Our youth can be saved

THE EDITOR, Sir: I AM pleased to see, in Amanda Fraser’s column ‘When did our kids become ‘gangsters’?’ (Gleaner, May 27, 2015), someone raising the issue of rehabilitating the youth of our society.

I found it particularly interesting how Ms Fraser focused on the hope for the perpetrators of violent action rather than the usual solution-less admonition. It goes without saying that the victims of live in the hills. Nutraceuticals is a current buzzword. Who knows what possibilities for cures may be found in these plants?

Whether bauxite mining or clearing land to plant crops or cutting trees for yam sticks or lumber, it is important for us to use the land wisely and not abuse it.

In the 1990s when Alcan was in operation, it instituted a project where plants were removed from areas slated for excavation and relocated to a neighbouring orchid sanctuary. There were two such locations, one in Schwallenburgh, St Ann, and the other near Martin’s Hill in Manchester. Although the sanctuaries are no longer in operation, the relocated plants have continued to flourish in their new home.

While the discussion is carried on as to where the exact boundaries of the Cockpit Country can be drawn, our natural heritage is dwindling. We must strike the balance between development and the environment. ANCILE GLOUDON ancile.gloudon@gmail.com Gordon Town, St Andrew such a case as at The Queen’s School will need attention and care, but if we are to truly address the deep-rooted issues in the attackers, it will make for a better society.

I was also pleased to see a well-written article with well laid-out thoughts and a suitable conclusion. It often pains me to read articles that have either too little substance or too much opinion without reasonable justification. CHEREESE RICKETTS chereeselavonne@gmail.com worked in Jamaica, they were unrecognised and underpaid. Many lament the many years that they have worked, with little to show. Others boast of the opportunities that came to them for migration and how happy they are that they accepted. Now, most are proud homeowners with additional real estate.

Would one, therefore, say that our younger generation is not patriotic because as soon as they graduate, they tend to migrate? Are these older professionals more patriotic than the younger generation?

When a graduate has a student loan to repay and parents who are now expecting assistance, an aspiring young person cannot simply sit around with a degree, as our country does not have jobs for the vast number of college graduates.

Doesn’t our Government realise that there is a migration of young minds? Why can’t we develop good job opportunities here?

This Government seems to be well equipped with lots of Band-Aid for open-heart surgery. We do not have the right equipment for the job at hand.

Patriotic? What comes first? Starvation? Or job opportunity? I say the latter. JONESHIA BRYAN-THOMAS joneshia_bryan95@hotmail.com