'Let's go back to the family'

PORT MARIA, St Mary:

During his 35-year tenure in the police force, St Mary's new commanding officer, Superintendent Fabian Farquharson, served in five other parishes: Kingston, St Andrew, Manchester, St Elizabeth, and Clarendon.

Through his engagement with all types of people from communities across the country, Farquharson, who attends the Faith Cathedral Church on Waltham Park Road in Kingston, has developed an interesting theory, which links many of the problems Jamaicans face to their rejection of traditional family values.

Speaking to Family and Religion recently from his office at the Port Maria Police Station, he said: "The truth is, you will hear people from time to time say the Church has failed in leadership and has not fulfilled its mandate.

"You will hear people say the Church is operating like a business, and the focus is on making money rather than serving. You hear all kinds of things. But the truth is, I've never gone to a church and heard them tell me anything other than to serve God and the way to heaven he said.

NEW CULTURE

He continued: "You have to understand that we had some cultures that served us well, but we have deviated from them for one reason or another, and we have embraced a new culture that is not serving us the way the old culture did.

"Let's go back to the family. The family used to be part of the community, and the community used to raise the family. Now, you'll find that indiscipline has stepped in. Neither you nor a teacher can correct a child today because if you do, it's war with the parents."

Farquharson noted the lack of positive role models in the society, and believes that the real consequences of adopting new cultures and abandoning one'sown are yet to be felt.

He explained: "We find that we used to have some prominent persons who we used to go to for guidance, but they have been made redundant by even the talk show host, who doesn't really know about giving advice.

"The whole culture that used to serve us, where the village raised the child, doesn't exist anymore. There has been a total disconnect, and if it is not corrected now, we're going to find that because those old cultures that used to serve us well are gone, the next generation will be a dangerous set of people."

The Westmoreland-born superintendent is nevertheless confident that Jamaicans will eventually be able to turn the country around.

He said: "It's a difficult job, but it starts in the home. It starts with parenting and the Church, and this is probably why people are saying it's not fulfilling its mandate because people expect the Church to be vocal and take positions that ordinary citizens can't take.

"But it can be done if the Church, the home, and all the institutions in the country stand up and decide that we need to make a change because what's going on now is not serving us well. It can be done. It's a lot of work, and I can tell you that it's not an easy job, but it is possible."

familyandreligion@gleanerjm.com