Tuesday, February 8, 2011

There should be a legacy for Reamonn Gormley, a scheme to get youngsters doing volunteer work in Scotland, helping others to do good




















Dear All

Knife crime is a problem as we have seen with the tragic deaths of both 63-year-old David Goodhall and 19 year old Reamonn Gormley.

I have been a victim of knife crime myself, 42 stitches in three stab wounds.

Upper left triceps, lower right forearm, in one side out the other and left side of the chest, in line with the heart!

If the knife hadn’t bounced off a rib, I wouldn’t be writing this post.

When you get stabbed it happens so quick that you feel like you have been punched.

Later on, the entire body seizes up completely and it hurts.

The wounds heal but the mental scars don’t.

Two men, a 22-year-old and an 18-year-old, are due to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court in connection with the death this morning of Reamonn Gormley.

His family must be going through a terrible experience, my sincere condolences to them.

Reamonn Gormley was a student and a charity worker, he had so much to live for but he met people who hadn’t.

It shows how well he was thought of that 2000 members of the local community came out on Saturday to mourn alongside his family in Blantyre

The people who killed him are divorced from normal society, for them carrying a knife

Fewer people carry knives but it is still too many although more people are being caught, and those who are, go to prison for longer.

Solving the problems of knives isn’t straightforward; it is in fact quite difficult because there are more than several factors involved.

One of the themes I blog on is building stronger communities, so young people don’t turn to gangs.

We need to invest heavily in local groups to help youngsters achieve better, schools should be used as community centres offering activities, to maximise their use and teach youngsters that everyone has a stake in society.

Changing the mindset is important.

In order for people to be good, they have to be allowed the opportunity to do good!

Reamonn Gormley did charity work, the strength of that brought 2000 people out to mourn his passing.

We need a Scottish Government scheme that takes young people out of their areas and lets them experience what Reamonn Gormley did.

That helping others has its own rewards, a step towards a better society.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

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