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A little while back, what seems like yesterday, my friends and extended family lost someone very dear to us. She was only 17, a shy girl, never looked for no man nor would she even speak to a stranger beyond what her manners had taught her, and even then a mouse would chirp louder. Focused on school with a promise for the future. She was abducted along with a shop owner when returning a DVD to said shop owner, whom was the target of a revenge attack.
What this young woman, and the shop owner went through, I can not begin to describe. While the case was made public, the details of their tortuous ordeal were thankfully left out. Some justice has been served in the case. What was all the more painful was that the young lady was seen by a few people as the gang moved the women around, but while people thought it was odd that she was in such company, and one of her classmates even spoke to her a few words, nobody knew she was reported missing.
And so this leads me to post this article from the gleaner here- not to agree or disagree with it's opinions or statements, but so that maybe the network of people concerned can grow, and other Shalees will be found alive, and not thrown away into a ditch from which their family and friends will never escape from either, or sold off to someone to abuse.
<span style="font-weight: bold">
Y'all don't care! - Response to Ananda Alert heartbreaking - Critic: Lacklustre campaign to blame</span>
Published: Monday | November 16, 2009
Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
A portrait of slain abductee Ananda Dean, the face of Jamaica's missing-child alert networks.
Jamaicans have given a lukewarm response to an urgent call to play a critical role in the success of the Ananda Alert, a nationwide child-abduction alert network named after 11-year-old Ananda Dean, who was kidnapped and murdered in 2008.
The multi-agency alert system was launched in May this year and is designed to alert the nation whenever a child is reported missing.
Six months after the launch of the government-led thrust, aimed a recruiting an army of concerned citizens to work along with the State in ensuring the safe and speedy return of abducted children, official statistics revealed that of the more than two million cellphone subscribers in a country of approximately 2.7 million people, only 2,255 had signed up to help locate the nation's children when they are reported missing.
Last week, reports surfaced that there was a significant increase in the number of missing children. Up to September this year, 1,206 children had been reported missing. Of that figure, 676 have returned home, while three have died. The heartbreaking numbers for the nine-month period far outstrip the 960 children reported missing during 2008.
As a result of the increase, Betty Ann Blaine, convener of advocacy group Hear the Children's Cry, called for the Government to launch an active missing-children's unit in the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Wayne Robertson, senior director of strategic policy, planning and reform at the Department of Local Government in the Office of the Prime Minister, bemoaned the "very small" number of people who have signed up thus far.
Robertson believes the poor response is indicative of a much more serious underlying societal problem.
"We are not as caring as we once were as a society. We need to go back to those days when people were more caring about our children," he said.
However, Robertson remains hopeful.
"It's still early days, but we would like to see people signing up en masse," he said.
An expert source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blamed the lacklustre response on a lack of marketing. The source believes the public would respond if the visibility of the alert numbers was increased.
Robertson also pointed out that several media houses were unwilling to advertise the numbers without a fee. To date, only one media house has done it for free.
Robertson told The Gleaner that his team would embark on a public-education drive geared towards increasing awareness about abductions. The message the government department wants to send is clear: It could be your child or a child affiliated with your family.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Despite a rise in the number of abductions, Robertson revealed that since the launch of Ananda Alert, there had been an increase in the recovery rate. And, he is persuaded that, if more Jamaicans subscribed to receive the text-message alerts, there would be a further increase in the recovery rate.
[email protected]
How do I subscribe?
Customers subscribe by texting in the keyword 'HELP' to 444-2432. Thereafter, they will start receiving alerts on missing children and tips on how we can protect our children.
After subscribing, customers will automatically receive ALL alerts sent from the service.
</span>
What if I want to unsubscribe from the service?
Simply text 'OUT' to 444-2432 or call customer care at 100 to request to be removed from the service.
What this young woman, and the shop owner went through, I can not begin to describe. While the case was made public, the details of their tortuous ordeal were thankfully left out. Some justice has been served in the case. What was all the more painful was that the young lady was seen by a few people as the gang moved the women around, but while people thought it was odd that she was in such company, and one of her classmates even spoke to her a few words, nobody knew she was reported missing.
And so this leads me to post this article from the gleaner here- not to agree or disagree with it's opinions or statements, but so that maybe the network of people concerned can grow, and other Shalees will be found alive, and not thrown away into a ditch from which their family and friends will never escape from either, or sold off to someone to abuse.
<span style="font-weight: bold">
Y'all don't care! - Response to Ananda Alert heartbreaking - Critic: Lacklustre campaign to blame</span>
Published: Monday | November 16, 2009
Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
A portrait of slain abductee Ananda Dean, the face of Jamaica's missing-child alert networks.
Jamaicans have given a lukewarm response to an urgent call to play a critical role in the success of the Ananda Alert, a nationwide child-abduction alert network named after 11-year-old Ananda Dean, who was kidnapped and murdered in 2008.
The multi-agency alert system was launched in May this year and is designed to alert the nation whenever a child is reported missing.
Six months after the launch of the government-led thrust, aimed a recruiting an army of concerned citizens to work along with the State in ensuring the safe and speedy return of abducted children, official statistics revealed that of the more than two million cellphone subscribers in a country of approximately 2.7 million people, only 2,255 had signed up to help locate the nation's children when they are reported missing.
Last week, reports surfaced that there was a significant increase in the number of missing children. Up to September this year, 1,206 children had been reported missing. Of that figure, 676 have returned home, while three have died. The heartbreaking numbers for the nine-month period far outstrip the 960 children reported missing during 2008.
As a result of the increase, Betty Ann Blaine, convener of advocacy group Hear the Children's Cry, called for the Government to launch an active missing-children's unit in the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Wayne Robertson, senior director of strategic policy, planning and reform at the Department of Local Government in the Office of the Prime Minister, bemoaned the "very small" number of people who have signed up thus far.
Robertson believes the poor response is indicative of a much more serious underlying societal problem.
"We are not as caring as we once were as a society. We need to go back to those days when people were more caring about our children," he said.
However, Robertson remains hopeful.
"It's still early days, but we would like to see people signing up en masse," he said.
An expert source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blamed the lacklustre response on a lack of marketing. The source believes the public would respond if the visibility of the alert numbers was increased.
Robertson also pointed out that several media houses were unwilling to advertise the numbers without a fee. To date, only one media house has done it for free.
Robertson told The Gleaner that his team would embark on a public-education drive geared towards increasing awareness about abductions. The message the government department wants to send is clear: It could be your child or a child affiliated with your family.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Despite a rise in the number of abductions, Robertson revealed that since the launch of Ananda Alert, there had been an increase in the recovery rate. And, he is persuaded that, if more Jamaicans subscribed to receive the text-message alerts, there would be a further increase in the recovery rate.
[email protected]
How do I subscribe?
Customers subscribe by texting in the keyword 'HELP' to 444-2432. Thereafter, they will start receiving alerts on missing children and tips on how we can protect our children.
After subscribing, customers will automatically receive ALL alerts sent from the service.
</span>
What if I want to unsubscribe from the service?
Simply text 'OUT' to 444-2432 or call customer care at 100 to request to be removed from the service.
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