The Convention on the Rights of the Child (friendly version) states at number 19 heading among other others of equal importance that:
Protection from Violence – Governments must protect children from violence, abuse and being neglected by anyone who looks after them.
UN Convention on the rights of the child
In recent days Barbadians have been expressing outrage in response to the report of a teenager at the Government Industrial School (GIS) recorded naked in solitary confinement. The blogmaster is acutely aware the danger of blogging about matters involving children given the inclination by some in Internet fora to be irresponsible.
Troubling to the blogmaster is the breach of the rights of the teenager occurred while under the care of government. It is not lost on the blogmaster that in other jurisdictions persons charged with the responsibility of managing the GIS would have tendered resignations forthwith.
There is no need for the blogmaster to be prolix sharing thoughts on the heinous act that has occurred at the GIS. It should never have happened. Successive governments by mediocre decision-making are responsible. Adults whether employed at the GIS or parents are responsible. The country is responsible for protecting our children. Faith Marshall-Harris is correct when she reminds us that adults have a moral and LEGAL duty to report incidents of child abuse to the authorities- even if the abuse occurred at a government institution responsible for enforcing the very rights of children.
The blogmaster congratulates children advocates who champion the rights of children every day, every week and all the time. Blogs have been posted over the years (not enough) to expose challenges children face in the country. The number of comments these types of blogs garner is always an indication of the level of public interest in these types of matters. Then there is a predictable reaction when the matter currently provoking rage occurs. We are reactive to the inevitable.
The following related links were posted on Barbados Underground in 2017 to support a similar matter.
We do not place enough importance on little problems until there is a crisis situation.
The blogmaster refuses to consider the problems were not being highlighted to the management of the GIS and at other similar institutions over time.
The blogmaster refuses to consider the problems were not being highlighted to the Board of the GIS and at other similar institutions over time.
The blogmaster refuses to consider that the problems were not being highlighted to the minister responsibly for the GIS and at other similar institutions over time.
The blogmaster refuses to consider that the problems were not being highlighted to the general population by current and former employees of the GIS and other over time.
When we make the logical conclusion what does it translate to?
Feeding children biscuits and butter and tea as punishment is wicked. Even if the 1890 law said that the staff was permitted to do so, how idiotic are the authorities that they would obey foolish laws?
The government is paying $30,000 BDS per year to keep a child in care, and good nutritious food cannot be provided with that money? I know that I can feed any child good, tasty, nutritious meals for less than 10% of that money. I would bet anything that the staff also eat on site, and I would bet anything that they get good food, and very likely TOO MUCH of it. Barbados has or had a vibrant tourist industry and good cooks in Barbados are a dime a dozen. GIS has no good cooks on staff? Please note that when the Covid positive tourists and others in “care” complained about the food in the isolation facilities, a CHEF was hired. No foolish talk about “we can’t do neffen ’bout it” because some foolish 1890 law prescribes biscuits and water or tea? I would bet anything that when our Parliament meets they are provided with good, tasty, nutritious food [even though ALL of them earn enough money to bring their own food from home] and very likely too much of it. No talk about 1890 laws then.
My lovely parents, even though they did not go to school past 11 and 13 years NEVER EVER withheld food from a child even though every one of us behaved badly at some point in our childhood. They taught us never to withhold food from our children. So “yes” even if one of my children should commit murder I would NEVER withhold nutritious food. So if my parents who did not go too far in school understood that you do not withhold food as punishment, is something wrong with our well educated officials that they do not understand this?
P.S. if we provide tax funded meals to our Parliamentarians we need to stop. Let them bring a sandwich a banana and a flask of tea to work just like the parents of these poor children have to do. Or better yet let us deduct from their Parliamentary salaries the commercial cost of every meal provided.
All i can say is, US is trying, although it’s a tall order because of population size and the living demons….who believe that’s the only way they can survive by projecting a delusion of supremacy….it’s much easier to rid tiny Barbados of the racism, etc….but will the black faces want to…seeing as they preserved SLAVE LAWS FROM THE 1890S TO PRACTICE ON BLACK CHILDREN in the centuries leading up to 2021 and they claim to be FIRST WORLD…yeah,….a first world slave society using turd world methods….
https://www.nationnews.com/2021/03/22/biden-harris-denounce-racism/
“Washington – President Joe Biden took aim on Sunday at the “ugly poisons” of “systemic racism and white supremacy” that he said had long plagued the United States, and vowed to change the laws that enabled continued discrimination.
In blunt language, the Democratic president said the country faced problems with racism, xenophobia….”
Perhaps,we are still applying laws that were in existence even prior to 1890.
Instead of making our own laws, our laws are making us into a people that we should not be. Taking our sons and daughter and treating them as if they are children of escape slaves. It was not a good law back then and it is an even worse one now.
How can we consider ourselves as free, when we use the same laws that were meant to dehumanize and oppress those brought from Africa as slaves. The say that ignorance of the law excuses no one, but here we are an entire nation that is completely ignorant of our own laws. The mental shackles are still present.
1100 people spouting law and none of them know what the hell they are talking about.
Many of the Slave Laws and Slave Master laws are from the 1700s…
told yall, most of the lawyers are jokers….most will give you 5 or 10 interpretations for the same law…..you see a layman like Caswell can interpret the laws better than those in the parliament with their LLB practicing certificates…..but none can remove them from the statute books, told yall the parliament negros ARE THE REAL PROBLEM and DANGER for the Black population on the island…that comment is not to be taken lightly…
keeping Slave laws to use against Black people makes the frauds feel ALL POWERFUL like they got pedigree….that they are always talking about when FOOLING THE ELECTORATE.
