Dear Christine,
I need advice on how I can find some way to help my sister. I am worried about and in constant fear for the lives of her little children.
She is a very good person and I always believe without herand her family I would not be who I am or where I am today.
She is my half-sister; I am Barbadian-born, she’s not, but she is Barbadian.
My sister moved to an area in St Michael with a man I will call ”B”. I call him a man because of age and sex. He has older children and from the time he and my sister had their first child there were problems.
My sister’s children are all under four years old. The past three years, one of B’s sons, a 21-year-old I will call ”A”, has been threatening these little children. He follows them, throws his feet at them, tells them and my sister he will kill them, will break their jawbone, burn down the house, and that is only some of the things.
When my eldest nephew was two-and-a-half, after being threatened one night, waited when his father came home and opened the door, he said, ‘Daddy, “A” says he will kill me’. I was on the phone with my sister and tears ran down my face.
It breaks my heart to know these little children are going through this and he seems not to care. My sister has done everything she knows by law and I have helped, but the problem still remains. The charges she brought against them remain a mystery at District ‘A’ police station.
What has worsened my fears is that “B’s” mother (the children’s grandmother) said “A” should kill the children so my sister will not have to harass “B” for money because he needs his money to put up his house roof.
She told “B” don’t give my sister money for the children and don’t put groceries at her house, bring her the money she will cook and wash his clothes, and that is what he does. To my sister, she said if she gets a cent for the children she should be grateful. Now, “A” has stepped up his action. Her drunken husband is telling my nephew he need ”deading”.
Christine, this grandmother is in church every Sunday and participates in church group activities. I am lost.
“A” is not the only one doing this. There are other family and friends against my sister because of money and property – that is the only thing I can think of. They call her and the children foreigners.
I don’t want to see my nephews dead. There is a lot more to this but my biggest fear is the children. I also want to say to the grandmother we all die and leave behind the land, money and house.
To “B”, I say that as an over-40-year-old, you need to be a man and drop your mother’s skirt. Tell your family to concentrate on their lives and stop encouraging “A” to talk about killing these children. Please help.
– M
Dear M,
It is against the law for anyone to threaten the life of someone else. For this to be constantly done and by subjecting your sister and her children to this fear is nothing short of criminal.
I know she reported this before to the police, but she needs to report it again and again to District ’A’. If nothing is done from there, write the Commissioner of Police on the matter and let his office get involved.
What I don’t understand is why your sister continues to live with this man in the face of such verbal abuse. If he and his family does not respect her and the children she has for him, she needs to get out of that situation.
Isn’t it better for her to have less but have peace of mind, than to live where she is now and be miserable?
Already he does not support her financially and respect her in the manner in which he should as a spouse, so she needs to get a place for herself and children, put him in court for maintenance and let his bad minded relatives fight amongst themselves. I hope this helps.
– Christine