'Ghettofication' of Portmore
published: Friday | August 6, 2004

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I DON'T know if it's just my imagination running wild, but ever since Portmore became a municipality last year, the quality of life seems to be declining steadily. There seems to be an influx of 'ghetto people' and their attendant values (or the lack thereof) and lifestyle. This includes loud music, practically every day and night of the week, which suggests that these people do not work, and therefore their source of income is questionable. They are loud and coarse in their behaviour and so are their children, who roam the streets at ungodly hours, making a nuisance of themselves.

OUTRAGEOUS

The motels along the Port Henderson Road have become more outrageous in their offerings of nocturnal entertainment, which includes on-stage nudity, which is still illegal in this country. The billboards promoting dances are lewd and unfortunately posted at the entrance to the community, i.e. the round-a-bout at the Portmore Mall. In addition, these people like to chop down trees and other forms of vegetation, because they have no love for nature and are only interested in creating a concrete jungle, which only creates hardened people.

If the churches and the good people of Portmore do not decide to band together to preserve whatever level of decency and community spirit they had up until recent times, they will soon find themselves living in ghettoes, which operate under their own laws and have their own self-appointed 'area leaders'.

I am, etc.,

SUNSHINE CITY RESIDENT