To the editor:
Children and youth are as concerned about safety as everyone else. The recent tragic incident at Silver City where a high school student was killed raises concern as to why young people are carrying weapons. There are regular news reports of youths killing each other in homes, schools, neighbourhoods and streets. Whether guns or common utensils such as knives are used, we need to get to the root causes and tackle the problems to stop the carnage.
It is not a safe community when kids are walking around armed. Surveys by the Regional Multicultural Youth Council on safety reveal that bullying, taunting, mocking, teasing, threats, fights, robberies, extortions, alcohol and drug abuse and gangs are growing concerns. We have a justice system dealing with young offenders involved in criminal activities, and rehabilitation programs to help them after the fact. We must do more to prevent kids from harming themselves and hurting each other with devastating consequences on the individuals involved, families concerned, and the community at large.
Our suggestions include opening lines of communication at home, in schools, community centres and so forth to discuss violence, bullying and all forms of youth-to-youth aggression. Children should be encouraged to talk things out, speak freely about their fears and anxieties, and say why they are not going to someone--parents, teachers, the police or significant others for advice, comfort, or to seek protection.
We can initiate dialogue on the carrying of knives by following the example of Police Services using incentives to collect guns. The city, police, schools, children’s agencies and the media could launch a similar campaign for youths arming themselves to give up their weapons in return for cash rewards or gift certificates.
The publicity generated by such a campaign can create an ideal opportunity to educate the youth on the risks of violence, share ideas on what to do and where to go when threatened, and alternatives to resolve conflict such as peer mediation or restorative practices. This could also create a chance to provide information to enable them to make wise choices and take responsibility for their actions. To complement the exercise, it is important to realize that those responding to the call and handing in their weapons are vulnerable during the process, and will need assurances of protection and support.
We have to do things differently and change course to get the results we want to see. Our leaders and role models are failing when kids are taking safety matters into their own hands by arming themselves.
Children and youth should be engaged as part of the solution to the problems they are facing. They need safe places to hang-out and get guidance to make rational decisions, and empowerment to find peaceful solutions to conflict. Otherwise, some of our neighbourhoods could breed gang warfare, and our schools, theatres, shopping centres and other public facilities may end up with surveillance cameras, metal detectors and costly security guards as has become common place at airports and court buildings. In our opinion, this is not the way an advanced, civilized and peace-loving society such as ours should be headed.
Jeevan Chahal, Samantha Smith and Shane Wong,
Regional Multicultural Youth Council
