By Arthur Katabalwa
The following is an article that I wrote about Tia Sharp, a young girl who was found killed in her own grandmothers house.
Tia Sharp was a 12 year old girl hardly known by anyone beyond her south London home. By all accounts, there seemed to be nothing different from this young girl with all girls her age around the country. On 3 August while the rest of us were enjoying the Olympics on TV, Tia was reported missing having last been seen at the home of her grandmother Christine Sharp, 46, in New Addington, Croydon. It has now been reported that the partner of Tia Sharp's grandmother Stuart Hazell has been charged with murdering the 12-year-old.
This is a truly tragic story which sadly has been seen repeated around the country on several occasions. Young girls like her murdered by people with whom they are supposed to feel safe with. Mr Hazell has yet to be convicted of the murder of Tia. But to all this lies another footnote that hasn’t been well documented.
Mr Hazell was partner to Christine Sharp, grandmother to Tia. At some point in the past, Stuart Hazell was also partner to Natalie, mother to Tia. One starts to question how matters came to this.
It has also been reported that Stuart Hazell was a convicted drug offender. My question therefore is why did Christine Sharp invite to her bed a man who had been seeing her daughter and had been convicted of drugs offences? She then later on leaves this young girl in the same house with this man as she goes off to work supposedly a night shift?
Without a doubt relationships between adults fail and that is one of the fallibilities of man. However, in such instances, kids must be protected when these things happen. I wonder what Tia thought of Hazel? I don’t know if she knew him when he was with her mother but surely this matter would have come to light at some point. How then would it make her think about adult relationships? With Hazell bed hoping between daughter and mother would that put relationships in a better light?
I am certainly not perfect. Relations breakdown. After that breakdown there is a point where any level headed adult draws the line where their children’s’ stability is concerned. Where their children's' welfare is of no compromise or discussion. What we see here is a failure to respect that. Tia Sharp was oscillating between two homes where in one of them the male was boyfriend to the women therein at least at a certain point. Catherine Sharp on the other side should have known better not to invite a person convicted of drugs offences into her bed. Worse still, a man who had shared a bed romantically with her daughter Natalie. Children are involved. I find it incredibly sad that we adults fail to respect that and go on to satisfy our libidos.
Louise Thompson a mother from Weston Super Mare said “Sadly I think some people conduct their lives in ways very different to others. The ones that conduct themselves in the widely accepted way [then] get accused of throwing around stereotypes, but I can't help but feels if the cap fits they (the ones who conduct in the less accepted way) should wear it. Awful circumstances but it reminds me of the Shannon Matthews case (thankfully that little girl is alive but what she must have going around her head is anyone's guess). I just find the whole thing leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth”.
Tia Sharp interrupted our viewing of the Olympics. Indeed some people may not have heard of her story just like that of Shafilea Ahmed. Hopefully their tragic deaths will not be drowned out by the roar from the Olympic stadium.
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