The importance of being a responsible and safety-conscious citizen in your community

I wrote this article due to a horrible crime that took place several days ago in Greece. A 34-year-old woman returning home late at night, while unlocking the door of her apartment building, was grabbed and pulled away by a violent criminal. She was raped, beaten, doused with gasoline, and then set on fire while still alive. Despite living in a crowded neighborhood where many people heard her screaming, not a single person went out to see what was happening until it was too late. The most horrible part is that both her father and brother could hear a woman screaming, but they never thought it was their beloved family member…

The criminal, a 27-year-old, who has been accused in the past of sexual attacks by other victims, had been released back into society due to a lack of evidence to convict him. He was described as a male with strange and abusive behavior toward women, and he was stalking the victim for a long time. The blame cannot be solely shouldered by the Greek Justice and Authorities for allowing this man to continue his abusive acts, which ultimately ended the horrible murder of this woman.

I would like to raise the attention to the fact that people in today’s society fail to care about others or act to assist someone in distress. If one of the neighbors, hearing her first screams, had gone outside and yelled at the criminal or made their presence known, might have assisted in stopping the crime, which would have saved the poor woman’s life. Witnesses said they heard a woman screaming, but they were scared to go outside and see what was wrong. Several just didn’t think it was something serious enough to investigate. It must be horrible for the family members and neighbors to know they could have saved this woman’s life if they had acted instead of hiding. This lack of action will most likely haunt the community for a long time.

We are obviously not responsible for the actions of criminals within our community. However, we are accountable for our actions or lack thereof. Being a responsible citizen that cares about their neighbors can save lives. You don’t have to be the hero that will stop the crime by physically engaging the criminal. You can be the hero by just paying attention and reporting suspicious or criminal acts. Let’s think about it, maybe the victim wasn’t our sister or daughter, but if it was, wouldn’t we pray that someone would act if they heard her screams for help and react fast enough to save her? I’m sure we all would pray for that.

Leaving the comfort of your couch and going out to see what’s taking place can save people’s lives. Criminals don’t want to be captured and usually flee if confronted by witnesses. Making criminals aware that someone is watching is a powerful deterrent to their criminal activity and makes for a much safer community