This tragedy which took place this Sunday past, has already caused the death of one young woman and injuries to two others. Under our system of government she is ultimately responsible for the safety of the girls in custody.
While we know that an inquiry is to be expected in such circumstances, we insist that too much time has already elapsed. If the information we have received is correct ﾖ namely that a bedroom was padlocked ﾖ some one should be charged with negligent homicide.
We are also absolutely incensed that this gross neglect might itself be symptomatic of a more general malaise, a business as usual approach to the health and safety of people supposedly in the protective custody of the state.
It is reported that two girls who escaped the fire are still on the run. An appeal has been made by the Minister of National Security and the President of The Bahamas Christian Council for these girls to return as they were put in the facility for their own protection. The facts now reveal that these girls were not properly cared for and are not well protected. The Minister told the Press, ﾓthat institution is one to protect them from harming themselves.ﾔ If the negligence which is now revealed at the Centre is the norm, the girls have a right to stay away.
At this juncture, while we also have no desire to prematurely point the blaming finger at anyone, we call on the Hon. Melanie Griffin to let the public know what she intends to do, to clear the air. The quicker she does so, the better for everyone concerned.
As we have previously suggested, now that the fire has taken place, and now that the authorities have, yet again, another occasion to review how these centres are run, the attentive public is waiting to see just what will be done.
We recommend a complete review of all protocols concerning ﾑdetentionﾴ of children. What the public needs to be assured of is that the State is acting fully within the four corners of the law, when it ﾑdetainsﾴ youth at risk.
The administration must not be so caught up in the status quo, that it will not allow new perspectives to be a part of the mix in the discussion. In addition to these issues, the public needs to have some clarification about the status of these ﾑso-calledﾴ detention centres. The time has come for the Bahamian people to adopt a more modern approach to dealing with children at risk. This new approach would call on the authorities to spend more time and money on seeing to it that parents are better equipped to care for their brood. This, in turn, would call for serious attention to be given to the myriad of offences committed against girls and women, which often leave their children in distress.
The basic point we make is that the so-called detention centres must be cleaned up, and their roles specified. If they are schools, they should be run by teachers. If they are prisons, they should be populated by convicts. If they are homes, they should be places where children and youth are nurtured and cared for. Ultimately, the country can only be properly served if things are done decently and in order. Right now, the public interest is not well served by detention centres, parading as schools.
Minister Griffin must ﾖ as a matter of the most urgent priority ﾖ call for a full inquiry, to determine who was responsible for Sundayﾴs tragedy.
Editorial, The Bahama Journal
