a plan for these ‘loiterers’ at the schools.
Finally Editor, I have posted on my Facebook page my opinion about the sorry welcome Lisa Punch got at the Timehri Airport and to see our two young ladies from the victorious West Indies women team entering Guyana without a decent welcome is very embarrassing. That is to show the feelings those in authority have for our youths here!
Our Director of Sports hastily called a press conference to say that the GCB did not inform him so that he could have arranged a hero’s welcome for the two young ladies.
Now my questions are, as Director of Sports, couldn’t he have called and enquired, instead of waiting? Couldn’t he get the girls’ contact numbers and make contact with them personally; and apart from the press conference did he convey any congratulatory message to them?
Our youths are not getting the credits they deserve and actions like these only seem to deter them from shining.
Perhaps our Director of Sports should take time off from updating Facebook of where he is and actually show us what he is doing when not eating or drinking, because the last time I recalled seeing the deplorable conditions some of our athletes had to eat in whilst they are representing Guyana!
Yours truly,
Sahadeo Bates