Prime Minister Michael Manley (centre), conversing with residents during a tour of Mount Salem in 1978.
-FileDenise Clarke, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE WAR between gangs in Montego Bay in the late 1960s was not born out of politics, persons of that era readily admit.
In fact, to this day, the reasons behind the uprisings are not quite clear. Some were fighting for territory, while others were claiming don-ship. Whatever the reason behind it, the feud caused undue hardship to residents as travelling from one warring community to the other could prove fatal.
In the end it was the politicians who had to step in to make peace, in the form of then Prime Minister, the late Michael Manley. It was only after an impassioned plea for peace from Mr. Manley, shortly after he became Prime Minister in 1972, that the warring factions were finally convinced to lay down their arms.
As far as The Gleaner could garner, the gangs were neither affiliated with the political parties, nor influenced by them. It seemed that the city did not take kindly to politicians mixing with criminal elements.
UNWILLING TO SPEAK
Many of those who were actively involved in politics at that time have died, and the ones alive who know, are unwilling or unable to speak publicly about it. Such emotion do the events of 1967-1972 evoke, that several persons openly questioned The Gleaner's motives for opening up these old wounds. Others said they simply could not recall the events of that time.
Community activist, Luther Irving, was caught in the middle of the gang warfare. He initially used to play the role of a middleman, he said, transporting persons safely from one warring community into the other. But after being attacked in 1970 and left with a machete scar on his lower back, the war became personal.
"The people from Glendevon, Green Pond and those areas wouldn't come downtown. People were afraid to identify where they came from," Irving recalled. "If you find yourself out into another community, chances are you could be killed."
According to him, numerous persons, some politically affiliated, attempted to broker peace. But the call was only heeded when it came from Michael Manley.
THE KERR-JARETTS
At that time, too, most of the land in Montego Bay was owned by one family, the Kerr-Jarretts, and the growing lower-class was getting desperate to establish their roots. It was this agitation over land ownership and a defiance of the authorities in the aftermath of the Coral Gardens uprising in 1963, which many believe led to the present squatter situation in Montego Bay.
Go back in time to the Montego Bay riots of April 1902. According to 'The History of Montego Bay' written by Clinton V. Black, a 2,000-strong mob attacked the police, raining missiles at the police station retreating only after the lawmen decided to fight fire with fire.
"The criminal population" of Meagre Bay, the site where the St. James Parish Library is now located, was blamed for the uprising.
In the aftermath of these riots, Police Inspector Herbert Thomas was quoted in the book as saying that he "was convinced that what really brought about the riots was the tightening up of police control after years of laxity." Montego Bay, he said, had become "the most rowdy and disorderly town in the island..."
Fast forward a 100 years to October 2003, when the community of Canterbury erupted in violence, and gunmen openly challenged the police. In the aftermath, several high powered weapons and rounds of ammunition were recovered.
However, Canterbury was not always like this, according to Mr. Irving, and the residents there are not criminals.
FIRST LAND SETTLEMENT
His account of history names Canterbury as the first land settlement in Montego Bay, that was located outside of the Kerr-Jarrett lands, where ordinary people could set up residence.
"Most of the people in Montego Bay have roots in Canterbury. If he is from Ironshore he has roots in Canterbury and if he is from Montego Hills, he has roots in Canterbury. Because when people first start to come to Montego Bay the only place they could get a room to rent that they could afford was in Canterbury," said Irving.
Today, except for personal conflicts between gunmen from certain communities, there are no widescale wars in Montego Bay. The borders set up in the late 1960s have long been trampled, and residents can move freely into most communities without fear of being attacked because of where they live.
A present-day look at Montego Bay shows a city perpetually at war with itself but it is conflict that is underlined by economic survival, as its working class citizenry hussle for the crumbs of the tourist trade.
