Dear Editor,
In SN, Sunday, October 30, there is a picture of a young boy standing next to a sluice, presumably fishing. He seems to be about 12 years of age, neatly dressed and beaming upon being photographed.
Two bloggers on the SN website, in their response to the picture, praised the delights of youth; the photographer and maybe Stabroek News itself endorsed this view. I myself saw the uninhibited curiosity and glee of youth in the image, but I was alarmed that a child was receiving praise for fishing in a dangerous place.
A sluice is a precarious and risky place for children to have unsupervised access. Looking at the picture, the young boy is possibly standing on a narrow ledge, which extends across the mouth of the sluice.
Had he been supervised (if he were supervised in the first place) in a responsible manner, I am convinced that he would not have been allowed on that shelf.
Maybe he routinely does this with adult permission, but there is hardly anything endearing about this picture.
Happy children are a sight to behold, but as adults I would prefer we draw the boundaries between childhood mirth and childhood indiscretions.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address
provided)
