Do something about the sad state of affairs

Dear Editor,

At 10:30 am Sunday, January 31, 2021, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, screams, screams, then again pow, pow, pow, then screams, then worshippers call out for, “Lord, God, woah.”

In the aftermath she lay in a pool of blood. She is rushed to hospital. Then the mind fought not to accept that Andrea Lowe-garwood was dead.

The Trelawny Neighbourhood Watch family condemns the killing of Lowe-garwood and sends condolence to her family, friends, and co-workers.

The second murder in the parish of Trelawny in 2021, while a child, a woman, and a man were injured all as a result of poor conflict resolution.

A new approach to fighting crime must be contemplated; conflict resolution must be included in the social intervention component. Citizens need to take a stand and partner with the police in stemming criminality in all its forms. The police also need to honestly open the door for this partnership at the community and parish levels.

Listening to people trying to justify the murder of Lowegarwood shows the lack of integrity and moral compass that guides us as a people. Wrong should never be justified. Murder is never right. The perpetrators must be brought to justice and the full length of the law be applied to send a clear and certain message to criminals that Jamaica is serious about stamping out the scourge of criminality from its pages.

The past is set in stone. I call upon the family of Lowe-garwood

to take a page from her living and grieve gracefully, I call upon those who ‘know’ to tell what they know to the police. I call upon those with their stories that they think justify the killing of a sister to take a mirror and look into it until they can see their souls, then look again and weep for the wretchedness that lies within their bosom. I call on each of us to apply the principle of love to our life: Love God, love self, then love thy brother as thy self.

We can remove the stain of blood from our floors, but we cannot remove it from our history, we cannot remove the space created in our lives by the death of a loved one. We must stop the shedding of blood to stop creating the stain and pain in our lives.

The Trelawny Neighbourhood Watch is calling upon the Government, the police to create a space for us at the table. We are waiting to partner with you as we stem criminality in the parish. We will plan and implement conflict resolution, domestic violence reduction, and poverty reduction programmes with you and other partners. Let safety and security becomes our priority.

Asha Mwendo

President

Trelawny Neighbourhood Watch 8768702284/blessedcl@live.com