Dear Editor,
The recent drowning of 50-year-old Gavin Moses and his 13-year-old niece Yasha Prince, who died as a result of drowning while swimming at the Rockstone Fish Festival at approximately 16:30hrs on Sunday, October 29, was a real tragedy that could have been avoided.
The media reported that Moses along with other relatives hired a private boat to transport them to the Golden Beach. It was during this time that the teenager and two cousins experienced difficulty in navigating through the deep waters.
It’s unfortunate that this teen’s uncle hired a private boat to take them to the Golden Beach for swimming, where they died. This teen parents, I will assume, went ahead of them, or stayed behind.
This uncle who died was very ignorant of the depths of the water, and he himself was not a proper swimmer, so why did he put these kids to swim in an unknown river or creek of tremendous depth? It’s very sad to learn of all these untimely deaths of very young people in our country by accidents and suicides and drowning.
I am calling on parents to avoid sending their children out on picnics with uncles, aunts, or family friends, unless they are present there.
Then I see lots of accidents by speeding and drunk driving; parents buy vehicles for their children to kill them before their time.
I also believe all these resorts, and even bathing pools, should be well equipped with life guards on ground and with boats patrolling the waters with surveillance cameras linked to an office where life guards can see a danger, or we will have more drowning of this nature.
I went to a few of these places, and discovered the bottoms of these creeks have sand that can wear away into constant depths, or trap your feet like a ‘soak sand’ below. It’s very dangerous for children and adults to swim there. It gets scary when the water level rises.
I am calling on parents to be more protective of their children.
I see little kids ride big bicycles to go buy goods at shops, and many of them die by accident.
There are too many irresponsible parents in our nation today; they care less about their children. Today’s youths are tomorrow’s leaders, so we must protect them from dangers. Our teachers, too, and church leaders must be actively involved in protecting our children from dangers such as drinking, smoking, drugs, suicide, depression and low self-esteem.
Young people like adventure; many would not even know how dangerous a simple lake or creek can be. Even climbing trees or biking can be dangerous. Youths are the backbone of this nation. They can change the future of the society with their wellbeing and academic achievements. I am calling on all parents, guardians and those responsible to protect our youths. Gandhi said, “We must become the change we want to see.’’
Let’s work together to transform the lives of our youths by watching over them daily, and by inculcating in them moral and spiritual values to be better citizens of our nation.
Yours truly,
Rev. Gideon Cecil
