Students of St. George's Girls Primary and Infant School lend their support to a demonstration organised by children's advocacy group Hear the Children's Cry outside the school and near Gordon House along Duke Street, Kingston, yesterday. - ANDREW SMITH/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
SEVERAL STUDENTS were among a group which protested in the vicinity of Parliament yesterday as a mark of objection to the recent wave of violence against children.
The demonstration took place as parliamentarians gathered to examine the First Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure during a sitting of the Standing Finance Committee.
The action was organised by Betty-Ann Blaine, convenor of lobby group Hear The Children's Cry.
Ms. Blaine said the protest was organised to highlight the increasing number of children being murdered.
"We are saying to the 60 people who we put in Parliament to represent us, that we will not stop until you give us a plan of how you plan to protect us and protect our children," she said. "And we will keep up the pressure until you tell us how you're gonna do it."
Meanwhile, Tamian Beckford, vice-president for the National Secondary Schools Council, who was involved in the protest, made several proposals to protect the nation's children from criminal elements.
Among her recommendations was for self-defence classes to be taught in schools.
She said the proposals were to be submitted to the Government by next week.
'SEND A MESSAGE'
During the sitting of Parliament later in the day, Prime Minister-designate Portia Simpson Miller called on all Parliamentarians to send a message to those who felt they should prey on innocent children.
"One would never know, the children murdered in St. Thomas, the Mona High School student ... the others ... could have become a doctor or could be the scientist that could
discover the cure for HIV/AIDS," she told the House while commenting on the demonstration.
