On Wednesday night four persons were killed in a community
in Clarendon, three teenagers and 35 y-old man. It is alleged that perpetrators
attempted to rob the boys as they were coming from the gym and when their
demands were not met, they killed the young men in cold blood – execution style.
The commissioner of police Dr. Williams says that there is a reward of J$500,000
for any information that could lead to the capture arrest of these criminals.
When did the hearts of men become so cold? What could have been going through
their minds when they commit such an act? Could it be that these activities transcends
merely our view of human wickedness and tap into the realm of spirituality –
demonic activities. Earlier this year, an eleven year old was shot and killed
in cold blood, an eleven month old baby was killed while his mother was bathing
him. In a matter of two weeks, two fourteen year old teenage girl were killed
and then it was then discovered that they were pregnant.
Additionally, an eleven year old girl was found to be
pregnant, allegedly raped by her uncle. When I examine what is happening in my
country I become so paranoid, day after day I live in fear – wondering what
will happen if I simply walk on the street. It is like I am actually living a
horror movie. The word safe has slowly but surely lost it meaning and the sad
reality is that what happened to the four persons killed could have happened to
any one of us. What really got me spiked was the fact that in January alone, more
than 100 persons have been killed, yet our security minister told us we need
not to be alarmed. What nonsense! Question, do we have terrorist among us?
It was the UWI, Mona that released a study that show that
half of Jamaican youth are willing to give up their citizenship for better
opportunities overseas. What is that saying about this country? Mark you, I am
very much proud of my country – as our culture is respected world-wide. We are
known for producing world class athletes and our reggae music is highly
respected. However, Jamaica is not the place it used to be. When I was a child,
I used to enjoy the stories my great grand-mother would to tell me about the
then Jamaica of which she existed. It is just not the same. Our crime rate
makes us a country that attracts less investors, an aspect that is critical to
the growth of any nation.
When you think about it, our children are in danger and that
means our future is in danger. As a country we have failed to protect our
precious treasure. Children must be protected at all cost. Let us look at the
animal realm. Have we ever seen how a dog protect its young from what it deemed
as predators? Have we seen how a chicken protect its young from predators? Nature
itself tells us how precious they are, but it seems humans have it the other
way around. Our vision 2030 wants to make Jamaica ‘the’ place to raise
families, at this rate, that seems unlikely. Jamaica is not what it used to be.
If we do have terrorists, what reason is there for us not to fear?
I cannot account for the pain that these mothers must be
facing as a result of the acts of the criminals. They need to get justice, they
need to know that these criminals are hunted day and night and the police will
stop at nothing to catch them. No amount of word will comfort them, justice
will. While nothing will bring back their children, at least they deserved to
see the perpetrators punished for their heinous crime. We are a very corrupt
nation, our political environment is disastrous, and we are indiscipline. A
recent report stated that Jamaica is running one of the worst austerity budget
in the world so I find a recent report from the IMF surprising that says “Jamaica’s
growth forecast was slightly lowered for 2015, but surprisingly it still beat
the average growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to fresh data
from the island's multilateral lender the International Monetary Fund (IMF).”
(Jamaica Observer, April 17, 2015). Jamaica is not the worst, but that does not
mean we should settle for mediocrity. Jamaica indeed lack resources to
effective tackle crime. We lack the technology, man power and creativity.
I believe these acts that have been occurring since recently
are acts of terrorism. While we do not have a massacre as there was in Kenya,
what is happening here has some characteristics that resembles those acts. And we
need not the wait until it reached that far for us to see that something is definitely
wrong. The church has been so silent on these critical issues and this a cause
of concern. We need to cry out and demand more of our government, we need more
of our nation, our people and ourselves. The culture of silence must change and
we need to find ways to put these criminals behind bars. I call for justice, do
you?
