IN LIFE we are taught to forgive and forget.
Suzanne Eastmond has done all right with the first.
Admittedly, she is not doing that well with the latter.
Suzanne lost her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Daviana at the hands
of her brother Mario Eastmond back in 2003 when he was in her care.
Last year the 20-year-old brother was sentenced to 18 years in jail.
The court heard the case where Mario had sodomised the child on two occasions after hearing men on the block talking about anal sex. Days later he dropped her on her head when she wouldn't listen to him. When she did not respond, he placed her to lie on a bed, then sat and played the piano.
The judge in the case told the court that after reading reports from experts, including a psychiatrist, neurologist, and psychologist, he was of the opinion that only a lengthy custodial sentence would serve to protect the public from the young man.
Suzanne says while she has not yet visited her brother in jail, she has forgiven him.
"I have forgiven my brother. He has said all the 'sorrys' he can say. Hating him doesn't bring her (Daviana) back. I am not here to condemn or judge nobody."
However, the teary-eyed 26-year-old mother of two boys, Savio, and Jaime, says she can't forget what happened to her "Dee Dee".
"I can't forget what he did. I am still angry about it, but he's my brother, and life goes on," she said.
Suzanne, who lives in Greenfields, St Michael, says her daughter would have celebrated her fifth birthday last Thursday, April 6.
She admits that the day was difficult for her as she thought about Dee Dee even more than usual.
With her daughter gone, Suzanne focuses more on her two boys. Savio, who is six years old, is with a godmother in St Thomas, and one-year-old Jaime
is at Campwood Children's Home in St Philip. She still has to try to give a little something to help out, she said.
While she is thankful for Savio's godmother, whom she refers to as a "star", taking in her child while she had her own and a mother to take care of, Suzanne is hoping for the day when she can be a mother again.
She rarely sees the children, she said.
"I miss them both. When I see other parents with children I want them back. I want to be a mum. I want a job. I don't want to depend on Barbadians for the rest of my life. That's a no-no for me. I want to be financially independent," she said.
But reality sets in.
Suzanne says she can't get her two children back with her until she moves out of the depressed Greenfields area.
"I would love to find somewhere to live so I can have my children with me. And, I would love to find a job so I can provide for them," she said.
Still, this young woman feels blessed that so many have extended a helping hand.
She thanked all those who have been kind to her since her story was highlighted in the
At that time, she spoke about not coming to grips with the death of her child. She unashamedly said she was also broke, sometimes going with no food. As a result, she had to hustle to feed her family. At that time, Jaime was ten weeks old.
"I have to say thank you to all the Bajans [who were] kind enough to spare what little they had for me and my two boys," she said.
Suzanne says she is still trying to pick up the pieces of her life. She admits that she still needs help, but she tries to make do with what she has.
She reflects: "The Bible is how I get through. Without Him I wouldn't have succeeded so far. I wouldn't be alive. I just wouldn't be ..."
carolmartindale@nationnews.com