By STACEY UKOBASI O

Experiences and interactions I have had over the past years show that there are certain people in this world you should simply leave alone. Especially those who mind their business, wish everyone well, and carry no hatred in their hearts.

You don’t know what kind of grace surrounds them. You don’t know what prayers cover their lives, what battles God has already fought for them, or what kind of spiritual protection follows them.

Some people carry such clean energy and pure intentions that even when you hurt them, they do absolutely nothing. They don’t fight back, they don’t seek revenge, and they don’t spend their days plotting your downfall. They simply walk away, continue living their lives, and leave everything in God’s hands.

And sometimes, that is where your own troubles begin.

I have always believed that there are people whose lives are so spiritually protected that hurting them comes with consequences you may never see coming.

You might think you got away with it because they didn’t respond. You might mistake their silence for weakness, their kindness for foolishness, and their refusal to retaliate for fear.

But you have no idea what is protecting that person.

Some people don’t need to fight back because the battles you start with them are not theirs to finish.

Call it karma. Call it divine justice. Call it the universe restoring balance. As a Christian, I believe God sees what human beings overlook.

And the interesting thing about consequences is that they don’t always arrive with noise.

Sometimes everything appears normal. You continue with your life, believing nothing happened. Then, slowly, things begin to unravel.

I believe that cruelty has consequences, whether through the people we hurt, the trust we destroy, the choices we make, or the accountability we eventually face.

And sometimes the person you hurt is not even aware of what is happening in your life.

They are somewhere minding their business,praying, and living peacefully.

They have moved on.

Meanwhile, you are still carrying the consequences of what you chose to do.

That is why I say there are certain people you should simply leave alone.

Not because they are better than anyone else, but because you never know what kind of spiritual covering surrounds another human being.

On October 29, 2026, fifteen-year-old Javits Frimpong, a Ghanaian teenager who had moved to New York City just one year earlier to live with his father, was reportedly fatally shot while walking to school in the Bronx.

Just one year, that was all the time this young boy had spent in America.

A child who had barely begun adjusting to a new country, a different environment, and a new chapter of his life.

A young boy who should have been thinking about school, making friends, discovering opportunities, and dreaming about his future.

Instead, his life was tragically cut short.

As an African mother who also brought her children to America, this story touches something very deep inside me.

I think about his father. Imagine bringing your child from Ghana to America, hoping to give him better opportunities, a good education, and a brighter future, only to lose him after just one year.

How does a parent begin to process that kind of pain?

How do you come to terms with the fact that your child left home for school and never returned?

One year in America. Fifteen years on earth. A lifetime of dreams cut short.

Even strangers who never knew Javits are grieving. People from different backgrounds and nationalities are feeling the pain of a family they may never meet.

And that tells us something.

When an innocent person is hurt, the pain does not always remain within the walls of one home. Sometimes it travels across communities, countries, and continents.

You can almost feel the collective grief, anger, and demand for justice surrounding such incidents.

Will his family need to seek revenge? I don’t believe revenge is the answer. I believe in justice, accountability, and a God who sees the suffering of the innocent.

Sometimes an innocent life touches more people in death than anyone could have imagined.

I believe there are battles grieving parents should never have to fight alone, and that those responsible for taking an innocent life must be held accountable.

His death should also make us reflect on the vulnerability of children, especially those who have recently arrived in a new country. We must not assume that Javits was targeted because of his nationality or that bullying played a role without evidence. But his story reminds us how precious and vulnerable young lives are.

Behind every immigrant child is a story. Behind every unfamiliar accent is a human being. Behind every child trying to find their place in a new country is a family with hopes, sacrifices, and prayers.

And behind Javits Frimpong was a father who deserved to see his son grow into a man.

We hear about gun violence almost every day in America. Innocent lives are lost, families are devastated, and communities are left grieving. Every victim matters, and every family deserves justice.

But why do certain tragedies capture the attention of people far beyond the community where they happened?

