by: Kymberli Whittaker
Conflict
occurs daily. As individuals with distinct personalities, thought processes,
mannerisms and desires, interact with persons different from themselves. it is understandable how conflict arises but how we choose
to manage disputes however may be the difference between life and death, and
has a direct correlation on our crime rate.
Jamaicans
simply do not like to talk and reason, especially our men. It is an accepted
saying that “wi head hot” or “when wi vex, wi ignorant”, and when we are in
this state essentially anything can happen to the person at the receiving end
of our wrath, but this simply cannot continue to be the case.
There
has been some push over the years to encourage conflict management within our
educational institutions with the utilization of Guidance counselors, peer counselors
and mediation offered through the Dispute Resolution Foundation. However those
at a high risk of committing violent crime are not in school. Many are school drop outs who tend to live in inner-city
areas with scarce resources and they have nothing constructive to do for the
most part with the 24 hours that pass each day.
These
disenfranchised persons are so angry- angry at not having enough to eat, angry at not being able to find a job, if
they seek one, that can cover all their expenses, and angry at persons in our
authority who seem not to care about their welfare.
When
the larger society sees a man kill another man for stepping on his “Jordans” on
“Clarkes”, we look in dismay and awe and ask why. But to the man who saved for
months to own only that pair of shoes, cleaned it to go to an event to floss,
gain the attention of girls, or sometimes even borrowed the shoes to party and
be a king for a night to escape his dismal reality, this accidental act of
messing up his shoes is seen as one thing only- a “diss” or violation that the
other person has to pay for- even with his life.
It
is astounding how many criminals cannot read and write in a functional manner. Reasoning
abilities are heightened through educational stimulation which many of them
lack. To aggravate this situation is the fact that the gun in or society is a
symbol of power, and this power placed in the hands of persons with poor
reasoning skills is a recipe for disaster. Many of these persons also have
nothing living for, and as such they do not fear death, but see it as a way of
life. At least one person is shot in downtown per day. Yet the same persons
directly affected by violence still choose to fight fire with fire, thus
perpetuating this vicious cycle.
In
order to fight this violent crime wave sweeping our nation, the disenfranchised
need see their life as having value, and school dropouts especially need to be targeted
through social initiatives, to let them know that there is hope. Job creation,
remedial school enrollment and functional literacy are the preventative
initiatives which have to be vigorously pursued by our government. We also need to drive home to our men that it
is ok to talk, as without these changes in our hot spots conflict will
continue, and crime will not decrease.
August 20, 2015
August 20, 2015
