“We have a son who is 18 years old and ready to marry. We can marry and take her to Suriname to live with us. She can go to Christian church and live with us while she matures to serve as a house wife. Our son will not touch her until she is 18. We will take good care of her.” said the Surinamese couple to the wide eyed and tired family of hopeless aunts, uncles. and father.
They are discussing the future of a 14 year old girl who does not listen to anyone. She smokes crack, have sex, and is a high school out since December 2010. What, you say? Of course, right here in quiet old #78 Village back yard. The first street of #78 Village Rampoor Road is infested with a group of 14-17 year olds who are all crack users and hang out like a bunch of little wanna be thugs. The little girl’s cousin is her pimp. He gets crack from a “friend” who in turn crawls into his bedroom window to have sex with the 14 year old girl, his cousin. Outrageous you say, sure, it gets better. There is a 17 year old girl in the gang who collects money from the boys to have sex with the younger girls. A little “madam” at the tender age of 17. Not your little old Guyana. Wake up open your eyes and ears, look and listen. It is happening right now. There is little or no parental support for anyone it seems.
Most of what I hear from some of the parents is, “A b a tired talking to dem pickne dis, dem hard ears, dem na listen to no body.” The feeling of despair, hopelessness, of helplessness, of a total break down of parental values and discipline all play a role in this dysfunctional society. Most parents of these kids don’t want to or are too tired to deal with the issues of this teenager pack. The parents rather hide their kids when the truancy officers come knocking because they feel the kids will continue to do the same things.They are also afraid of drug users. There is also the perception that another person’s child is not one’s business and they should just stay out. The notion of it takes a village to raise a child definitely does not apply here.
Most of the teenager pack’s parents are uneducated and work menial jobs to get by. They have no faith in the system nor do anything to get out of their current situation. I hear the words, “ we are poor people, what can we do” a lot. It is very hard to convince these people that there is a way to get help and there are organizations and people who are willing to extend a hand. A very casual inquiry at Skeldon High School lead to a whole world of individuals ready and willing to help. Teachers, consulars, an actual social worker (University of Guyana graduate) are all in place ready to help.
With limited resources and just the goodwill of helping a child to stay on a straight path these teachers and social workers try tirelessly to contain a problem that is fastly spinning out of control. The drug epidemic is quickly engulfing this once innocent society into a 15 year old monster. What will happen in a couple of years when these kids grow up a little? It will be intolerable to be on any street corner or walk on any streets. There is little or no help from parents who are too illiterate to bother about helping their kids get off drugs. As far as they are concerned the kids are bad and there is nothing to be done about it. This is the brick wall the social workers run into everyday. When social workers take money out or their own pockets to buy shoes for a kid who can not afford it, that is going beyond the call of duty. They is only so much a social worker can do. They cannot parent every child. That is the parents’ role. But this society has always been okay with someone else raising their child.
It has always been a common practice here for parents to give a child to their relative or close friend or some to complete strangers to parent. When my father passed I had many offers to “mine” (raise) me. My grandfather and grandmother was very vocal and stayed strong that I was not up for adoption, or raising or any such crazy thing. They made sure everyone knew that I had a home, their home. Had they allowed someone else to “mine” me who knows what I would have become. Not that I have not had my share of troubles, god knows I had, but I am still not so bad. Right?
After a three hour session with the social workers the little 14 year old was allowed back in the school with stipulations and check points. She has to check in 3 times a week with a social worker and every evening with another teacher at the teacher’s home to do homework. There is a support system in place at her home to assist with absenteeism. Everyone around this child were brought in and made absolutely clear what were the consequences if this little girl were to not to follow the guidelines laid out for her . If she is absent 1 day for no real reasons the social worker will be forced to report to the Ministry Of Education who will inform the local authority to commit her to a Correctional School for Girls. She is to stay away from her pimp and the young drug pusher and avoid her little pack at all cost.
The social worker made a list of things for little crack girl to have so she can have a smooth transition back into school. All items with the exception of 2 are accounted for. She starts school in the morning.
