Saturday, 12 May 2012 (North Side, Anguilla)—This morning I attended the thanksgiving service of Gustave Charles Hodge Lewis at Ebenezer Methodist Church. The congregation was full of family, relatives and friends who had come to mourn Gustave’s passing at the young age of 25 years. Many tears could be seen rolling down the faces of people, including mine. A few persons expressed their grief vocally with the sounds of wailing and weeping. My heart felt deep sympathy for everyone who mourned the loss of this young man, especially Gustave’s mother, Christine Hodge, as well as his brothers and sisters: Nathan, Stedroy, Thomas, Kenisha, Laura and Natasha Hodge.
As I listened to the words of the minister, Reverend Rose Marie Julius, speaking, a thought appeared in my head that this young man had sacrificed his life for others like Jesus Christ did for all of us. Instead of being nailed to the cross, Gustave was assassinated (execution style, gunned down whilst unarmed) by another individual whose identity at the present is unknown to the general public and police. I had the sense that God had taken Gustave’s life in this manner to be a living example to other young men to change the negative ways in which they live their lives.
How could I be certain that this was the Lord’s message to young people?It is because I am sitting at my desk writing these words, right now, to perhaps be published in the local newspaper and read by many persons in our island community and abroad. What I would like to say to the readers, and to everyone—man, woman, youth and child—who reads or hears about this article, is that we have to really start thinking consciously and becoming aware of the actions we take. We need to help guide souls towards seeking alternative solutions to address the angerand other emotions that they feel inside, rather than continuing to allow them to resort to violence and killing other human beings: our loved ones, people whom we know personally. When a person is killed in a violent manner, as Gustave was, it not only affects his family members and friends, but thewhole community in which he resided and worked. And in our small island nation of Anguilla that means the 10,000 or more people who reside throughout the villages, as well as our families, friends and visitors residing overseas.
Often, I wonder what makes a youth so angry that he feels the only solution is to resort to death. What causes us to lose control of our mental faculties (minds) and to forgo God’s laws of doing what is right and keeping away from doing what is wrong? Have we returned to the lawlessness of the “Wild West” days when cowboys shot up each other just because hurtful words were spoken, or there was some other dispute between neighbours or families? How do we teach our young men or boys as I call them—since they really have not grown up intothe mature, wise men they are capable of being—to find peaceful resolutions to their conflicts or differences?
All of us are at risk of being gunned down by some senseless person because we might just be in a place when violence bursts out and we could mistakenly get shot or hit by a stray bullet. We could be mistaken for another person, and shot, as happened to my friend’s cousin many years ago. The injuries he sustained from this wounding left him permanently paralysed and in a wheelchair. Are our young men so caught up in what American television programmes, the Internet and electronic games reveal that they believe killing someone just because he is from another village is okay to do? When will we human beings learn that violence begets more violence? Initiating or reacting to violence only causes more tragic deaths and destroys too many people’s lives. Perpetuating this violence impacts negatively onAnguilla’s tourism market because tourists don’t what to visit a country where there is the threat of violence or other crimes – and that adversely affects the local economy.
Certainly, being incarcerated in Her Majesty’s Prison does not deter our youths from becoming involved with gangs or shooting other young people. Imprisoning them is supposed to rehabilitate them, so they are reformed and do not commit further crimes. Yet, it is not the solution that addresses the underlying symptoms our young men are facing in today’s world. Some inmates merely serve their prison sentences and are released returning to the community to repeat the vicious cycle all over again. A few individuals are actually rehabilitated and change from the kind of lifestyles that they lived in the past. However, the majority of prisoners seem to continue to be stuck in the same patterns of living their lives. Isn’t this true for all of us that we get stuck in our old ways? Changing our familiar habits and patterns is not easy for any of us to do. We have to work hard (diligently) to change ourselves.
As a Caribbean nation, an island community and individual citizens, we all need to open our eyes, ears,hearts and minds, start speaking the truth, and deal with this dis-ease or “environmental issue” as Stedroy named it in his tribute to his brother, Gustave. When we see someone doing something that we know is wrong, speak out about it! Don’t remain quiet with lips sealed in silence! Tell persons of authority who are able to address the situation or circumstance in a proper manner. We need to stop harbouring the criminals and tell the true facts of what occurred (what we know for certain and witnessed with our own eyes or heard first hand), so that the Police can conduct a thorough investigation of the crimes committed and obtain factual evidence, not hearsay regarding the individuals who may have been involved.
We may have concerns regarding information remaining confidential that isprovided to the Royal Anguilla Police Force Officers andthe Health Authority of Anguilla Staff. Unfortunately, that is because there are some employees who choose to breach the oaths of confidentiality they signed when they became law enforcement officers and joined the hospitalmedical team. However, fear of our confidence being broken – and names of informants being revealed or retaliated against – should never stop any of us from speaking up and telling the truth.
May be I just grew up in a different generation, or came from an upbringing where we were taught not to lie, to respect others, to speak the truth (facts not fiction or made up stories), to love one another, to maintain ethics and integrity, and to uphold high standards. What is becoming of our children, youth and young people of today? Many of our youngsters, from the age of birth up to 30 years or older, have yet to acquire the wisdom and knowledge of doing the right thing. They don’t know how to treat themselves or other peoplerespectfully and with dignity. We have countless individuals in our society, and worldwide, who don’t seem to value life—not their own lives nor the life of anyone else. Somepersons exhibit a lack of respect for their elders – and even their peers – and they allow their egos or arrogant attitudes to prevent them from apologising or asking forgiveness for their wrong doings.
What can we do to show our children, youth and young people the right way to live life? By being living examples, mentoring them and showing them through – our own actions and spoken or written words – how to act consciously and live according to universal laws. Talk with them, give them guidance, mentor them, get involved with their daily lives, know where they are and what they are doing, question them when you see them going astray, correct them when they do something wrong (but do the correction from a place of compassionate understanding with love and gentleness, not harshness unless a firm hand is absolutely necessary), allow them to face consequences when they make mistakes or mess up, and shelter them from harm whenever possible. Most importantly, we must get on our knees each and everyday and night and pray for the Lord’s divine guidance to uplift and hold them in His light, and for our community to be healed from this unnecessary violence so that no more young men’s lives are sacrificed or destroyed.
We must set our intentions and actions on creating a better world for all of us to live in. Otherwise, we will all perish together. If we are to become better human beings reaching our full potential, and we desire to build better societies in which we all can live safely, then the violence and other forms of negative behaviour have to be discouraged and not tolerated. May we all ask God to grant us the wisdom to do what is right in His sight and to have the courage to live our lives righteously and honourable.
Editor’s note: Kay M. Ferguson, the author of this article, is a professional writer who resides in North Side,Anguilla. She has a passion for writing and enjoys sharing her thoughts with others.If you would like toshare your comments and prayers, please send an email to kayferguson@ymail.com or telephone Kay on 264 476 8735 or264 297 8735.
