Who´s Responsable?...

By Kerwin De Matas

After passing a very good weekend, how sad it was when I read the Trinidad Express from last week and saw an article that I found really disturbing. It was about a kid that was just out of control... Now I would be brief with his story, since I want to share my opinion with cases like these. This kid of seventeen years of age, was in his mothers' opinion; simply out of control, and she just could not cope with him anymore.

Trinidad Youth Training Center

He always wanted to pass all his time on the streets with friends, that were described as dangerous, getting himself in trouble all the time, etc. Finally when she could not manage him anymore, she voluntarily took him to the family courts so that they could place him in an institution called Y.T.C or the Youth Training Center.

An Inmate Of Y.T.C

Now this is a facility for kids that committed crimes, that's too much to send them to one of the other minor training facilities, but within the age range of a minor so that they would not be sent off to an adult prison facility. Anyway, he was sent their a couple of times before, until the very last, his mother took him back to the family courts to be sent back to Y.T.C again.

Kids And Crime

He begged her to forgive him, made so much promises to her, but she didn't buy them. He was in a holding cell when he asked her before she left, " mummy, are you leaving now? " When she answered yes he said that he would follow her too. She never understood what he meant. When she was leaving the courts a while later, she was called back and told that her son, hung himself with his shoe lacings.This mother just broke down, it was like she never understood what went wrong with her son. Her explanation for her actions, was that she thought that her son would be safer inside the institution, instead of being on the streets he loved.


The Famous American Solution.....

Now during that entire article, a father was never mentioned, apparently this lady was alone with her problems. Kids that fall into brackets like these, are almost always from broken homes. No one to really guide them to positive activities, to help build their self esteem. Now I know of two precise cases where persons from two dysfunctional homes, had their problems, did stupid stuff, never did drugs and managed to carry on with their lives as best as they could. Where I am going to is the following.

This Kid Is On His Own!

I think that kids should carry about themselves with a certain amount of responsibility also, to know of their actions and to try correcting them, unfortunately some kids never know when to stop! Coming back to the lady I was speaking about, surprisingly enough, a large part of the population sympathized with her on trying to help her kid as best as she knew how, what do you think?