THE EDITOR, Sir:
IT HAS always puzzled me that the government has never come out clearly against one of their main competitors, the dons. In terms of the police, dons often are in competition with them, and, as the police are not providing the localised, community-based protection and service that is needed to keep the peace, the dons fill this gap.
The dons also have cornered a large part of the economy, handling the drugs. And they are also dealing in extortion and other rackets and criminal ventures such as the "used vehicle parts supply." Because of all this, they manage to live a high life, judging by the Cadillac SUV's you see on the road.
Recent initiatives on dealing with our epidemic of rape have mentioned the don's practice of forcibly fathering many babies with the children of the people he 'protects.'
If the government really wanted to go after this group, it seems to me that they have several options.
Firstly, provision of police posts and community policing in the relevant communities would provide the protection (and the intelligence) that is lacking at present.
Secondly, I believe it is possible in Jamaica for the income tax department to assess the lifestyle of someone and try to match it with his or her income, and if this were done, all sorts of truths would come out.
Thirdly, as far as the carnal abuse of our young girls goes, it would only take two DNA samples to prove paternity and therefore rape of one under-age child to put away one of these people. Surely our laws make room for carrying out this task.
How much it is desired to implement one or other of these ideas must be critical to the problem. Let us look at the evidence there is for political will.
The government seems to be happy for the security services carried out by the dons, so we do not trouble them unless they start fighting each other, but otherwise we employ them to carry out various services downtown.
The rape problem, well, perhaps that is just seen as 'collateral damage' from a system that seems, otherwise to be working well.
Somebody, please, wake up and do your job. We have waited too long as the enemy in our midst has armed itself and grown strong. This is an alternate form of government in the making, and it is rapidly gaining strength. Please undermine its support to take away its base and remove its leadership before it takes over.
I am etc.,
CONCERNED
Name and address withheld.
