Heather Robinson
IN DECEMBER of 1992, about a week before Christmas, I visited a group of persons who had gathered at the intersection of White Church Street and De La Vega City in Spanish Town. This group was expressing displeasure with the Christmas work programme. At the time, I was the People's National Party's candidate for the general elections for St. Catherine South Central. This angry group of persons who were armed with placards voiced their displeasure about the level of benefits they had received. Sitting alone in my jeep with my window down, one man came and whispered, 'I going get a man fe rape you." While trying to absorb exactly what he had said, I noticed that someone was coming to the front of the jeep, armed with some of my 1993 calendars. He threw them under the jeep and within seconds there was a fire.
I quickly put the jeep in reverse, negotiated a 360-degree turn, headed into De La Vega City and managed to escape. On Monday and Tuesday night, my body shuddered as I witnessed a similar attack on the People's National Party as some residents of Spanish Town felt the need for a repeat performance as they burnt and stabbed the orange shirts with the image of the Minister of National Security, Dr Peter Phillips, a vice-president and presidential contender of the PNP. The reaction on Monday and Tuesday, almost 12 years since my own experience, raises several questions.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Has Spanish Town really reached to a point where political leadership is expected to subject itself to criminal gangs? What will the leadership of political parties decide to do with such supporters? Can the president of the PNP, P.J. Patterson, ever visit Spanish Town again after one member of that community has publicly stated that 'Bulbie' was better than the Prime Minister. How did we get to this point in our national development when members of a community can openly express their support for a criminal while at the same time openly expressing their displeasure with the Minister of National Security?
Some persons reading this will ask the question, why did I allow myself to be nominated and elected on March 28, 1993 after such a horrible experience? At that time, I stupidly and naively thought that I could make a difference, since these people were in fact supporters of the political party to which I belonged and was representing. This belief that I could make a difference was based on my good experiences with Labourites in Central Village and Gregory Park. They were never hostile or unfriendly. So why shouldn't I be able to calm the nerves of PNP supporters?
I later learnt that these supporters were different from all other supporters in the constituency. Their demands and needs were always bigger and at times made the requests of the rest of the constituency pale in comparison. These are the persons who had not had PNP constituency representation since 1980, and therefore considered themselves to have been in the wilderness for 13 years.
NO NEED FOR REPETITION
At this time of my life, I wish to make one point very clear. Having represented St. Catherine South Central for three years and two and a half months, I have no desire to ever again undertake such a task. Some experiences in life are of such that there is no need for repetition. And further, over these last 12 years I have come to realise that it is a compliment when some people do not like you. The good and honourable people in that constituency, and indeed in Jamaica know who they are, and have no desire to become dependent on the benevolence of any criminal for daily survival.
Today the People's National Party can no longer ask "where is the evidence?" The PNP must decide if it is willing to accept the support of such persons who have created a wave of terror in Spanish Town and indeed in Jamaica. There must be a clear, transparent and simple message that must reach all those who claim to have benefited from the exploits of Donovan Bennett, and others like him. The people of Spanish Town must also decide if they are happy with the representation they now receive, while remembering that leeches will suck the last ounce of blood from any host animal, and that any good farmer can tell you how to get rid of the roots of any dead tree.
Heather Robinson is a life underwriter and former Member of Parliament.
