A clarion call has gone out to Barbadians to condemn all types of violence in the society and teach their children that such acts have no place in a civil society.
This call was made by Minister of Family Stephen Lashley as he joined the families and friends of the six women who lost their lives in the Campus Trendz fire in observing a minute’s silence at noon in Heroes Square.
This year, September 3 was designated a Day Of National Reflection in honour of the women, as well as all other victims of violent crime in Barbados.
“We need to, as a country, reflect on where we are and where we are going and we need to very firmly condemn violence in any shape or fashion.
“We should never be here mourning the loss of six of our productive citizens whose lights were taken away in a flash. And, it is the kind of violence in our society that we have to be vigilant about today; because since that incident two years ago, we continue to witness the ravages of violence, not only domestic violence, but violence in our wider community and the very worrying escalation of a certain type of crime, which we need to put a stop to . . . .
“Violent crime does not only affect one person . . . . The pain that this particular incident has inflicted on all of us should tell us that as a country, as a community, we have to again become our brothers and sisters’ keeper. No longer can we sit behind the [burglar] bars of our homes or the fences or gates and feel that we are safe. We have to take a stand together.”
The minister said Government recognized its leadership role in this regard. “But this problem transcends . . . Government; this is a social problem, this is a community problem, this is a family problem and, therefore, anybody who thinks about inflicting pain and violence on anyone must stop and reflect that the target of your violence can be your friend’s friend, your sister’s friend, . . . in other words, our nation’s children,” he argued.
He told the family and friends of the victims that he could not offer them any words that could wipe away their tears and grief, but said members of the public wanted to let them know they were not alone at this difficult time.
“It is a loss that is very difficult to recover from, but I think we need to use this Day Of National Reflection to pledge as Barbadians that never again will we be complacent to violent crime . . . . I hope our words of comfort will add to the healing of the families touched by this national disaster,” he said.
As a Government and party, we will continue to adopt a zero tolerance to acts of violence that seek to tear down the fabric of our society. We continue to offer our prayers and well wishes to the families, friends and loved ones impacted by the incident.
Extracts from an address on September 3, given by Minister of Family Stephen Lashley, as family, friends and well wishers gathered to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the tragic Campus Trendz fire two years ago.
• Douglas Leopold Phillips is a pseudonym for the Democratic Labour Party.
