“Are we really okay as a nation?” Youth advocate Joshua Harrow has posed that question as concern grows over violence among young people. This, following a brutal altercation after Sunday’s Babonneau J’ouvert festivities which left a man hospitalized with injuries to his head.
The incident, captured on video and widely circulated on social media shows footage of a confrontation between three men before one falls to the ground and is struck in the head with a large stone. The injured man survived and is recovering.
Harrow, a former National Youth Council member, pointed to what he described as a recurring cycle of violence, death and families being left to grieve, questioning when hurting or seriously injuring someone became a way of proving strength. He also challenged Saint Lucians to examine how young people, particularly young men, are being taught to deal with anger, conflict and emotions.
Harrow called for greater accountability among families, communities, schools and national leaders, warning that too many young people are becoming the subjects of hashtags and RIP posts instead of being given the opportunity to live out their futures.
Concern has also been expressed by one vendor who lamented what she sees as a change in the atmosphere surrounding public celebrations. The vendor, who was not operating on Sunday and learnt about the incident through social media, expressed concern about individuals coming from outside the community and disrupting activities that should provide safe entertainment and economic opportunities.
She believes stricter measures may now be necessary at community carnivals and other major events, noting that violence can affect not only patrons but vendors and others who depend on those activities for income.
Meanwhile, Babonneau MP John Paul Estephane has also condemned the incident, while stressing that the individuals involved were visitors and not from the Babonneau community.
