Voids in youths’ lives must be filled

Dear Editor,

The story about the two teens from Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara who committed suicide after their parents objected to their marriage is heartbreaking. From the headlines alone, readers can infer a lot about the people involved in this story. Here are two young people who evidently did not go very far in school, and so gained simple employment and decided that, at their age, they are ready for the next step – marriage. Their parents oppose it, and the youths, in their naivety and depth of feeling for each other, decide to take their lives together. 

Many youths within our society are not yet exposed to life; they do not know what lies out there for them. At 17 and 18 years old, these people are too young for marriage. In those teenage years, they should be enjoying the prime of their lives with their friends, exploring the world, seeking challenges, finding and doing new things daily. Sadly, our society still sees early marriage as a norm, and thinks that it is OK for a 17-year-old to get married and have a baby. It’s not. At 17, a young girl should be furthering her education, and so should the 18-year-old boy. They have their whole lives ahead of them.  Marriage is a serious thing, for which teenagers are not equipped to handle. Wanting to start a family at such young age is a sign of immaturity, and their hanging themselves because they could not handle the opposition to their marriage says even more that these two youngsters would not have been able to handle life’s problems, or marital problems later down. I have been married for the past 20 years, and I say from experience that marriage is not a bed of roses.

Sometimes there are more downs than ups, and it takes maturity, love and understanding to overcome these. People have to be prepared to deal with these problems. Killing one’s self doesn’t help the situation.

When I read this story, I wondered how differently things would have been if these youths had been exposed to more activities and opportunities. In the absence of much to do, youths see marriage as a way out of their families or situations. There is need for more activities to engage the attention of young people, and more role models to encourage and inspire them to develop themselves and look towards the future positively. The youths of today have many voids in their lives, and these voids must be filled with clean and fulfilling activities.

If one considers the youths in other countries, they have many activities to choose from to enjoy themselves to the fullest, without wanting to embark on something as serious as marriage. 

If our society can offer more alternatives to our young people, and youths are encouraged to stay in school and take all the education they can get, then marriage would be deferred until later, when they are mature enough to handle it. 

Yours faithfully,

M Latchman