Needed: a public outcry

The EDITOR, Sir:

The recent article in The Sunday Gleaner about a mother from Portland who had to transfer her daughter from her dream school because of the state of transportation, where girls are forced to sit on the laps of boys, is appalling. However, this does not startle me as this is something I witnessed as a child as well as an adult.

Slackness and amorality are aplenty in Jamaica. What makes matters worse is that sometimes children are coerced by adults into lewd sexual activities that are far from clandestine. It is abominable that young girls are forced to choose between sitting on a boy's lap in a bus or being late for school. Indeed, we cannot ignore how uncomfortable some of these boys may also feel, but dare not utter a word for fear that their complaining could be dangerously interpreted as them not being interested in girls.

In all of this I ask, where are the real journalists to do serious investigative journalism to shed more light on this? Why aren't they on these buses to capture data covertly that could lead to the arrests of some of these bus operators, who themselves have a penchant for grooming these students?

Where are the public advertisements to warn parents and passengers about this sort of behaviour, and how best can students protect themselves and make good decisions if these situations occur? Why isn't there an outcry from all corners of the island about this? We all need to not only stop turning a blind eye, but also speak up against this kind of slackness.

ANDRE BRUFF

Educator