8-y-o boy killed in Clarendon massacre wanted to become a soldier

In a funeral service steeped in rich accolades and moments of openly expressed grief, Aiden Bartley, the eight-year-old boy who was killed in last month's Cherry Tree Lane massacre in Four Paths, Clarendon, was on Saturday remembered as an intelligent child who was full of promise.

Young Aiden, who had ambitions of becoming a soldier, was among eight persons killed and nine others wounded on Sunday, August 11, which left the nation stunned. Two men have since been charged in connection to the heinous crime that police said was gang-related.

Residents from Cherry Tree Lane and elsewhere in the parish turned out in their numbers and packed Ebenezer Baptist Church in Four Paths to bid goodbye to young Aiden. He was a student of Four Paths Primary and Junior High School.

In one of the many heartfelt tributes at the funeral service, his aunt, Nardica Phillips, said he was like her son.

She said he had many nicknames, such as 'Papa D' and 'Kente', with the latter having come from his grandfather.

"He was a very smart and brave little boy, but let me add how adventurous and mischievous he was," Phillips said, adding that Aiden was never afraid to ask questions or say what was on his mind.

"I remember I changed my car, thinking it was an upgrade, thinking I was a super cool person. Aiden's first question upon seeing the car, 'Then a dat yuh really sell the car and buy?' Mi shame," Phillips recalled.

She said Aiden told her that, "'If a did mi did a buy car, my car would have to have big muffla (muffler) and sunroof, and it ago sound like when the hearse dem jerk the house'."

Phillips also shared Aiden's desire to become a soldier.

"He was very passionate about becoming a soldier in the future. Whenever he saw soldiers passing by, he would shout 'Soljie!'

“They would wave, and he waved back, and he'd say, 'Yeah man, ah my friend that'," Phillips shared as the congregants laughed at that recollection.

She said on one occasion, the soldiers stopped, shared in a conversation with Aiden, and even placed the little boy in the back of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) jeep to stand up.

"(Aiden's) best day ever," Phillips recounted, urging her nephew to keep on marching on.

She ended her tribute by saluting the eight-year-old's blue and white casket.

In his tribute, People's National Party (PNP) Councillor for the Mocho Division in North Central Clarendon, Romaine Morris, a cousin of young Aiden, said while his heart is "broken" by his young relative’s murder, he is leaving it in the hands of God.

The sombre-looking politician recalled how he went to the hospital, where learning of the death of Aiden felt like "somebody stabbed me in my heart".

Added Morris: "They say I'm part of the system and the system failed my family.

"How could I be a part of a system (and) watching my cousins cry, and my little baby cousin (Aiden) in a casket?" the politician asked.

Morris said he believes Aiden came on earth and achieved his purpose, "because I believe that each and everyone of us here is here for a purpose, because my God is an awesome God."

Meanwhile, Guidance Counsellor at Four Paths Primary and Junior High School, Eswic Dorway, said Aiden was a very humble and shy young man when he started attending the school.

Dorway shared how Aiden stood up to one of the boys who bullied him, and from that day on Aiden became confident.

He also recounted that in guidance class, Aiden expressed the desire to become a soldier.

"I said to him, 'Aiden, no matter where I am in this world, I am going to come back and see you as a soldier', and I left him with that, and Aiden's response was that, 'Sir, I can'," Dorway informed.

During the summer, he recalled walking by Aiden, and reminded the child what he promised him (Dorway).

"... And that was the last time I spoke to Aiden," the sombre-looking guidance counsellor shared.

He said he was not been the same since the night when he got word that Aiden died.

"In remembering Aiden, parents and immediate family, friends, well-wishers, dignitaries, and pastors, I want to say this: Aiden is missed, he is loved, (and) I will remember him because he is right here (in my heart). That soldier will be watching over me and his classmates, and the school," Dorway said.

Young Aiden was laid to rest at his family plot in Four Paths.