THE LEAD STORY in Saturday's STAR once again pointed to the terrors students have been facing in the nation's high schools.
According to the story, gunmen invaded the Ascot High School in Portmore, St. Catherine, in search of a student. The students were sent scurrying about and many cried in fear of what they had witnessed. The school administration refused to admit that the incident took place. However, police confirmed it.
One wonders why Jamaicans are sitting by and allowing gunmen to take over the country.
Safety in our schools is an issue that has been forced to the top of the nation's agenda. The present trouble in our schools is a reflection of the crime problem in our society.
The society must speak out on the issue as it is obviously growing to uncontrollable levels. There are persons who know who these gunmen are, and their refusal to talk about them has only given them more power.
When those who witness crimes sit on what they know, we give the gunmen power.
When the society ignores the people and labels it as an uptown or downtown problem, we neglect the real problem, which is that people with families, children with promise and a country with a bright future is losing everything because of a high crime rate.
We can no longer just sit by and allow gunmen to overrun our country or our schools. We must speak out, and as crime stop slogan goes, stop the guns before they stop us.
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