P.J. Patterson | Barbara Gayle – The message to Jamaica

Over many decades, there are countless senseless murders that have been shocking. The news of the cruel death of Barbara Gayle has left me numb. A more gentle, modest and conscientious person there never was.

I clearly recall Barbara’s earliest years as a cub reporter when the existing Doyenne of legal news, the late Sybil Hibbert, was introducing her to the Advocates, the offices and intricacies of the Resident Magistrates Courts at Sutton Street and Half-Way Tree. In short time, Barbara amassed her superb skills by her preparedness in quiet, penetrating and fruitful conversations to gain a thorough mastery of legal trials. As a legal scribe, she understood the essence of the evidence and complex points of law that eventually made her a reporter of the highest order.

Her acumen for comprehensive legal reports was such that practitioners, including myself, could rely on the integrity and completeness of a Barbara Gayle story in the most intriguing and complicated trials.

As the entire country is engulfed in condemning the heinous crime of Barbara’s murder, it also marks a time for sober reflection how to end such despicable crimes.

Barbara Gayle’s craft teaches us not to reach a verdict before all the evidence is in. But from what we know already, it is obvious that it will take more than the Security Forces, no matter how well equipped, trained, and deployed, to avert criminal atrocities of this malevolent kind. Our goal must be to prevent for a life once taken, can never be restored, regardless of the senseless stupidity or the profile of the tragic victim.

What must we, “Out of many, one People” do to avert the slaughter of a peaceful, caring, Christian mother in the sanctity of her own home within a gated community?

MOST ALARMING

We dare not deny that the cruel murder of Barbara Gayle is but the most recently alarming in a catalogue of violent and dastardly acts of savagery.

We have overrun the gamut of glowing tributes and endless expressions of the determination to eradicate the monstrous rate of crime. It is high time that we face the awesome reality that we must begin to end this destruction of ourselves by a decisive change in the culture of our relationships within our homes, the neighbourhoods, the workplace, our schools, and recreational space. Anything less will be like recurring decimals which perpetuate our own individual vulnerability to criminal extinction.

We have scoffed or ridiculed utterances from previous ministers of national security who have called for “divine intervention” or a visit to the “obeahman”. Whether traditional or non-traditional, their utterances, we must recognise and admit that there is the need for some broader generic force that encompasses all citizens and elements within the nation to step back from the edge of the abyss and prevent further slippage into calamitous chaos. The complete answer lies within in ourselves. We must alter the prevailing psyche. Anger and greed must give way to caring and tolerance at every level.

RE-EXAMINE VALUES

Barbara Gayle’s brutal murder is a heartbreaking tragedy that underscores the urgent need for Jamaica to re-examine its values and prioritize those that are life-sustaining. The solution to the national dilemma has to begin with acknowledging the sacredness of life – the belief that one’s own life is of intrinsic value. That necessitates valuing and treating others with respect.

We cannot allow an overemphasis on materialism to lead us to a neglect of our social and moral fabric. It is past time for Jamaica to reclaim its values and promote the attitudinal changes which emphasise the importance of respect for human life, empathy, civility and kindness.

The brutal murder of Barbara Gayle is a wake-up call for Jamaica to take action and promote a culture of love, compassion, and shared humanity.

The judiciary, the Bar, Press Association of Jamaica, the Church, the community, the Government, and Opposition party are all at one in recognising the sterling quality of Barbara Gayle’s contribution to freedom of the press in a democratic society.

This formidable array, fused with the contribution of our schools, musicians and civil society, constitute an invincible force to stem the evil tide.

As we the citizens extend our sympathy to Barbara’s bereaved family, friends, and colleagues, we must not allow her life and work to go in vain. Let this irreparable loss impel urgency and unity to instil among us an acceptance by every human being in our island, that life is indeed too precious to be extinguished by the wicked or deranged.

As our final tribute to this consummate professional, let us in our daily intercourse, reflect the love, decency, and respect for each other which Barbara Gayle embodied during her earthly sojourn.

P.J. Patterson is the former prime minister of Jamaica. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com