Pastor Clive Dottin

Let’s save our teenagers

A civilisation able to envision God and to embark on the colonisation of space will surely find the way to save the integrity of this planet and the magnificent life it harbours.

—Edward O Wilson, Harvard University EcologistScientists, politicians and concerned citizens have been struggling in different ways to protect endangered species. Martha Watkin Gilkes, writing in Issue 72 of the Liat Islander, asked: “Are we fishing to extinction?”

King crab, Atlantic cod, haddock, salmon, blue fin tuna, shrimp, Atlantic redfish, Alaska pollock, Pacific halibut and Atlantic mackerel are definitely on the list of endangered species.

The statement that must set us thinking is the one made by Max Hastings in the UK Guardian that “we need to start caring about fish, or there won’t be any left to eat. The world’s oceans are being plundered and nobody seems to be willing or able to stop the slaughter.”

While scientists mourn over the alarming rate of the ecological wounding of Mother Earth and the callous insensitivity of the perpetrators, we return to the power of the mighty dollar. Many governments will not interfere, some because of a mixture of ignorance and arrogance, and others because they do not wish to exert the effort to develop a strategic plan.

But high on the Caribbean’s list of endangered species must be youth and I want to focus on teenagers. Many of us believe that this is a significant area where politicians and supporters display the greatest hypocrisy.

Yes, it can be said that teenagers are a tough bunch. Some would even join the buzzing, deafening chorus which labels youth as the hopeless generation, the depressed generation, the narcotic generation, the cruel generation, the godless generation, the abusive generation.

But wait a minute! Teenagers do not own casinos, prostitution dens or the narcotic trade. In fact, the godfathers of the drug trade are senior, respectable citizens.

Teenagers do not own mega enterprises where workers are exploited on a daily basis. Teenagers do not control trade unions that have neither a strategic plan nor a vision for the empowerment of workers.

Teenagers did not invent rape, incest or divorce. Think of the daughters who have been abandoned by their fathers and after an immense tragedy, these fathers appear at the funerals crying.

Think of fathers and stepfathers who sexually abuse their teenage daughters and stepdaughters. Think of grandfathers who abuse their grandsons. They are not teenagers.

Think of priests who have sexually abused children. They are not teenagers. They have violated the trust that parents and church officials have placed in them.

The soldiers who engage in kidnapping and renting of uniforms, the police officers who control gangs, they are not teenagers.

But let us attack the tragedy of all tragedies—the abortionists. Those who engage in this nefarious practice are not teenagers. They have no heart and they have no soul. They have no compassion. They are not teenagers.

Whether we like it or not, we have got to confront teenagers with the real issues. They must know that in spite of the challenges, they still have the power of choice. Yes, they may be high on the list of endangered species but they must be empowered and not marginalised.

I have heard the cries of teenage prostitutes who are brutalised by URP and Cepep gangsters. I have heard the cry of young homosexuals who are threatened by “respectable” citizens. Respectable? What is the latest meaning of this word?

In the Caricom region it is not teenagers who are seeking to control the judiciary, but senior politicians who never took time to study the writings and lifestyles of luminaries such as Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi believed that “truth transcends history” and that violence is bred in inequality. But let us observe his views on the abuse of power:

“I look upon any increase in the power of the state with the greatest fear because, while apparently doing good by minimising exploitation, it does the greatest harm to mankind by destroying individuality, which lies at the root of all progress.”

But most politicians do not have the time nor the interest to focus on nobility, courage and sacrifice. In the mad grab to achieve power or hold on to power, these values may be considered as liabilities and not assets.

The horrible price of reckless, political thuggery is extremely huge, so huge that it is difficult to quantify. Teenagers are observing what is taking place and learning. Some may reject horrible tactics, while others are internalising the values of the majority of our present crop of leaders.

It becomes extremely difficult to lecture, to admonish teenagers when they see us preaching but not living. Teenagers have said over and over that they prefer to see the sermon than to hear the sermon.

I have said it before and I will say it again. Caricom has missed the boat. Aspire is missing the boat. The Humanist Association continues to miss the boat. Kevin Baldeosingh cannot even see the boat.

Our teenagers are torn between conflicting and confusing voices. Listen, I have and continue to deal with some of the “toughest” teenagers and there is a soft spot in each of them. In fact, there are soft spots. They may be disrespectful, rebellious, apparently godless but there is still a desire for the ideal, for the truth and righteousness.

I have spoken to several girls who have had multiple abortions, and they will cry and cry and cry. Some are lost in the tsunami of prostitution. Some would like to escape from the tentacles of local terrorist cells. They long for a better life, for a coach, a mentor who will love them unconditionally.

How do we redesign Caribbean communities? How do we empower mothers who have been abused? How can we save teenagers? How can we reengineer the society?

Politicians may advertise mega projects, huge structures but these may not relate to the expanding number of the working poor. Political manifestoes must reflect a profound concern for teenagers and promote counselling clinics in each community, well-supervised homework centres, institutions for abused women with adequate security, unique educational institutions that place major emphasis on self-esteem and functional literacy. Stop destroying the trees and planting concrete.

Teenagers must be held accountable, of course. But adults who recruit and enlist them in dangerous, devastating and immoral activities must also be held accountable. They must not be protected and empowered to abuse and damage more teenagers. Youth must rebel against those who have helped to place them on the list of endangered species.

Finally, the church must engage in relevant exercises and a major recruitment programme for the whole community. Churches must not think of their teenagers only, but the teens of the village, the city, the nation. Let us save our teenagers!