Do not sweep Tivoli bloodbath under the rug

THE EDITOR, Sir:

AS ANY decent-minded Jamaican should, I am alarmed and outraged about the recent upsurge in violence across the island's capital. There can be little doubt that the violence has caused immeasurable damage to Jamaica's social, economic and political landscape.

Jamaica, we must pledge to keep the spotlight on the violence that grips our tiny island, always seeking solutions. The law enforcers, private sector, Church, NGOs (who need to let their voices be heard) and other civic groups must be intimately involved in identifying solutions.

At the same time, we cannot allow the Tivoli Gardens incident to be swept under the rug, or to be upstaged by other events. I call for urgency and transparency on the part of the officials as a full-scale enquiry is launched into this incident. For those of you fortunate enough to occupy mountaintops and who journey to the valley only out of necessity, it would be interesting to note how many criminal elements currently share those mountaintop ranges under cloaks of respectability. How far have these elements become entrenched in your daily lives?

As you increase threefold your security precautions remember this, if we allow violence to fester, its icy tentacles will reach out and touch each and every one of us, regardless of geographical locale. We cannot divorce ourselves from what happened in Western Kingston. We cannot condemn our relations or wish for them the worst because by some quirk of fate they were born on the wrong side of the tracks. I for one believe in the power of prayer and so I leave you with the following words, which should be recognised by all Jamaicans. Eternal Father, bless our land.

I am etc.,

RISTOYNE

ristoyne@hotmail.com

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