LETTER OF THE DAY - Nobody stopped to listen
Published:Monday | June 3, 2013 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I've been putting off commenting on this since two Sundays ago, but the story still haunts me. In the May 26, 2013 edition of The Sunday Gleaner, along with the update on June 2, 2013, there were features published about Vanessa Wint, the teenager who committed suicide while in the State's care.
Her screams for help SHOULD still haunt us. I read the story and wondered how nobody heard her. With the exception of Ms Gloria Thompson, former investigator in the Office of the Children's Advocate, nobody listened. It was as if the cell of her existence was made of soundproof glass.
The May 26 article stated that Vanessa "wrote to anyone and anywhere she thought she could get help", but as Ms Marlene McTaggart commented in the report, "... Nobody did anything. They sat on their hands ... ."
Was she not worth saving? Was she not worth risking breaking protocol to reach out to her and get her the help she needed? Was she not worth being bothered about? Where and when were the efforts made to sit and listen to this child and help her? WHY IN GOD'S NAME WERE HER SCREAMS IGNORED?!
Everyone has a story to tell. We all walk around with our baggage. We have our imperfections, our flaws, our scars - and how we would ever love to share the history behind each one. Some stories aren't meant to be bottled in.
The court deemed Vanessa uncontrollable. This would be an attribution that she would have to live with, as others saw her through the lens of this label. She wanted to tell her truth; to share her story. Nobody stopped to listen.
But on November 21, 2012, Vanessa found a way to get everyone's attention.
Her story still haunts me.
DURIE DEE
Toronto, Canada