Beverley Anderson -Manley
THE MONTEGO BAY POLICE under the leadership of Keith 'Trinity' Gardner must be commended on the results they are getting as they proceed on the challenging task of combating crime and violence in that town. It is said that there are upwards of 17 "human poverty streams" making their way into the tourism city. These have their source in the areas surrounding Montego Bay. Using whatever means they need to survive, they 'stream' into the city. As these converge on the centre of Montego Bay, high levels of crime and antisocial behaviour come into conflict with honest, law-abiding citizens going about their daily business.
RELENTLESS STREAMS
Imagine for a moment the 'haunting spectre' of 17 inner-city areas surrounding the city of Montego Bay. These are areas where at their worst, women, men and children defecate in scandal bags and are in a constant 'hustle' as they attempt to survive by navigating their way through what appears to be a desperate, hopeless and unyielding life.
REALITIES OF POVERTY
The impact of this environment of poverty is devastating. Fathers often
disappear. Mothers 'crack the whip' as they seek to eke out some kind of discipline on a chronic and inevitable disorder that has established itself. Children and teenagers are rebellious. Poverty is one of the critical factors that fuels crime and anti-social behaviour. The data tell us that the critical determinant of crime is inequity - the gap between the renowned Jamaican anthropologist Mike Smith's famous 'haves and have-nots'. This inequity manifests itself in diverse but obvious ways. There is the uptown/downtown syndrome and the dissimilar ways in which people live, speak and dress. Then there are the endemic issues of our social attitudes -; our characteristic bigotry over class and colour; and the power struggle of dis-enfranchised spirits resulting in violence against women and homophobia. Perhaps the most insidious phenomenon of all is the contempt showered upon the women, men and children - despite their ongoing need for justice heard in their cry for 'Respect!'
THE TWO JAMAICAS
Succeeding political administrations have chipped away at the Achilles heel of what Phillip Curtin famously called 'The Two Jamaicas' - a yawning gap between the rich and poor that stubbornly refuses to contract.
Yet, more and more the so-called 'innercity' areas are converging on the so-called 'outercity' areas. Wealth is on display simultaneously with poverty in this not so small plantation called Jamaica where 'backra massa' and 'slaves' are still evident. Whereas 'Trinity' and his team are carrying out a successful stop gap job to allow Montego Bay to remain viable, the greater challenge presents itself to those in a position of power and privilege to have the vision and common sense and ultimately, the will to restructure a situation from which the entrenched poor on their own cannot possibly extract themselves.
"MI SAY MI CAAN'T BELIEVE IT"
Our writers write about it - the need for the voiceless (beyond well-meant articulation on their behalf) to have their own voice. George Lamming writes about the need to recognise and value the intellectual capacity of marginalised grass roots people. Rachel Manley recognises the need for us to find our own identity through 'voice'. The Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott cries out in anguish to his two Motherlands of Europe and Africa - "Who shall I turn to?" The Jamaican Dub poet Mikey Smith finds his voice and incredulously declares - "Me Say Me Caan't Believe It"!
It is within this kind of atmosphere that 'Trinity' and his team are tackling the human product of a history of relentless victimisation - 'the gangs' - in Montego Bay.
Beverley Anderson Manley is a political scientist, broadcaster and coach. Email: BManley@kasnet.com.