First off let me start off by saying your piece was really well written and brought about some good points however there are a few of which i disagree with. I, myself am a born Guyanese, lived in Corriverton, Queenston to be exact and visited a lot of relatives in Rampoor. I migrated to the U.S in 05 and went back to Guyana, Rampoor last summer (2010). As far as the drug fiasco with the kids are concerned i do as well believe that parents need to step up and take action instead of always talking but at the same time we must also keep in mind that no matter how bad a kid is or how much delinquent behavior they might be involved in parents will always love them and will always forgive them and you are right parents are afraid of the consequences involved if authorities were to be brought in because no parent wants to see their kid in jail or dead. Prostitution has always been a problem in Guyana as far as i can remember with places like Crimson Light and such. During my stay in Guyana i have not witnessed anything of which you speak of to that extent; some areas are generally worse than others just like the U.S not everywhere is going to be perfect/clean (i am not saying your information is false or misleading just speaking from my point of view). Also i think your placing too much emphasis on the age issue here. Bare in mind that in Guyana kids finish High School at age 16 maybe 15 for some and after that they are thrown into the work force or getting married. It seems bad to us in the U.S because we weren't conditioned to view society as such but in a country where 16 and 17 year olds are considered adults and are accepted into society as such, this is normal to them. Also, the Suriname issue 1st mentioned the whole "not touch her until age 18" is bs to me, because really no one over there cares if they are 18 or younger that's not an issue there they have no legal age limit set, same goes for the truancy officer thing no one in Guyana knows about truancy officers because for the most part they don't exist for middle and lower class households maybe for the rich but in a country where they can hardly provide textbooks to children and 90% of the people are middle to lower class i find that hard to believe that they have money to spend on truancy officers (however i will give you the benefit of the doubt that "truancy officer" was used as a metaphor for police or authorities or some other meaning because i am pretty sure no one other than parents or those few teachers care if your child goes to school or not). And yes i agree with you that Guyana has Social Workers and some teachers that take money out their pockets and give to kids and only have their best interest in mind, a few of my very close friends run youth camps/youth groups for children/teenagers so i know that they do exist just most people that need these resources don't know about them. Like I said it was a good article but i just felt that you wrote more from an American point of view than a Guyanese point of view esp with the age thing who are we to judge hundreds of years of culture that has been the general consensus of this country for so long.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, JT.
ReplyDeleteThis post was meant to present an issue from a person far removed from Guyana, 21 years to be exact, and challenge popular practices. I don't pretend to have all the answers neither am I looking down on cultural practices, I am just presenting what I saw observe and using unofficial sources to back my points.
Truancy officers I witnessed first hand. Even spoke with them as they "raided" the area. Sadly, the parents hide the kids. I am told by the "truancy officers' (badge and uniform and all) that it is a loosing battle they fight. If a parent hides the kids they are not authorized to go into their homes and look for them. However, they keep trying. At least the system is in place. Does it work efficiently? Not so sure, but at least if 1 kid gets put back on track then there is hope for others. This is a new concept so it will take time to become effective.
I must say that I was fortunate or unfortunate to be exposed to the prostitution issue since I know firsthand of a mother who works at Morocco upstairs to support her 3 kids and another person who works at Crimson Light because the "money is good" I will not pretend to defend and nor encourage the oldest profession in the world, I merely wish to point out the increased amount of places and prevalence of these so called "drinking establishments" which are really whore houses. Since I was approached and petitioned several times in different areas of Corriverton, I can say that the oldest profession is making a big impact in Corriverton. There are even short time rooms in several "bottom house bars" Way to go!
I am of a strong believe that age is but number. The argument can be made that mental development takes place in age appropriate steps and exposure to certain life situations. I am aware of age a Guyanese student finishes high school and their mental capacity. Speaking only from person experience I finished high school in Guyana also at the tender age of 15 and thought that I had life figured out. While at the time that seemed like the logical plan it was not until I came to states at age 17 that i saw a whole new world. I feel strongly that exposure and differing views develops an individual but finishing high school in Guyana should not be the bar to graduate into adulthood. Simply example, I am aware of a person (can't give name) who was had 7 subjects in GCE O'Levels and always believed that he was very "educated". He tried for two years to pass a GED course. In Guyana it is highly acceptable that passing several subjects at the GCE and CXC levels is the ultimate test of smartness. None of that really means anything here. Although, I have high regards for the CXC education system, there is also another world outside of it. I am not implying that an American education is better than a Caribbean education, I am merely saying that CXC is not the bar into adulthood.
I agree with you that there is no such thing as age appropriate behavior in regards to sex in Guyana. But it maybe be beneficial for developing countries to start following some age guidelines. Don't you think? I must say that over years, Guyana, has been trying to implement the age of consent law. There are several reports of people convicted of having sex with a minor. So the system is working but of course like everything else in every part of the world no system is perfect.
I hope not to offend but engage in a healthy discussion. Thank you once again and I look forword to your continued postings.