Dear Editor,
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference,” wrote Elie Wiesel.
As a nation, we’ve become indifferent and numb to the senseless murders of children in our country. Unless the homicides personally affect us, we don’t really care who was murdered. A good example of the indifference and numbness to killings was when saw the deaths of three teenagers, Malika Hamilton, Daveanand Sanchar and, most recently, Akeem Grimmond, all murdered in the month of August.
Editor, when these children were murdered, no one condemned the killing. No one called on the political parties or police officers to do more to stop the violence. No one had a candlelight vigil for the children. No one marched on the streets to protest against violence against children. No one mourned the death of the children, except the family members.
No one called for a donation to the victims’ families. No one felt ashamed that it happened in their country. No one (except the family members) shed any tears for the children. No one shed any tears for our country, seeing the moral degradation it’s in. No one cared about the victims, because we have become indifferent and numb to the shedding of the blood of our children.
Editor, everyone ignored the deaths of those young people, and went on with their lives ‒ business as usual. We don’t care about what happens to others, only what happens to ourselves. We say, “It’s none of my business; I’m not my brother’s keeper.” Until it happens to us.
It’s survival of the fittest in our country. Every man and woman is only looking out for him or herself. We are too busy with work and school to worry about these children dying.
We don’t cry or grieve at funerals anymore. We go to funerals and wakes to drink alcohol and have a good time. We don’t value life anymore; we have become emotionally callous to the lost lives of children. Certainly, there are individuals who are very serious about ending violence against children, but the vast majority of society is indifferent.
I’ll close with these words of Pier Ferdinando Casini, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He writes: “Violence against children cannot be tolerated. Child protection is a cause that concerns us all. Freedom from violence will only be possible if we parliamentarians respect our duties to children and act upon them.
“We have the power to legislate, to oversee proper enforcement of laws, to allocate financial resources and to mobilise public opinion. As legislators we can make a significant difference to children’s lives.”
Yours faithfully,
Anthony Pantlitz
