IT IS commendable that the Government and the private sector have come together to guarantee the educational security of the children of the three murdered marine divers up to age 18. The Shipping Association of Jamaica and the Port Authority of Jamaica are to invest $9 million each to create a fund to cover the cost of annual disbursements to meet the educational needs of the eight children.
The three divers Carl Lubsey, Aubrey Farr and Donovan Henry had the extremely dangerous job of searching under the hulls of ships for narcotics.
It is said that all three had consistently refused offers of bribes by narco-traffickers to ignore shipments of drugs. Their refusal to give in to the demands of the traffickers is believed to have cost them their lives.
Prime Minister Patterson is correct in his assertion that nothing that can be said or given can compensate the children for the loss of their fathers. But it would have been a sad commentary on the society and its values if the children were to experience privation because their fathers had dared to be heroes.
The programme to assist their education will continue for the next 14 years until the youngest child who is now four years old attains the age of 18.
The management team, which has been set up with representatives of the Shipping Association and the Port Authority to administer the programme, will liaise with the families to ensure regular attendance in school and monitor academic performance. Their brief as outlined by the Prime Minister will include maintaining an interest in how the families are faring.
In commending the programme we would hope that the educational assistance would be provided beyond the age of 18 for those who wish to pursue tertiary education.
The provision for the children is a fitting example of the old saying that "out of evil cometh some good". The baleful spin-offs of drug trafficking have left too many cases of grief and ruined lives.
