The community of Larnaca – and the island as a whole - was shocked by the murder of a 22-year old man two weeks ago, and even more so that the suspect is a 17-year old.
There won't have been a single parent whose heart did not break upon hearing of the family's loss. It is truly unimaginable and I cannot begin to comprehend how they are suffering.
If the loss of a bright young future was not enough, it transpired that the suspect was well known for his criminal activities from a young age to the point that he had amassed 60 known cases. The victim's family - and surely anyone else who read the stories – had one simple question, 'why was this youth allowed to continue committing crimes?' which leads to the logical conclusion that had he been dealt with, then there would not be a family grieving right now.
I must admit that personally, I had not been aware of the situation regarding juvenile offenders, and when the story broke and I read that there simply isn't any proper mechanism in place for dealing with underage crime, I was astounded.
Authorities may try to claim that technically, underage perpetrators cannot be held accountable for their crimes due to their young age and a need for guidance and hugs rather than punishment, but who are we kidding? A 17 year old who has been repeatedly offending knows the difference between right and wrong; he is not your average school boy who gets his grades, respects his elders and just so happens to make a mistake that could tarnish his whole future if we don't show leniency on account of his age. This is a hardened criminal who was naturally going to escalate if left unchecked. From his cocky 17-year old point of view, he had carte blanche from the law to commit his crimes until the age of 18, so why should he stop? Without a deterrent, and with a feeling of being 'hard' or 'cool' or 'dangerous' – and the intense feeling of power that would bring to a young man, there was simply no reason for him to stop.
I am not saying that he did not need help as a preference to punishment – clearly there was something terribly wrong there, to the point that his poor family were begging the courts to hold him - but that is neither here nor there, because apparently, neither was available or offered.
Of course, there is a flip side to this tragedy. The family of the suspect are also suffering unimaginable pain from knowing that the child they brought into the world, cradled in their arms and envisaged a future for has taken such a dark and unfathomable path that even they, as parents, were powerless to prevent him from taking the life of another parent's child. Again, as a parent, this is absolutely terrifying. We do the best we can, but what if it is not enough? And that is where we expect the state, the law, the authorities, teachers, doctors, society to help and support us.
Sadly, two families were let down by society and all its associated authorities, and with the worst possible consequences. No doubt things will start to change now, and the victim's family are fighting for these changes. But once again, as with many things, it is always too late.
The first appeared in The Cyprus Weekly week 28/11/14