Why does a story like this touch strangers across countries and continents?

I cannot help but reflect on that question through my faith.

Perhaps divine protection doesn’t always look the way we expect. We often imagine it means nothing terrible will ever happen to us. But even innocent, prayerful people experience tragedy.

I don’t believe Javits was more deserving of God’s protection than any other victim. However, I believe God can bring truth and justice out of even the most heartbreaking circumstances.

And then I think about those responsible.

What if they thought this would be just another shooting? Another headline that people would eventually forget?

What if they had hurt someone before and believed they could get away with it again?

We don’t know their history or motives, and I would never present those possibilities as facts. But imagine committing such a terrible act, thinking nobody would pay much attention, only to discover that people are demanding answers.

If those responsible are hiding, I wonder whether they are living in fear.

Does every unexpected knock make their hearts race? Does a passing police siren make them nervous? Are they wondering whether someone has recognized them or whether the truth is getting closer?

I cannot know what they are experiencing. But I believe that when someone deliberately takes an innocent life, the consequences can change their own life forever.

Sometimes the fear of accountability begins long before a person stands before a judge.

Perhaps those who took this boy’s life never imagined how many people would speak his name or demand justice for him.

And perhaps that is another reminder that you never know how far the consequences of hurting an innocent person will reach.

I don’t believe his family should have to seek revenge. They deserve justice, accountability, and the support of a community that refuses to overlook their suffering.

We must also be careful not to assume his killing was connected to bullying or his nationality without evidence.

Behind Javits was a father who deserved to watch his son grow into a man. Behind every child whose life is taken is a family whose world will never be the same.

May God comfort his family, and may justice be served.

When I brought my children to America, they were introduced to their classmates on their very first day of school as being from Nigeria. That same week, some of the children tried to pick on them because they assumed my kids couldn’t speak English. Then my children opened their mouths, and their classmates were surprised by how fluently they spoke. The teasing stopped, but the questions kept coming. Some even asked whether they had lived in trees with animals.

My children never missed a chance to set them straight. They explained that they grew up in a city, went to school, and lived much like children here in America. They told their classmates that English is spoken in Nigeria alongside more than 200 other languages.

I was proud of how my children handled themselves, but as a mother, it still hurt to hear what they came home with. You send your children to school excited to make friends, and they come home telling you they spent part of their day explaining that they lived in a house just like everybody else.

It hurts even more when you realize that your innocent child felt rejected, or different.

I often think about other African children who arrive in America without that advantage.

Children who have just left their home countries, who speak English with a strong accent, or who barely speak English at all.

If you heard some of the things these children experience in the hands of other children, you would weep.

Imagine being eight, nine, or ten years old, arriving in a completely unfamiliar country, leaving behind your friends, relatives, and everything you have ever known.

You are trying to understand a new school, a new culture, and perhaps an entirely new language.

And instead of being welcomed, you are laughed at.

Your accent becomes a joke. Your name becomes something to mock. Your food, your hair, your clothes, or the country you come from becomes a reason for other children to make you feel inferior.

Some children eventually become afraid to speak in class. Others begin to feel ashamed of their own identities.

And the saddest part?

Many of these children go home carrying pain their parents may never fully understand.

And Let’s Not Pretend Adults Are Any Better!

And by the way, this ignorance doesn’t end with children. Some adults are just as guilty.

You would be surprised how many grown adults still find something to say about another person’s accent.

Excuse me, but what exactly is the problem?

We come from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds. We grew up speaking differently, and that is perfectly normal.

The funny thing is that while you’re busy telling me I have an accent, you seem to have forgotten that you have an accent too!

You have an accent to me, and I have an accent to you. The difference is that I am not sitting around analyzing how you pronounce your words. I have better things to do with my time. ??

An accent is simply evidence that someone comes from somewhere. It is not a measure of intelligence, education, sophistication, or success.