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-0/p206x206/154765722_856184051624114_3010331708413799968_n.png?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=58c789&_nc_ohc=9y8UKjheofEAX-ss_wl&_nc_ad=z-m&_nc_cid=0&_nc_ht=scontent.xx&_nc_tp=30&oh=700a986e14d6bde993c998c0a09e0175&oe=607E7E43
Good afternoon , people of this island, a plantation disguised and fabricated as a utopia perpetuated by the chosen (dehumanizing) story of who we are and the normalization of injustice to the point where anything that challenges that narrative is shunned or shot down.
Such as this incident seen before us. I have seen so much misery in the research of the country I reside in and the more I looked into, the more disgusted , horrified and shocked I became to the point where after an incident that revealed the truth about this island, I I have become numb to everything that occurs here. It shattered the myriad of the lies perpetuated about how this country is a paradise…. A paradise for certain people however it is not for the people that look like me.
This incident shocked me to the core because it showed me that Afro Barbadians NEED to do something to secure their rights and protect the youth because they are the future of this society. There is an attack of the youth from these colonial masters with the intention of traumatizing and trauma bonding them to an archaic system (that should not even exist) to the point where they can fall back into the
relem of being asleep as well as not being able to fight against the parasitic system due to being so traumatized to the point where some of them turn to self destructive behavior to cope. This is due to the fact that this system is not meant to help them for anything related to their issues. (especially in the field of mental health because the consensus is reactive and never dealing with the root issue which is trauma that this plantation systen feeds off of however that is a discussion for another day).
The only way is to fight in the spiritual and later the physical because enough is enough. This should not slide at ALL because some fancy people in suits and dresses decide to cover this up. This should remain in our hearts and ACTION should be taken by the people immediately, no matter if those that are in power decide to have another distraction to deflect from the seriousness of the situation. These people are playing with us. How long is this abuse of power occour before they cross a line which should not be crossed? Actions always speak louder than words and always reveal a persons true character.
@ WURA-War-on-UMarch 22, 2021 4:41 PM
And the thing is those same negroes had the golden opportunity to get on the right side of the bandwagon of Justice to remove those old slave-like laws by way of the total decriminalization of the innocent marijuana plant.
How can a plant which their so-called god grew in the garden of Eden be considered Satan but not when he is dressed up in a doctor’s overalls with a prescription pad in hand?
Maybe it was not a fruit after all but a big ‘spliff’ which Satan gave to Eve to make her ‘high’ in order to sin so that her third eye will open to receive enlightenment Rasta style.
Miller…they are hellbent on keeping the African population in bondage to benefit themselves and others ONLY……the self-hate is real…..the lack of care for the Black population is real, they only see themselves as far removed from Blackness…..special and above taking care of the population WHO PAY THEM..
“How long is this abuse of power occour before they cross a line which should not be crossed? ”
they ALREADY CROSSED THAT LINE….the latest one is HIDING INFORMATION from the Black population about their AFRICAN RIGHTS…..ya don’t get more EVIL OR ABUSIVE THAN THAT…except for using 1890s Slave laws to torture Black children.
“And the thing is those same negroes had the golden opportunity to get on the right side of the bandwagon of Justice to remove those old slave-like laws by way of the total decriminalization of the innocent marijuana plant.”
Mia cannot say she wasn’t warned over and over but she saw it as an attack because she had her agenda and was not to be diverted away from that….she will see just how wrong that approach was….ya cannot put toothpaste back in its tube..
Rambling thoughts
Without social media where would we be?
Would we know that we are living in a sealed time capsule?
Would we know that we follows to laws that were meant to dehumanize and oppress us?
Would we know that we are led by ‘honorary’ minorities? Black skinned like we are, but
with minds that devoted to keeping us down?
When does our smartest and brightest start to think of oppressing us? Secondary school? University?
When does this corruption begins?
Who teaches it?
When does this hate and self loathing begins?
What corrupts our leaders? Money? Women?
This wickedness is deliberate and calculated, Where do the monsters live.
Are our leaders giants or gi-runts?
@TheOGazerts March 22, 2021 7:17 PM “When does our smartest and brightest start to think of oppressing us? Secondary school? University? When does this corruption begins? Who teaches it? When does this hate and self loathing begins? What corrupts our leaders? Money? Women?” A story my father told me. At the start of the 1937 rebellion, a man who looked like us but who had manged to acquire a little plantation, less than 100 acres, ran to the nearest plantation house and “warned” the massa there that “the n!gg@rs are coming to get us” His son a contemporary of my father rose to occupy the highest office in the land.
We learn contempt for others from our parents.
Or our parents can teach us compassion.
And we must teach our children compassion, and we must teach them that divine commandment “love one another.”
I see that in Hal’s absence alongside that of his colleague sometimes known as Mr Wiltshire, BU have discovered a new blogger: Cosmo.X. Welcome to the dysfunctional rum shop.
Here’s a story from today’s Guardian newspaper:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/24/exclusion-rates-black-caribbean-pupils-england
Time for Black/African people to establish their own schools and teach African history and culture, anything else and Black children will be criminalized, tortured and murdered, while miseducated and indoctrinated…
see what Barbados does to its children, even those savages, your children must be kept away from….African children are at risk..