On Friday evening, when the Matelot Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church, at Santa Cruz Road, should have been preparing for today's Sabbath, the congregation and hundreds of mourners were bidding farewell to slain schoolgirl Kylie Garcia. On Monday, Kylie met her death by stabbing by a schoolmate of Matelot Community College. During an argument, the student got hold of a knife and stabbed Garcia outside of the Matelot Roman Catholic church. Matelot community like Toco/Matelot councillor Terry Rondon and many others from the environs expressed shock and sadness at the tragedy which had disrupted their lives in the picturesque coastal village. As the service moved along, Kylie's grief-stricken father Alwin fainted and had to be taken away by ambulance. Her mother Andres was consoled by relatives.
Among the SDA pastors officiating were Glenn Ferdinand,1st elder Toco, SDA James Emery, Dr Ray Walker, elder Glenroy Lincoln and Paul Philbert. Homeboy Pastor Samuel St Bernard delivered the sermon. His message came from 1 Thesssalonians Chapter 4 verses 13 to 18 and Genesis Chapter 3. He said Kylie's life "had been sacrificed for the community to realise that life should not be taken for granted." He lamented that Kylie was 14 and would never celebrate her 15th birthday on December 13. Philbert said: "End conflict with each other before somebody gets battered and bruised. The way we resolve conflict can make the difference between life and death. Let good sense prevail."
"This tragedy is not only akin to Matelot. It is national. It is a case of who next and the wider Caribbean." He also implored parents to teach their children proper values and morals. He appealed to the young people to resolve their conflicts without violence. It was important, he said, to understand the battle is against spiritual warfare. He appealed for prayer for the perpetrator and her family. The perpetrator has been released and an inquest has been ordered. On a personal note, he expressed shock and disbelief that the young lady he had ministered to had met such an untimely, horrendous end. "I was driving out of St Augustine. They told me about the event. It pains...it hurts."
Kylie's mother hurts
No one felt the hurt more deeply than Kylie's beautiful mother.
Turning to her, Philbert told her "when you have cried your last tear...be of good courage. One day, Just Christ will say Kylie come forth." Upon hearing these words, she pulled the casket bearing her daughter's body closer. She buried her head on its surface and wept. Later on, as she struggled to say goodbye, she looked at her first born's body clad in purple, complemented with a brooch and corsage. Dissolving into a fresh torrent of tears, she said: "I want to take her home." Kylie's wheel-chair bound great-grandmother Llewelyn Garcia, 88, paid her respects to the dear child. Kylie was also mourned by siblings Kim Jodie, Faith, Khadija, Jowin and Keera.
Mourners' sentiments
Among those who paid tribute to Kylie were her aunt Paula Garcia, who read the eulogy. She painted a portrait of a young lady poised to excel. "Everyone knew she would be an intelligent young lady. She always ranked among the top students in the class, and this can be attributed to her mother's continued effort. "Kylie and her mother were close and when you visited her you would see her slumped over her mother loving up." She challenged the community to engage in introspection "because Kylie's tragedy is a national one." Another relative read a poem she had written about Matelot, with the largest swimming pool–the sea. Tributes came in from school principal Mr Lee Pow, school librarian Dinelle Spring and Ministry of Education Supervisor 111 Bernadine Dick.
