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Panorama Point
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PANORAMA is amazed that an article drawing attention to an issue of such fundamental importance to our society is being treated by Government in such a dismissively heavy-handed, and autocratic manner.
Far from scaremongering, PANORAMA's concern has always been to bring to public notice issues that some would rather turn a blind eye to. That is the responsible thing to do, because ignoring a problem is the certain way to ensure its growth.
A case in point is the ongoing riots in UK. We are not drawing comparisons, and Gibraltar might still be a million miles away from anything similar occurring here, but commentators and analysts agree that one reason that this chaos has exploded on London society, taking everybody by surprise, is precisely the fact that warning signs have been ignored. We can't afford to make the same mistake here.
We must wake up and smell the coffee. Nobody benefits in inventing problems where none exist, and it may well be that things are not as bad as it appears, but pretending that nothing is going on is simply living in denial.
Gibraltar deserves better.
What nobody has yet challenged is the fact that the RGP have said that there have "been in the past year starting as from April 2010, six incidents of assault at Bayside Comprehensive School that have been reported to police, there has been one incident at Westside School also of Assault". Nobody has challenged this because it is true, six incidents of assault are bound to cause concern among teachers and staff.
The way to calm anxiety and quell concern is to demonstrate that the issues are being taken seriously, it is certainly not to live in a never-never land of 'aquí no pasa nada.'
Many will have differing interpretations of the issues at stake, that's to be expected - in fact we welcome the debate, but an attitude which tries to crush that very debate with accusations of "deplorable attempts to cause uncertainty and anxiety" is not only unhelpful in the extreme but ultimately threatens the very existence of a free press and a free society.
We have much better things to do with our time then creating "consternation where none exists".
10-08-11
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