By Rocheford T. Gardiner
Harper – “I don’t know what kind of bad luck this is,” said Naomi Neufville, with her eyes welling up with tears as she began to describe the moment her two-month-old son, Abu Jalloh, was struck in the head with a stone by a man known to be mentally ill.
The incident occurred Tuesday, 15 July, at the Neufville’s residence on Revy Street, in Harper.
She recounted that on that fateful day, a man commonly known as “Diamond” entered their yard brandishing a knife and attempted to stab her younger brother.
Naomi however, repelled the attack, and the assailant retreated while promising to return–true to his words, he came back shortly after and threw a stone, which struck baby Jalloh on the right side of his head, just above his eye.
Eyewitness’ accounts have it that concerned neighbors later subdued Diamond and turned him over to the police.
This attack has heightened fear among residents, as it is the second of such violent incident in the area in recent times.
A little over a week ago, in the highway town of Barikehn, another man reportedly suffering from mental illness used a cutlass to kill a five-year-old child.
Meanwhile, the Women and Children Protection Section at the Maryland County Police Headquarters disclosed that Diamond is currently in police custody, while the incident involving baby Jalloh is being probed by the police.
The community’s anxiety is intense, as a vendor at Harper’s general market told Rural Reporters News Network (RRNN) that Diamond was seen on Monday wielding a cutlass in the market area, “spewing profanity at women and daring anyone to challenge him.”
She added that the police were alerted and had taken him into detention at that time.
“I am so surprised the police didn’t keep that man in the cell, not even for a few days,” the female vendor stated, quipping; “See what has happened now?”
These events underscore a critical issue in the region, in the face of the lack of adequate mental health facilities and the unavailability of rehabilitation centers in Maryland County.
All too often, individuals with severe mental illness become perpetrators of violence or, conversely, become victims of violence themselves as community dwellers do not take kindly any act of insane behavior from mentally ill people, violent or not.
While the American-based NGO Partners in Health has made some strides in treating mentally ill people in Maryland, the lack of a residential facility to confine individuals while they undergo treatment remains a major setback.
The already over-burdened J. J. Dossen Memorial Hospital has no dedicated ward for mental health cases, as a result, individuals whose families cannot restrain them at home to complete their treatment are usually left to fend for themselves, whether for better or for worse.
At this point, it is just a matter of time before Maryland and its inhabitants witness another fatality involving a mentally ill person.
