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'Murders are symptoms of a deeper problem' - John I. Cline
The most recent heinous crime was a double murder that took place on Saturday, February 10, 2018 where two young men were shot in the area of the Althea Scatliffe Primary School (ASPS).
In an exclusive interview with Bishop Cline, he expressed the young men of society are seeking answers elsewhere because they cannot find it from the community, government, churches and even the in the home.
“What we are seeing is, we are reaping a harvest of a generation lost. These young men are crying out for help and they are looking to gangs, they are looking to drugs. They are looking to others for answers that we as a community, whether it be church, home or government did not give to them. Therefore, we find ourselves now witnessing a generation that has been lost," said the bishop.
“Value system has been broken down”
He further stated that the human resources and the family system needs rebuilding, adding that emphasis has been placed elsewhere and the Virgin Islands “value system has been broken down”.
“Our value system has been broken down in the BVI. The church as remained somewhat quiet within the four walls even though some of us have tried to reach out. We have put a lot of focus on our prosperity, our infrastructure, rebuilding, our economy but we need to put our focus back on how do we rebuild our human resource. The family structure needs to be rebuilt, it’s the substratum of any community. So, together as parents, schools, churches, government, the community at large need to come together and we can’t start when they are 16, 17, 18, 20, we have to start when they are young and begin to reinstall the values that makes a difference when they grow up, the kind of value that most of us have grown up with, which is discipline, honesty, integrity, respect, those kinds of things and if we do that we will be able to save the next generation to come after us,” Bishop Cline said.
“A deeper problem”
Meanwhile, Mr Cline pointed out that the murders are "symptoms of a deeper issue which needs to be fixed, while adding that the whole territory must do something.
Pastor Cline said, "The murders are just a symptom of a deeper problem and we have to fix the problem, otherwise we will reap another harvest of lost generations. I believe that we as a Christian council, community of churches must do more. We must work with government. We must work with families in our individual churches to try to strengthen the moral fibre of our community."
"We need a peace broker"
Bishop John Cline suggested the need for what he termed a "peace broker", someone who can sit and talk to these misguided young men and show them an alternative route.
"We need a peace broker, someone who can sit down with some of these gangs. Some of these young men who are on the edge, who are at risk, who are still searching because they are still young and they still have a chance to sit down with them and say listen this kind of thing will only end in death or imprisonment and give them an alternative. If it’s not their destiny, they don’t know their destiny, help them to find one that they can be proud of," explained the Bishop.
He continued, "A lot of them have children. What kind of father do you want to be? How do you want your children to grow up? Help them to see better some of the things that they can do to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of their family, children, and community at large. We have some work to do and I don’t think we can just talk about it. I think we have to get busy doing it."
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22 Responses to “'Murders are symptoms of a deeper problem' - John I. Cline”
Amen to that!
as a community we all need to get off our backsides (I know, we in BVI>>>) and get a plan and do something with it.
Buddies in community?
of course schools are a huge problem that need a lot of strategic investment
bahn here approach to labour force discourages youth from having to try and to get an education or even think about the many creative things they can be inspired by - some could be lawyers, accountant and boaties but why not have properly qualified tradespeople? why not have innovative IT people from here (I know, internet too bad and too expensive)? sportsmen, craftmen, artists. being promised a job in govt or because bahn here won't help inspire kids to reach their potential.
police patrols - of course we have all asked where they all are (hiding or eating seems to be the conclusion)
enforcing the laws we already have - if people cant get away with everything why not push it and push it into more serious crime.
We do not discipline them. They get into all sorts of things and then it is the job of the government, the fake preaches, fake leaders and unqualified teachers. I hope it is not a parent making that comment cause this is sympotic of the problem with the children. They have eaten sour grapes and their teeth is on edge. The bible do not lie. Parents need to do their jobs. It is your responsibility. The fathers carry full blame for being absent. Put the problems where it belongs. Clean up you act fathers and mothers. Model proper behaviour for your children. If you need help seek it out Do not wait for it to get out of control. Start when they are young. This is not the job of the government!