And then there are some very grown adults who have simply refused to grow up. They are still behaving like schoolyard bullies, mocking people’s accents and differences, thinking it makes them look funny, clever, or superior.

Meanwhile, all they are doing is advertising their own ignorance.

At some point, you would expect maturity and common sense to accompany age, but apparently, some people are just growing older without growing up. ??

Some people speak several languages fluently, yet someone who speaks only one language will have the audacity to mock how they pronounce a word in English.

The confidence is truly fascinating. ??

And personally, I couldn’t care less what anybody thinks about my accent. It doesn’t bother me one bit.

I know who I am, where I come from, and what I bring to the table. I am not about to start twisting my tongue or changing my identity to make anybody comfortable.

You don’t have to like how I speak. Thankfully, your approval is not a requirement for my existence.

I mind my business, protect my peace, drink enough water, and stay hydrated.

And I strongly recommend you do the same. Perhaps with proper hydration, you’ll have less time to worry about how other people pronounce their words. ??

Everybody has an accent. Nobody has a monopoly on the English language. And ignorance, unfortunately, is fluent in every language.

Where Are Children Learning So Much Hatred?

I often ask myself a question.

What kind of environment produces a child who finds pleasure in humiliating another child?

Where does that level of cruelty come from?

Of course, not every child who bullies another child is being taught hatred at home. Children are influenced by peers, social media, and the environments around them.

But parents cannot ignore the enormous influence they have on their children’s attitudes toward other people.

Children listen to our conversations. They notice how we speak about foreigners, immigrants, and people of different races, and families who have less than we do.

They hear the jokes we make.

They notice who we respect and who we look down upon.

Sometimes the prejudice a child displays in school is simply an attitude they have watched adults normalize.

And that is why I believe the first responsibility of parenting is not merely to raise successful children, but to raise decent human beings.

Before teaching a child how to become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or millionaire, teach that child how to treat another human being.

Teach your children that an accent is not a sign of stupidity.

Teach them that someone struggling to speak English may already speak two or three other languages fluently.

Teach them that being born in America does not make them superior to a child born in Ghana, Nigeria, Mexico, India, or anywhere else.

Teach them that kindness is not weakness, and being different is not something to be ashamed of.

Above all, teach them that every child deserves dignity.

Behind Every Child Is a Family That Loves Them

One thing I wish more children understood is that the classmate they bully is somebody’s precious child.

That child has a mother who may have worked two jobs to provide a better life.

A father who may have sacrificed everything to bring the family to America.

Parents who may have left behind comfortable lives, successful careers, family support, and everything familiar because they believed their children would have greater opportunities elsewhere.

Some immigrant parents have spent their last savings relocating their families.

And after all those sacrifices, imagine discovering that your child is being made miserable at school because of where they came from.

You have no idea what that family has endured.

You have no idea how many nights that mother has cried.

You have no idea how many prayers have been spoken over that child.

And you certainly have no idea how deeply your actions may affect another person’s life.

A careless joke to one child may become a painful memory another carries for decades.

Words matter. Cruelty matters. The emotional safety of children matters.

Kindness Should Begin at Home

I have always believed that one of the greatest gifts parents can give their children is compassion.

When I travel home with my children, I make a conscious effort to expose them to different realities of life, we visit communities and share food or other little things with people who have less.

Not because we have everything, but because I want my children to understand that life is bigger than their own comfort.

I want them to recognize that every human being deserves respect, regardless of their circumstances.

I want them to appreciate what they have without looking down on those who have less.

And most importantly, I want them to understand that being kind to another person does not diminish you.

You lose absolutely nothing by making another human being feel seen, respected, and accepted.

Parents, please teach your children to be the ones who welcome the new student.

The ones who sit beside the child everyone else ignores.

The ones who refuse to laugh when another child is being humiliated.

The ones who understand that friendship has no nationality and compassion has no color.

Because sometimes, one kind child can make all the difference in another child’s life.

