Churches and citizens who share deep concerns about the moral decline in Barbados will be coming together on Sunday to host an open forum on some of the burning issues affecting the country.
Family-Faith-Freedom, Barbados will stage the event from 4 p.m. at First Baptist Church on Constitution Road, St Michael.
Speaking with members of the media yesterday, Pastor of First Baptist Church and group member Paul Leacock said some of the key indicators of social collapse could be identified in the rising crime and indiscipline within the education system.
“We are seeing wanton murders that defy explanation, and when we are seeing our young men being cut down and murdered in the streets by other young men, that’s a major loss to our country at all levels. Not only are we reducing our population of productive men, but we are robbing families of fathers, of sons, brothers, and key members of that society and our nation as a whole,” Leacock said.
In the face of these social ills, the pastor added that Government had failed in its approach to addressing these matters, noting the proliferation of guns, while drug use had increased among the youth.
“We are concerned that the policies of Government have not borne fruit. And therefore the citizenry of this country continues to be exposed, not only to the murders, but to the reprisal of the families of victims, and others, who many times are taking the law into their own hands,” he said.
Toll on families
This cycle of retaliation and violence, Leacock said, exacted a heavy toll on the families of victims who were left to bear the emotional and financial burden of the loss of life.
“That is a serious problem that’s going to manifest in generationally, especially when you have young children who have witnessed their parents being killed.
“I can tell you here at this church, many times we have to teach children principles – who are themselves consumed with either anger or trauma – because their parent was gunned down sometimes in front of them,” he said.
Another concern he raised related to what he described as an “anti-church attitude”, noting that organisations such as Family-Faith-Freedom, Barbados were often unwelcome in discussions of the issues affecting the country.
Leacock said many of the problems could be traced to missteps in the education system, charging that the Ministry of [Educational Transformation] had ushered in a standard of indiscipline with changes to grooming policies and what he said was the reduced authority of teachers.
“We can go from the uniform to the hairstyles to the various restrictions that have been placed on teachers and principals, who are complaining that they have been reduced of their authority and power and yet they have to maintain the educational standards, which we clearly are seeing in severe decline.
“We are concerned that the ministry has not been a proper guardian of moral values that would maintain what we know from the past has helped the last generation to be upright students, citizens, achievers,” he added.
Adding to these sentiments, Pastor Carl Barker, of Shalem Evangelical Church, said this indiscipline was disturbingly shown in recent displays of aggression that was sometimes directed towards teachers.
He believed these maladaptive behaviours were symptoms of Barbados’ shift from Christ-like values and the loss of positive faith figures in the lives of children, especially young men.
“We have a lot of angry men around Barbados because they’re hearing about fathers, but they’ve never had a relationship with them. And all of this happens because the country has decided that we don’t want God anymore. We can fix everything from climate change to crime, but have we done it? That is the question,” he said.
The pastor hoped that the rally would address these and other matters, noting that the aim was not just to discuss but to find solutions to the country’s ills.
(JRN)
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