Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
Doreen Billings (second from left), head of Mother in Crisis, leads the Million Woman March out of the National Stadium car park in St. Andrew yesterday. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
ONLY A trickle of Jamaicans turned out to support the 'Million Woman March' in St. Andrew, which was touted as a stand against crime.
The march was put on by the women's support group Mother in Crisis, and was intended to be a forum for Jamaican women to pledge their commitment to work to rid the nation of criminals. It started at the National Stadium and culminated at National Heroes' Park, with a rally that almost broke out into a church service.
But even though it was scantily attended, the mini-march was made up of Jamaican men and women of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds, from Muslims in full traditional dress, to Hindu women in saris. There was even a balding Rastafarian man in a colourful Hawaiian print shirt, with matching shorts to boot! There were all sorts.
"I have done what God called me to do. I cannot help but feel pleased," said head of Mother in Crisis, Doreen Billings. She, however, had harsh words for those who did not show solidarity with the cause.
"When calamity befalls you, you will have nobody to blame but yourselves. You had the opportunity to take a stand and you did not. So when it's your door that is kicked down, you should have nothing to say. Don't even call the police, because you did nothing to counteract criminality," she said.
Among the attendees was Minister of Local Government, Portia Simpson Miller; National Security Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips; and Lorna Golding, wife of Opposition Leader Bruce Golding.
