TOBAGO YOUTH COUNCIL president Dayreon Mitchell has said some young people are living double lives. He was responding to questions from Newsday on January 8, after the murder of 15-year-old schoolboy Beris Joseph, whose body was found on January 4 in Black Rock.
The Golden Lane teen was Tobago's first murder victim for 2025. He was a Form Four student of Signal Hill Secondary School.
According to reports, Joseph was known to the police and was wanted for questioning over a shooting incident.
Mitchell said, "It's a very saddening situation, and I felt that if he was in fact wanted by police, then the community would have failed him, because we go back to the saying that it takes a village to raise a child.
"In my opinion, I'm not sure of the social structure of the home or where he was or what would have gone wrong, but I felt persons within the village should have stepped in – but it's also dependent on the individual to want or receive the help that is provided."
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Mitchell said some young people are lured by flashy things.
"Sometimes you might see the alternative life: you might want fast money, you might want fast things, but persons may not want to work for it.
"However clear the water, when you take the horse to the river, they may not want to drink."
In September last year, two teenagers from Golden Lane – one of them a pastor's son – were killed in a confrontation with police at a guesthouse in Sou Sou Lands. Rezin Quashie, 19, and Hakeem Anderson, 17, were suspects in a number of robberies and shootings.
Asked whether there is a crisis among teens in Tobago, Mitchell said no.
"The few that fell off the map or society may have abandoned can't speak for the majority that are doing positive actions. It's a sad situation, but it goes back to the social construct at home."But then there are those that are living a double life. Because to their parents they are doing something, and outside of that they have another life they are living. So it's difficult to blame the family as well."
Mitchell said society seemed to have started to turn its back on young people. He said he did not know whether it was because of the bad attitude of some young people who did not want help, or the wrong approach being taken by those intervening.
"I wouldn’t say we're in a crisis. I feel as though we still have the ability and capability to steer the young people on the right path, where we work hard to get what we want and we stay away from doing the wrong thing."
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An Instagram live video showed Joseph singing and dancing to Trinibad music, and making threats.
Mitchell said young people need to be wary about what they post online.
"When I was young, someone taught me that social media lasts forever – no matter if you delete it or not. I would advise to try to use it as positively as possible, because the same person you curse on Facebook or Instagram might be the same person you going to meet in a job interview."
He said social media should not be taken at face value and people should not envy others who appear to be living glamorous lives.
"Persons need to be mindful about what they put out there and how seriously they take what they see on social media, because in today's society we realise a lot of persons are influenced by what they see on social media. You have to be able to differentiate: is this right or wrong, does it make sense?
"I would advise them to take everything they see on social media with a pinch of salt, because not all of the things they see are realistic representations of the lives other people are living."
He said parents must pay closer attention to what their children are doing.
"I would say parents need to be more involved...which means knowing who they lime with. You don’t have to be around them 24/7, but understand who is the company they keep. Understand what they do, speak to them on a personal level – do things with them.
"Now you see parents leaving children to raise themselves, and that is a sad thing to look at, because that allows them to stray into the wrong company."
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He said gangs are filling a void left by parents, by giving youths what they are not getting at home – attention, love and respect.
He said the council tries to fill the gap in terms of government's policies and programmes.
"We would do programmes where we try to help persons make themselves marketable in terms of getting a job, working on their resumes.
"We would also have sessions where we do youth talks. We have young people speak on issues they face in society, how can these issues be addressed."
He said the council continues to bridge the gap, as it has a closer relationship and understanding of what is happening on the ground.
