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"The ruin of a nation begins in the home of its people" so goes the saying of an old African proverb.

Indeed this holds true, as the family is the nucleus of the broader community and indeed the world.

What is being taught or not in the homes of Bermuda is the question.

What has caused this once peaceful and loving island to become one of turbulence and unrest.

Our children are fighting with one another without reason or rhyme - they have no need to fight, their only excuse being "you come from town" or "you come from country" How absurd and foolish ... the island is only 21 square miles! That this violence exists in the first place is so ironic, as I constantly witness young men on greeting each other - touch with their closed fist one another, clearly displaying a sign of love and peace.

Yet on the other hand, they are stabbing and injuring each other! What madness and confusion is this? Bermuda is too small for such madness. We need to have a zero tolerance for violence, foolishness and mayhem.

However, it is important to examine and perhaps lay blame to some extent on both our local and global environment.

Look all around us, there is war, and rumours of war resonating throughout the lands. All around us there is violence and unsettlement - with no peace in sight. Television is the biggest single culprit of promoting violence, yet we pay good money via cable bills and the like to invite this monster into our homes.

Then there is the matter of domestic violence, as much as we may not like to admit, is very prevalent in Bermuda.

October is domestic violence awareness month, and the aim of its organizers is to raise awareness of the ugliness of this crime that is of high concern around the world, destroying millions of lives and families daily.

In the United States, one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime and Bermuda's statistics are just as harrowing.

Do you not think the children will act this out - after all children are what they live. Undoubtedly, if the children are being fed a steady and unhealthy diet of fighting, bickering and unrest, they will fling it right back at you. Our children are a reflection of ourselves.

What has caused this coldness and blatant dis-respect for life or limb here in Bermuda?

I would say a number of things, but first and foremost has been the high and outrageous cost of living in Paradise which has caused our living hell. Parents instead of nurturing and teaching our children have been busy chasing a dollar - most times just to basically survive.

The economy and the cost of living in Bermuda is astronomical and raging out of control.

All able-bodied family members have to work; this includes the children, to make ends meet. Don't get me wrong, as I believe in working, I even believe in children having part time jobs to help offset some of their parents' expenses, but not to the point where it is essential and the children instead of studying are working, especially during school nights.

I was taught by my parents that I must hang my hat where I can reach it, but unfortunately in Bermuda, this is not the case. The merchants and others that are in charge, hang the nail so high, that it is impossible for one to hang their hat where they can reach it. Why is this so? Greed, dictatorship and injustice are the reasons why.

We (the family) need and must return to a basic and simpler way of life. Raising our families with love and nurturing; whist instilling a sense of values and worship to the Creator.

We must pay more attention to our children, nurture them, and educate them on the love of each other. We must rid ourselves of anything that promotes violence and disharmony.

We have to take our island back, our streets, and our families, our

children must feel safe at school, at football games and wherever they

may have to travel in Bermuda. It seems our students are more safe in New York than here at home!

We have to come out of this period of darkness and ugliness and come into God's light.

The Quran says those that prosper "They believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and vie with one another in doing good works: and these are among the righteous." al-Qur'an 3:114 - Ameen.[[In-content Ad]]

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