Remarks by First Lady Cecile de Jongh at the de Jongh-Francis 2010 Re-Election Kickoff Announcement

Good evening.

When the program for this evening was originally being developed, I had the honor of simply introducing our next speaker my good friend, and our Lieutenant Governor, Greg Francis.

But after the terrible tragedies during this year, culminating with what happened on St Thomas on Monday, I decided instead to speak for a moment before the introduction as a mother to all mothers in the Territory.

I doubt there are many of us who have not thought of the horror of going off on a vacation or even just making a trip to the store or mall or the beach with one of our children and coming home without them because of a random act of violence. 

Our hearts are heavy knowing that this horror has become a reality recently for yet another mother because of something that happened here in our home. And it hits home because this is where we live. It doesn't matter that this could have happened in other places, it does matter that it happened here. This is where we raise our children.

All of us who are mothers share a common bond. We share in our worry and concern for the well being of our children. We worry because that is what mothers do. And this is especially true for those of us who are the mothers of boys. 

But mothers do something else, we act. We act to protect our young, to protect our children and to protect our families, and we do this with intensity and a ferocity that is beyond measure. 

And I say to all of you here tonight that now is the time for all of us – for all mothers in this community to act. There is and should be no room in our homes where we cannot go. It should not matter whether your child is six or sixteen or twenty-six they are still living our homes.

And truthfully, I do not believe that a child can bring drugs or stolen merchandise or guns and ammunition into our homes without us knowing or having a way to find out if we truly want to know. We should want to know. Recent events have shown that we cannot risk not knowing. 

Two days ago, my husband described as enablers those who allow our young people to act in the anti-social ways that have plagued us. I think that this is an appropriate term. We -- as mothers -- cannot let this term describe us or define us. And it will if we continue to avoid looking at what we don’t want to see, even if it means finding out that our own child has a weapon in our home. 

Nobody's child has the right -- or an excuse -- or a reason -- to take a weapon and kill somebody else's child. There is no such right, there is no such rationalization. There is only tragedy and sorrow and pain for all of us here in the Virgin Islands.

The first and best line of defense in any community when it comes to preventing violence is not the police. It’s mothers, its caregivers, it’s us.

Just as John so often speaks about the fact that it is too late to expect children to thrive in school if they start unprepared and, not ready to succeed, and it is definitely too late for our children when they become persons of interest to the police. No, the first line of defense must be us -- mothers and caregivers to our children -- we must not be afraid to give proper direction and guidance and, yes, discipline. 

We must not look the other way. And if we are afraid or need help or counsel, we must then turn to our ministers, or priests, our friends, or community organizations, our social services and, yes, our police for help. We cannot make excuses for the violence or the uncontrolled anger in some that so often leads to violence. It must be stopped and it must be stopped in the home. It must be stopped by us early and often.

Yes, the police can do more and they can do better. And they do better with our help and our information. But the police do not and should not live in our homes. We do. And this is where the violence must be addressed.

This is what we can do. Each of us can do this. Together as mothers this will make the difference.

Now, I would like to do what I was originally invited to do this evening, and that is to introduce our present and future Lt. Governor. He is a fine example of a father who has stood strong as a partner to raise his children and who is engaged, and takes responsibility, and has been an outstanding role model, not only to his children but to the community at large as well.

Having grown up on St Croix, I can assure those on St. Thomas and St. John that Greg Francis needs no introduction on this, our home island, a place he served with energy and compassion for years before he became Lt Governor.

But I must to admit something tonight, and that’s that before John and Greg joined forces for the last election, I had not met Greg Francis. Nor had I had the pleasure of knowing Cheryl Francis. She is a strong and committed woman. We have all admired what she has done with her Stop the Bleeding Foundation. Cheryl gets it. And I am so proud to call her a friend. Indeed, one of the very best things about this political adventure that John has taken me on, is all the wonderful people I have been able to meet and work with. And at the very top of that list are Greg and Cheryl Francis.

Greg Francis is a man who understands people and, more than that, a man who likes people and wants to help people. Greg Francis is a man who sees situations and people as they are, takes things as they are, and then tries to make things better. 

We all know that historically Governors and Lt Governors have not always worked well together. But much like Derek Hodge and Alex Farrelly did before, Greg and John talk to each other, work with each other, respect each other and yes, like each other. And the same is true for me and for Cheryl. We -- Cheryl and I -- may be unrelenting in our efforts to get John and Greg to do their very best every day, to listen to us, to listen to you, and to never forget that they are blessed with this chance to serve you each and every day. But I can say with complete conviction and with great pleasure, that I cannot imagine a better Lt. Governor than the man who makes complete the de Jongh/ Francis Team, my friend, your Lt. Governor: Gregory R Francis.

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