Children’s Advocate Questions Vybz Kartel’s Hero Status Among Jamaica’s Youth
One of Jamaica’s leading children’s advocate and experts on human trafficking for the island has called on Jamaicans to remove Vybz Kartel from the hero status that he holds for disenfranchised youth.
Diahann Gordon Harrison, made the comments at the Caribbean Conference of Seventh-day Christians at the Knutsford Court Hotel on Sunday. The event was named: ‘Save Our Boys, Save Our Nation’. Watch a clip of her comments below.
Jamaican Children’s Advocate calls on the island to remove Vybz Kartel from the hero status that he holds for disenfranchised youth. Read more: https://t.co/qegtCpBYgF #vybzkartel #Jamaica pic.twitter.com/ci3oPY2bca
— DancehallMag (@dancehallmag) January 27, 2020
Harrison referenced a study conducted by the Office of the Children’s Advocate which revealed that Vybz Kartel was the absolute favorite dancehall artiste among boys (and girls) who were charged or accused of committing a criminal offense.
Kartel, (Adidja Palmer), widely regarded as the Dancehall King is currently serving life in prison for the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. An appeal of the verdict is also currently under review.
Harrison expressed concern about the lyrics that Kartel uses and children listening to them.
“This is the person they saw as the be-all and end-all of what you need to strive to be like. If you stop and just dissect for a moment a cross section of the type of lyrics that are contained in Mr Palmer’s music, certainly as a parent, that’s not the kind of music my children would be exposed to – not if I have anything to do with it,” she said.
She questioned if his lyrics was adding to the problem of violence and gang culture in Jamaica.
“And so we have to ask ourselves the question, who are the role models that are setting the examples for our children? Are we encouraging them to know when to walk away? Are we encouraging them to have meaningful discussions? Are we even teaching them how to communicate, how to understand to talk through issues without physically reacting whenever there is a difficult situation?” she continued.
She added that it was up to community at large to step in and save children from violence but making music like Kartel’s inaccessible to them would go a long way.