THE EDITOR, Sir:
AS ONE of your lead articles said in the April 10 Gleaner On-line: 'Holy Thursday and Good Friday bore witness to some unholy and unfortunate acts, as...four persons were murdered...' One of those murdered, Dalton 'Ken' Brown, 35, was my mother's younger brother and a very peaceful young man in the Montego Bay community. As your article mentioned, Ken was a gardener, and did his job with dignity, rather than doing anything illegal or remaining unemployed amidst Jamaica's crisis of unemployment. Now, because of unholy, evil men, during Holy Week, my uncle has become a victim, gunned down by what your paper termed 'unknown assailant(s)'.
My heart goes out to the relatives of the family of the other people who were mentioned in your article titled "Four murdered, one dies in car accident." My heart and that of my mom and other family members are aching to witness this sadness of our beloved Ken becoming a statistic of the murder madness that has gripped our beloved Jamaica. The unstemmed murders and criminality on the island makes one wonder who is in charge of Jamaica. Is it the government or the criminals? Is the government powerless to take guns from the criminals? Is the government doing everything possible to halt apparent killing sprees now overtaking Montego Bay and Kingston, the nation's two major cities?
Those unknown assailant(s) who snuffed out the life of Dalton 'Ken' Brown and the other victims mentioned in your article, Mr. Editor, are not unknown to the God of Heaven and they will meet with divine justice. Meanwhile, will the security forces and the politicians do anything to bring them to earthly justice? How many more will have to suffer? How many more will have to die before a state of emergency is declared to reduce the number of guns in the hands of criminals?
It might be time for God-fearing, peace-loving citizens of Montego Bay to form their own crime-fighting groups to rid the town of criminals. Enough is enough. Unfortunately for Ken and the others who died with him during Holy Week, any such efforts now will be too little, too late. May their souls rest in peace.
I am, etc.,
Rev. MERVIN STODDART
INMerv@hotmail.com
P.O. Box 150953
Altamonte Springs
Florida
Via Go-Jamaica
