Author: Benita Keme-Palacio

Kezia Young, the mother of an 8-year-old little girl who we have reported about previously, her name is Jenica Jenkins. She took to Facebook to share her experience and thoughts on this whole situation.

In an emotional Facebook video, Kezia Young, mother of 8-year-old Jenica Jenkins, expressed her outrage over the tragic death of a 6-year-old autistic boy from Stella Maris school. Yesterday, News 5 tracked little Gabriel’s steps as he was seen running down Belize City’s busy street alone.

In her video, Young criticised not only the police but the entire community for failing to intervene when the boy was clearly in distress.

She said that despite the presence of many people—including cyclists, drivers, and people walking—not a single adult stepped in to guide the child.

“As a society, blame unu self as a society—as a community— as a country, we failed that family, we failed that child,” Young said. “So much people mih dih out deh, and watch this this lee bwai dih run middle street. If unu mih even care as a society, unu mih wa realise that he was in a Stella Maris uniform.” A school dedicated for “differently abled kids,” she added.

She also lambasted the police for their lack of action when an off-duty police officer reportedly called 911 to report that Gabriel was seen alone in the streets.”

Speaking from her own experience as a mother of young Jenica, who was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and is also autistic, she said, “He might have been scared, more than anything; he might have been scared dih run dih street ina traffic by himself, and no one single adult stopped their care, no wah cyclist park pan dih side, nobody even try address the situation and simply take the little boy back to school.”

She pointed out the sad reality that she says has become a norm over time, seeing children walk the streets alone or walking to school alone. “Unu so comfortable sending kids to school by themselves, so comfortable allowing kids to go to the store by themselves,” she said.