Can you believe or imagine that there is any thing in this world that could scare Father Massiah, who has a very big voice and who seems not to be afraid of anything on this earth?
Well that is not so, for recently I had an experience, when I was in one of the Bridgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
I was only there as an observer for I am a law-abiding citizen of Barbados.
It was a frightening experience. It was a very hurtful experience, when I saw so many young men (prisoners) who were shackled and handcuffed led in and out of court, it was dehumanizing to see human beings in such a situation – but it must be done for security reasons.
To see a prison officer sitting at the back of the court with handcuffs and chains reminded me of the days when I took my grandparents’ and parents’ sheep and cows to the pasture when I took along a number of chains, stakes and a hammer! And yet these young men seemed not to be worried, for they were very comfortable with the court system.
Something has to be wrong, when so many of our young men, in their productive years, are taken before our courts daily.
I do wonder from time to time if the brains of some of our young people are put in wrong. If so, I do hope that they can be taken out and be refitted.
I would like our schools, especially those secondary schools through our magistrates to arrange for our school children to visit some of our courts so that they can gain first hand experience of what is happening.
Something has to be done in order to help save this young generation, for we are spending too much money on education to be seeing so many of our young people going before our courts and ending up in Her?Majesty Prisons Dodds.
I am therefore calling on all stakeholders in education, the home, and the church to let us come together to save our young people.