There is something I have come to believe very strongly in life: not every person you hurt will retaliate, but that does not mean your actions are without consequences.

Some people are genuinely peaceful. They don’t compete with you, envy you, or wish you harm. They celebrate others, help where they can, and quietly go about their lives.

And yet, some people will still choose to hurt them.

Perhaps because they mistake kindness for weakness. Perhaps because they are uncomfortable with someone else’s peace. Or perhaps because they simply have not learned to treat people with compassion.

But there is a difference between someone who cannot fight back and someone who chooses not to.

Some people have reached a place in their lives where they understand that not every insult deserves a response, not every betrayal deserves confrontation, and not every act of wickedness deserves revenge.

They simply leave.

They pray.

They forgive where they can.

And they continue living.

I believe that when you deliberately hurt someone whose heart is genuinely pure, you may be creating consequences for yourself that you do not yet understand.

Not because that person has supernatural power over your life, but because our actions have a way of shaping our future.

The trust we destroy, the people we mistreat, and the harm we cause can eventually return to confront us.

And for those of us who believe in God, there is also comfort in knowing that justice does not depend entirely on our ability to fight back.

Romans 12:19 reminds us to leave vengeance to God.

That does not mean we should wish suffering on anyone. It means we can choose peace without pretending that wrongdoing is acceptable.

The greatest strength of a spiritually grounded person is not the ability to destroy an enemy, but the ability to walk away without becoming like the person who hurt them.

You Don’t Know Who You Are Hurting

Let me return to where I began.

There are people you should simply leave alone.

People who are not competing with you. People who are not looking for trouble. People who are simply trying to live peacefully, raise their families, pursue their dreams, and do right by others.

And there are innocent children who deserve nothing but the opportunity to grow up feeling safe and loved.

You may think your words are harmless. You may think humiliating someone is just a joke. You may even believe that because someone refuses to retaliate, they are weak.

But silence is not always a weakness.

Sometimes it is self-control. Sometimes it is faith. Sometimes it is a person choosing peace over a battle that could destroy everyone involved.

As a Christian, I believe God sees what human beings overlook. I believe He hears the cries of the brokenhearted, and I believe no act of cruelty should be treated as insignificant.

But I also believe that we have a responsibility to act. We must speak against bullying, demand justice when innocent people are harmed, and teach our children that every life has value.

We cannot simply talk about divine protection while ignoring our human responsibility to protect one another.

We should not have to wait until a child is seriously hurt or a family is grieving before we begin to take cruelty seriously.

Final Thoughts: Teach Kindness before Cruelty Takes Root

If there is one thing I hope this article leaves with every reader, especially parents, it is the importance of raising children who understand the value of human life.

Teach your children love before the world teaches them hate. Teach them that differences in language, accents, culture, appearance, or background should never become reasons to humiliate another person.

Behind every child is a family, a story, and a future filled with possibilities. No parent should have to bury a child because someone else failed to value that life. And no child should dread going to school simply because they are different.

The tragedy of Javits Frimpong reminds us how quickly a family’s dreams can be shattered. My own children’s experiences remind me that prejudice and ignorance can begin with seemingly small acts of cruelty. And the behavior of some adults shows us that growing older does not necessarily mean growing wiser.

We all have a responsibility to do better.

As a Christian, I believe in God’s protection and justice, but I also believe we are called to demonstrate His love through our actions. Faith should never become an excuse to remain silent when innocent people are suffering.

Kindness costs nothing, but cruelty can cost someone everything.

And perhaps that is the greatest lesson of all.

You never know the battles someone is fighting, the sacrifices behind their journey, or the prayers covering their life.

So before you ridicule, bully, humiliate, or deliberately hurt another human being, remember this:

Some people should simply be left alone. Better still, learn to treat people with kindness, because you never know how far the consequences of your cruelty may reach.

•Miss. Stacey Ukobasi O is the founder of FORUM FOR CHILD RIGHTS PROMOTION and is a USA based activist.