Michael Abrahams | Youth gone wild

Last week, we saw an explosion of violence among our youth. According to media reports, a love triangle was at the centre of the flare-up of violence involving students from several Corporate Area schools. At least three students sustained injuries (including one who was stabbed) that required medical attention, and one school even closed its doors for two days. In another incident in Portland, two teenagers are on the run after being involved in the fatal stabbing of a man.

Why is there so much indiscipline, aggression and violence among our youth? There is a multiplicity of reasons. Firstly, we traumatise them. We abuse them. We beat them, especially our boys. We tell them hurtful things, like that they will not amount to anything or that they are like their worthless mothers or fathers. We give preferential treatment to their lighter-complexioned siblings. (Yes, colourism still exists). We abandon them. We neglect them. There are too many children, a significant majority of whom, in this country, grow up in single-parent households, usually led by mothers. Many grow up with no parent, living with ‘Granny’, ‘Auntie’ or even strangers that their parents give them away to. Parental separation hurts children, and the long-term effects of this are well documented. We often fail to provide stable and nurturing homes for them. And our child molestation and incest rates are not low.

TERRIBLE EXAMPLES

We set terrible examples for them at multiple levels when we display our own violent and undisciplined behaviour. It has become the norm for violence to be utilised to resolve conflicts in this country. We flagrantly break road traffic rules. Corruption rears its ugly head no matter which political party is in power. It would be unreasonable to expect our political leaders to be perfect. No human being is. But there is too much indiscipline and nastiness at that level. Recently, I watched someone deliver a presentation in Parliament. People from both sides of the aisle kept speaking out of turn and interrupting the person, and the Speaker had to call them out and ask them to behave. I felt like I was watching children in a classroom. But these are our lawmakers and leaders, who are supposed to be setting examples for all of us.

In this age of the Internet and social media, our children are exposed to a mind-boggling array of inappropriate behaviours. The rise of the ‘social media influencer’ is concerning. Many of these do not set appropriate examples for our youth, prioritising material possessions, physical appearance, and the ability to denigrate and insult their detractors. Our music is not helping either, as many of the songs of our most popular genre, dancehall, are full of violent and graphically sexual lyrics, and their videos, with the corresponding imagery.

WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT?

The multiplicity of causes is well documented. But, what are we doing about it? We see the stories and complain and whine. We blame popular culture, the Internet, and our political leaders. But we must collectively blame ourselves. How do we fix this? There is no single solution. A multi-pronged approach must be employed, requiring patience, as whatever gains we wish to achieve may take a generation or longer to take effect.

Most children are not ‘born bad’. Some may be born with psychopathic tendencies that may have been genetically predetermined, but most of what we see is a result of socialisation. Our society is seriously broken, and one of the main factors contributing to this is the breakdown of the family structure. Efforts must be made to address this. Family is essential. It gives our children a sense of belonging, a sense of safety and security.

It is crucial to address how our children are socialised. Programmes such as character education, which imparts positive attitudes to children such as empathy, compassion, respect, and kindness, must be instituted with alacrity in our schools. Our Ministry of Education and Youth has been working on this, and the minister assured me last week that it will be implemented this September. The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica is also launching a programme concerning values and attitudes. Programmes in schools, such as age-appropriate sex education and parenting, would also be of immense value. More mentoring programmes are needed, and existing ones need to be highlighted.

Attention also must be paid to destigmatising mental illness. The trauma our children face is often generational. Children get traumatised. They grow up to be dysfunctional adults who have dysfunctional relationships. These relationships produce children who are exposed to the dysfunction, become traumatised, and then attain adulthood and perpetuate the cycle. Ways must be found to educate society about how trauma affects us and about the value of seeking and getting help. To do this, a serious look has to be taken at how mental health services in this country can be developed to a point where assistance is not only accessible but also affordable.

If we continue to be mere spectators, the dysfunctional behaviour among our youth will only intensify. Those of us who are able need to reach out to those who need help, get involved in programmes that assist our youth, be mentors, and try to set better examples.

Michael Abrahams is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, social commentator and human-rights advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or follow him on X , formerly Twitter, @mikeyabrahams.