Lloyd Williams, Senior Associate Editor at The Gleaner, recently fielded questions from members of the public during the Caribbean Media Network's on-line chat, hosted by Go-Jamaica. Offering assistance is Sandra Davis of Go-Jamaica.- Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer Lloyd Williams, Senior Associate Editor at The Gleaner, was the guest on the Caribbean Media Network's on-line chat hosted by 'Go-Jamaica' on January 24. Below are excerpts of his chat, which covered issues dealing with crime and drug trafficking in Jamaica and the rest of the region.
Question: Is the Government doing enough to contain the drug threat the society faces?
Answer: Yes; within the resources that it has. Jamaica is a relatively poor country and its performance at dealing with the drug problem is commendable compared to a country like the USA that has all the resources at its command and still has a serious drug problem.
Question: How would you rate the latest anti-crime measures in Jamaica compared to previous initiatives?
Answer: It is too early to give it a meaningful rating because it is just seven weeks old. What is different this time though and points hopefully to its success is the fact that security forces teams will be in for the long haul.
Question: We have heard so much by the Commissioner of Police in Jamaica about the big players in the drug trade. How is it that none of these players have yet been arrested and exposed?
Answer: The 'Mr. Bigs' of the drug trade are always difficult to bring to book and no less so in Jamaica. However, a few months ago the Commissioner gave the impression that all that was left for the 'Mr. Bigs' to be put before the court was the signing of arrest warrants. We, too, are waiting with bated breath.
Question: I am living abroad for 30 years, and would one day like to return to Jamaica to live but my foreign family and I are afraid to live in Jamaica because of the violence and killings. What are the plans for the new Government to curtail this grave problem that seems to be a part of Jamaica's culture?
Answer: The Government on December 1, launched a new initiative to reduce the level of crime. One of things that the Minister of National Security said would be different this time is that the initiatives will not be focused on inner city communities only, but will be extended to all areas of the island.
Question: Mr. Williams, I am a concerned person, I am a Trinidadian and I love Jamaica but do you think that enough is being done to eradicate drugs out of Jamaica?
Answer: The Government has launched a new crime initiative and a major focus of it is targeting the link between the drug trade and the sustained criminality that the island is experiencing. We are getting much needed assistance from the British, American and Colombian Governments. We trust that this will bring about the results that are required.
Question: What exactly is the Government doing to make things better for the poor people in Jamaica? Too many lives are being lost by desperate people willing to transport drugs to another country for a few bucks.
Answer: The Government says that it intends to provide jobs to ease the unemployment situation but it will take time.
Question: You are placing Jamaica with powerhouse countries like the US, you should segregate Jamaica from these country and then answer why you think that Jamaica's violence has escalated to such heights compared to countries like ourselves?
Answer: I think both the police, the Government and other sources have agreed that much of the violence being experience is sparked by the fact that between 100-120 metric tonnes of cocaine pass through Jamaica each year and it is this that has spawned the criminal gangs who offer protection and safe haven for the drugs and have frequent fights over turf and to ensure the smooth passage of the cocaine.
Question: I recently met a 23-year-old Jamaican who is living abroad and has no intention of returning home although it is obvious that she is in pain at not being able to return due to the violence. Any thoughts?
Answer: Not all the 2.6 million people who live in Jamaica face violence in their day-to-day lives. Much of the violence is attributed to domestic reasons and a similar proportion to reprisal/gang feuds. It is no comfort that last year on the average three people were murdered each day, but by and large most of the murders or violence occurred in certain inner-city communities.
Question: No, Lloyd, the Colombians are not the problem, and it is the political leaders who have led the people astray. If people here had options then they would not swallow cocaine in order to feed their children.
Answer: A lot of people who offer themselves as cocaine couriers are driven more by greed than by need. For example, airline stewardess, police and other people employed in relatively well-paying jobs have been arrested here and overseas for smuggling drugs.
Question: We have known about the connection of crime and poverty for some time. What are the factors, in your opinion, that will move things in a positive direction? Is it the private sector?
Answer: It is a situation in which everybody would have to chip in. The Government, the private sector, the intelligentsia, and people at the grass roots. The problem is the leadership to motivate everybody to realise that we all swim together or drown together.
Question: A lot of our murders today are extremely vicious. Does this suggest a growing relationship between the drug trade and our murder rate?
Answer: Yes. Cocaine trade by its very nature is a murderous one. There is no recourse to the law or to conflict resolution. Once trust is broken the gun settles everything. Besides the gang members invariably venture into other areas of criminality including kidnapping, extortion, carjacking and armed robberies with fatal results for their victims.
Question: Let's not fool ourselves, no sensible minded businessman will invest until he is assured that his business will be safe from criminals, namely the so-called dons. Do you agree?
Answer: Yes. It is this high level of criminality in which the dons figure prominently which has led to this reluctance to invest in Jamaica.
Question: I see Jamaica as the next Haiti. How can we save the country from going down this road?
Answer: First, we need more jobs, we need more investments, we need to get all our children in school and to ensure that they develop to their full potential. But most of all we need the leadership to ensure that we achieve these things.
Question: Lloyd, is the Jamaican press doing enough investigative reporting to expose corruption in high places? If not, why?
Answer: No. Investigative reporting is expensive and it's time-consuming and it demands reporters with a certain level of skill. Of course, there are a lot of stories to be done. I don't know of any editor who is going to give a reporter two months off to work on a story. Again, one of the obstacle to investigative reporting is we don't have a freedom of information act that will provide us with timely, relevant information that politicians especially want to keep hidden.
Question: What needs to be done in reducing the flow of cocaine to Jamaica?
Answer: We need to get go fast boats because that is the only way we can chase the go fast boats that are bringing in and taking out cocaine to Jamaica. We have a coastline that is 1022km and our Jamaica Defence Force coastguard is stretched thin even to cover one small area.
Question: When Government gives contracts to known dons, are they not sending wrong signals to investors and the youths about values and attitudes?
Answer: The giving of contracts should be transparent otherwise these contracts will only attract adverse rumours to the people to whom they are awarded.
Question: Lloyd, what would you say about the people in high places who back these dons?
Answer: They are very much apart of the problem. Besides, they are being hypocritical more often than not. Publicly they come out in support of transparency and honesty when they are as much mired in corruption as are the dons.
Question: Are journalists not afraid in Jamaica? How has the threat of violence affected your work over the years?
Answer: I have had my share of threats but if I were to let the threats get to me I would not get out of bed in the mornings.
Question: Do people see two Jamaicas when they talk about crime and violence?
Answer: Yes. Part of the problem we are facing is that, in fact, there are two Jamaicas. The Jamaica of the innercities and the Jamaica of the leafy suburbs. Very little of the violence occurs in the tourist resorts. Most of it occurs in the inner-city, but to the Jamaican overseas, or nationals from other countries, Jamaica is one small place and they feel threatened by this perception of violence.
Question: Lloyd, I think we are seeing leaders who are more educated than before. What is your take on that?
Answer: Yes, but education is not a guarantee of selfless service, or good ideas, or integrity, or always giving priority to the public weal.
