Gonzall Palmer, deputy Speaker of the House, walks to his seat as the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports and National Centre for Youth Development convened the seventh sitting of the National Youth Parliament at Gordon House yesterday. - Rudolph Brown/Photographer

THE ANNUAL youth Parliament yesterday weighed in on the ongoing dancehall music debate by suggesting that parents needed to fill the vacuum being filled by contemporary Jamaican artistes, some of whose music is negative.

Debating the notion that music was one of the most influential media affecting the growth and development of the nation, Chantal Cogle of the National Secondary Students' Council said parents must be the first gatekeepers of what enters the lives of their children.

"All blame should not be placed on music. What about the underlying social issues, such as lack of parental control, poverty, peer pressure and the very environment in which a child is being brought up?" she said.

"The moral fibre of our society is being broken down on a daily basis and, as a result, the value system is also being changed. Hence, many parents have negated their responsibilities.

"It is time for our parents to start taking responsibility for the types of music their children listen to at home. We cannot depend on the Broadcasting Commission alone for censorship. We all must become proactive," Cogle added.

Dancehall music, widely regarded as the soundtrack to Jamaica's underclass, has been at the centre of the national discourse due to the violent undertones of the recent Gaza-Gully feud.

The sale of pins depicting artistes involved in the feud with guns and violent lyrics has not helped.

Before that, dancehall music was also in the limelight after the Broadcasting Commission began banning some songs from the airwaves.

Paul McFarlene from the Youth Parliamentary Watch Committee called for practical measures, such as a ratings system for places of amusement where music is played. McFarlene called for the licensing processes under the Places of Amusement Act to be amended for mandatory ratings on these places.

Stringent penalties needed

He said that if these places should be rated and if a child is found in such an environment, stringent penalties should be meted out, including suspension of licences, fines or imprisonment.

"We are not making this proposal in a vacuum. The control mechanism in place would be a national identification system, which makes it mandatory for all youths, as in many countries across the world from the ages of 15 to 17 to have an identification card," he said.

These cards would be issued through schools.

Sheriann Mesquita from the Ocho Rios High School, in her contribution, called on dancehall artistes to take responsibility for their lyrics.

"Artistes must now understand that they are role models for many young persons and as such, their messages must be rational as well as empowering. They can structure their lyrics in such a way that adult content is not broadcast for kids to consume," she said.

mark.beckford@gleanerjm.com

The seventh staging of the youth Parliament focused on the role of parents in curbing the moral decay within society. Jermane Williams has already begun to lead the way. Williams was seen on Princess Street in Kingston with his two-year-old daughter, Shanoya, who was taking a nap on his shoulder after he collected her from an early childhood centre in the area. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer