The recent death of a 24-year-old young African boy in Adelaide raises a lot of questions in the community. The boy’s girlfriend, Antoinette Jacobson, a young Liberian-Australian teenager, has been charged for the death. Both the victim and the accused were young people who came to Australia in search for a better life. Now, one life is gone and the other is changed for ever, for the worse, not for the better.
James Gaye killed in Mansfield Park after being stabbed on his chest. Source: Facebook
AMA has learned that the accused has been leading a very difficult life over the last few years. She came to Australia at a very young age with her mother. Unfortunately her mum died of cancer approximately three years ago and since then, at about 15 years of age, she has been forced to live with no close family member and no authority figure in her life.
The victim was a divorcee and father of three girls who live with their mother in Adelaide. AMA has learned that the victim and the accused met only approximately a couple of months ago and recently moved into an apartment flat in Mansfield Park, Adelaide. Neighbours have reported that the couple was involved in a lot of fighting and the victim was stabbed on his shoulder, allegedly by the accuser, only two days before the fatal stabbing on his chest. A source in the Liberian community in Adelaide also told AMA that the accused has been using recreational drugs and was quite isolated and not in contact with many (Liberian) community members.
This tragic story brings to the surface a number of issues that are quite common to many African Australians who are from a forced migration background. It’s a combination of youth violence, family violence, youth occupation, parenting, social isolation, drug abuse, refugee settlement and, above all, love and relationships. In the next few weeks AMA will publish a series of articles to look into the challenges faced by many members of our communities in the areas mentioned above. Putting the spotlight on these matters may help to avoid more tragedies in our communities.
AMA is asking community members whose lives have been affected by any of the things described above to contact us. If you wish to contribute to our upcoming articles either by sharing your personal story or by making comments if you have some expertise on any of the matters, please contact us at info@africamediaaustralia.com.au
