Monday, November 26, 2007

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

It's a real tragedy that 11 year old Lorenzo Harridath's life was snuffed out by his father last Friday. But who is ultimately responsible for his death?

When Media Watch first saw the story on the Sunday evening news, that question was left unanswered. None of the reporters told us who the little boy was living with before he went to stay with his father. No one tried to contact a welfare officer to try to explain to us why Lorenzo was allowed to stay with his father, who had been in and out of the St Ann's hospital (institution for people with mental problems). No one tried to explain whether this was OK under the country's laws governing children.
CNC 3 interviewed Lorenzo's aunt, who said she last saw the child on Friday, and she heard that her brother went to buy something to eat on Friday. But the reporter did not tell us whether the child was living with that woman or another aunt.

Even in the newspapers today, questions linger. The Newsday says "Reports revealed that Lorenzo was staying at the home of a female relative but had complained of being unhappy and unloved.
He contacted his sister Narissa Sookhoo, who took him to her home, but she soon encountered problems over her decision to take care of her brother. With no where to go, Lorenzo contacted his father on Friday and told him that he wanted to live with him."
How do you know this? Did you even ask who allowed him to go with his father? The newspaper says his father picked him up from school on Friday, and that was the last time he was seen.

The Express recounts a similar tale of Lorenzo's unhappiness with relatives, this time telling us that the child had been living with his father for the last week and a half. Who allowed this?

Which enterprising reporter is going to fully unravel this really sad tale, and have someone be held accountable for Lorenzo's death?
We wait with bated breath.