Safe inside
It must have been traumatic for second graders to see an armed person enter their classroom without permission and wave his firearm around. If I were a child inside, I would shiver in fear, not forgetting the build of that man who could have killed me right there and then. It felt like a scene from the life of Malala Yousafzai, that young Pakistani girl who was so eager to go to school despite the war going on in her area.
That Thursday afternoon, when parents supposedly converged to oversee the operations of the school that concerned their students, the period turned into a violent occasion. Luckily, the target of the incident survived. What was amazing was that the life of Councilor Jun Gabuya was saved. He was just beside the target, an incident that he would remember for the rest of his life.
The police are saying that victim, Ahmed Lozano, was an ex-policeman, and he could be involved in the illegal drug trade. Well, this is what they all say nowadays every time somebody gets killed. It seems like the universal reason today, with the current administration, everyone killed is linked to illegal drugs. Even if we do not clearly know the extent of the proliferation of drugs in our country, how is it even safe to assume that this is the reason? Everything could be a possibility.
But on top of the problem of drugs lies the question, how safe are our schools? The new Cebu City Police Office director, Senior Superintent Royina Garma, who just assumed her post admitted that they had neglected to secure the area in the Labangon Bliss Elementary School. Garma said they never thought that there would be a need to do so. Who would, anyway? If there are people who are really out there to kill others, they would try all means. It is hard to say if security could still be beefed up with the lack of policemen in proportion to the number of people in the city. I hope they can do something to correct this.
I fear for the day when my future children would have to wear a bulletproof vest and headgear on their way to school - the only place apart from home where they should feel safe. I’m afraid that parents would have to rush in and out of the schools to avoid being a possible victim. It would be worse if we would all be forced to homeschool our children. As if homes are also safe from criminals. Who am I kidding?
We all want peace and call schools as peace zones. Let’s leave the children out of the conflict. They all deserve a memorable childhood. I had one that was fun, it would be unfair for the next generation to not enjoy their childhood. I aim to have a future will be safe and secure. A future where the little ones sleep soundly at night.
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