Turn on your inner light

One of my headlights.

Throughout the day, I saw many people from all walks of life, male, female, old, young, wearing all-black, walking the streets, driving in cars, sitting in eating places. Not everyone, but many. One of the things that moved me most was seeing towering Mack trucks and lorries driving slowly and respectfully with their lights on, even if they had things like F*&$ OFF and GET LOST emblazoned all over them. It said to me that even the seemingly 'toughest and baddest' can be moved ... but not everyone was ... Click here to read about one of yesterday's experiences.

On my way home from town around 1:30, I stopped in at Adam's Bagels. The eating area was a sea of mainly women, all dressed in black, eating, talking and laughing. It was a very stark image ... and I noticed that whereas black is usually perceived as being heavy or as a symbol of sadness, yesterday it appeared light and hopeful.

Even though word from the Gov't (re the Sean Luke crime) was not forthcoming and, as reported in the papers, no sympathies were extended from Gov't to grieving family, I did not get the sense that people were 'blaming' the Government for their inability to fight crime - as usually happens when something goes wrong on a national scale. From snippets I heard here and there, including a few comments left on this blog yesterday, people are realising that it all starts at home. We all, even 'the Government', started at home.

In this Express article, it is reported that one of the young suspects in the Sean Luke case had been caught last Friday by the mother of a two year old girl, taking off the little girl's underwear. Nothing was reported. Why? Was it not 'serious' enough to warrant a report? Was the mother afraid of (a) the police or (b) the boy? Did she feel that the police would have ignored her report? (After all they did ignore Sean Luke's mother until she turned to the US Embassy to report her missing son). 'Starting at home' does not only apply to the proper bringing up of children ... it applies to those who must report what is witnessed, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Sometimes witnesses are afraid to report abuse. Sometimes the relevant authorities don't know how to deal with such reports - if they deal with them at all. Some victims do not know where to turn. Here is a place to start (Childline, Trinidad). Child Line International lists addresses for child help globally.

After the 'solidarity' of yesterday, many might be asking - what's next? Did wearing black and driving with lights on give a glimmer of hope which the nation will struggle to hold onto in the days that follow? Did it send home the message that swift mobilisation of masses is possible? Did it wake more people up to the fact that in order to truly get the ball of positive transformation rolling, we must wait on no-one but ourselves?

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Elspeth