THE EDITOR, Sir:ON A recent late night weekday journey home by taxi with a friend, our driver entered a small, seemingly peaceful
residential community in the Corporate Area.
Upon entering the community, we were startled to see a very young man armed with what appeared to be either an
AK-47 or an M-16 assault rifle standing brazenly at an intersection at the main entrance of the area. The frightened taxi man 'hailed' him so as to not seem suspicious. The gunman responded by saying to the driver, "Leave a ting wid mi when you a leave."
Upon arriving at the home of a friend in the community, the taxi driver, the friend who is a resident of the area, a few neighbours and I, all horrified, discussed quietly an escape plan. To cut a long story short, we successfully exited the community through an almost impassable route.
DEEPLY CONCERNED
I, like most Jamaicans, am deeply concerned by the
collapsing state of our country. The level of crime and the barefaced nature of criminals are extremely terrifying. Law and order are disappearing at an increasing pace in our country. The Government seems grossly ineffective in tackling the root causes of crime in our country. Clearly, a people who are given
poor education, little or no
economic opportunities, bad governance, limited justice,
an ineffectual police force, hopelessness and poverty, will resort to crime.
Can't the Government and even the PSOJ get that?
I am, etc.,
ANDRÉ MILLEN
ajmillenaire@hotmail.com
Kingston 7
Via Go-Jamaica
