Two painful years as Clarendon infant remains missing

For the past two years, Kera Williams has been living in hell, constantly wondering where her four-year-old son could be, and whether or not he's okay.

On May 12, 2022, little Jahmeal Mendez, who was two at the time, disappeared from Free Town, Clarendon, after he went to visit a neighbour's home, where he usually played with other toddlers. But when Williams called for Jahmeal, she was told he was not there. She initially thought it was a prank, until it became clear that no one knew his whereabouts.

"It hard. Mi wouldn't wish weh mi a guh through pan mi worst enemy. Sometimes mi deh here and all mi can think 'bout a mi son, the things them weh him used to do. More time mi nuh like remember 'bout it, because mi miss him and mi nuh know when or if mi a guh see him again," Williams told THE STAR.

May 5 was little Jahmeal's birthday. For Williams and her family, the day brings painful memories.

"From the fourth a May, mi actually break down because mi know the next day was him birthday; and from 12 o'clock in the night, mi lock up in a mi house and bawl. Mi sleep, wake up and bawl; it nuh nice, because mi a seh him should a deh here fi celebrate him birthday," Williams said.

She also told THE STAR that she knows in her heart that her son is still alive, but there is still pain.

"Mi nuh know how them a treat him, if him alright, and a di worst feeling inna di world," Williams said. "Mi just a pray seh whoever have him can find it in a dem heart fi send him home. That's all mi want. Mi just wah dem send mi baby home."

Although most children who are reported missing eventually return home, since 2023 more than 181 children are still missing. According to the Child Protection and Family Services Agency, in 2023, 1,029 children were reported missing, 902 of whom returned home. One was recorded as deceased, but 126 have yet to be found. During the months of January to April 2024, 333 children were reported missing; 276 returned, while two were found deceased; 55 still remain missing.

Children's Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison is imploring Jamaicans to remain vigilant.

"The efforts need to continue, in terms of looking at the circumstances that surround each of these children represented in the data, and more importantly, to work towards their recovery, identifying where it is they are, and identify what support services they will need," Gordon Harrison said. She told THE STAR that at times, the numbers are not as large as they seem, as when children return, parents and guardians do not always contact the different stakeholders whom they had put on alert.

"We need to be assessing what their (the children's) experiences were while they were away. Perhaps very importantly, what support services they need, having come back, so we don't have a repeat of the same situation, or them being in distress without getting access to services that can support them," Gordon Harrison told THE STAR.

- K.T.