Daraine Luton, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

CENTRAL KINGSTON has always voted for a People's National Party (PNP) Mem-ber of Parliament. Since the 1980s, misguided members of the constituency have traded bullets across the political divide.

The island's crime chief, Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields has listed at least one Central Kingston community, Tel-Aviv as a hot spot which could erupt as the fight for political spoils intensifies.

However, according to some residents, the imminent general election will not see them shooting at each other.

"Wi done wid dat. Politics war nuh cut it nuh more," declared a resident of the PNP-aligned 'Spoilers' gang.

"Wi get wiser," one Southside resident told The Sunday Gleaner last week when we toured sections of Central Kingston. Another resident said that if someone tried to break the peace in the name of politics, he would be killed since his actions might cause the death of several others.

Trouble spots

Six towns, namely Parade Gardens (consisting of Southside and Tel-Aviv), Rose Gardens (which encompasses the area called Spoilers), Kingston Gardens, Allman Town, Campbell Town and Rae Town make up the constituency, which former Prime Minister, the late Michael Manley, represented for years.

Police have fingered the areas of Tel-Aviv, Southside and Spoilers and a section of Rae Town and Allman Town to be the trouble spots in the constituency. The slightest movement, they say, can trigger war, especially among political factions.

"When election is in the air, especially in these strongholds, emotions normally get high. We are aware of this, and we are using various containment stategies to ensure that the peace holds," said the crime chief at the Central Kingston police, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Derrick Champagnie.

He said the police have stepped up their patrol and are having frequent dialogues with these fragile communities to ensure they don't erupt.

"We have no intelligence to suggest that there is little cause for concern, but I have spoken to persons in places like Southside, encouraging them that it is important to keep the peace," DSP Champagnie said.

Taking nothing for granted

With the recent uprising off Mountain View Avenue in mind, DSP Champagnie said the police "are trying to be proactive, so in case of any eventualities we won't be caught on the back foot. We are taking nothing for granted," he added.

Last October, a feud between Tel-Aviv and Spoilers, both aligned to the PNP, left more than 20 persons dead. Prior to that, rival gangs engaged in bitter gun battles resulting in a massive loss of lives and crippling of social and commercial activities.

"People could not cross certain imaginary boundaries, most of them political, but we have managed to remove those imaginary lines," declared Dunstan Whittingham, chairman of the Central Kingston Task Team (CKTT).

Although now mainly gang related, Central Kingston's bitter rivalries date back to the 1980s when Jamaica began manifesting signs of political strife.

Today, however, it is the PNP's factions in Tel-Aviv and Spoilers who are at odds. The genesis of their feud is not known, but residents have said it is purely gang related.

"Everything cris bout yah man," exclaimed one man from Spoilers, who added that it is just themselves and Tel-Aviv that had differences. Those differences, Mr. Whittingham said, are being ironed out.

On the several occasions that The Sunday Gleaner toured the three troubled communities, children of varying ages played in the streets. The commercial strip which leads from Palace Theatre in the east to East Street in the west, was abuzz with people, many of whom were vendors. It was a heartening sign that CKTT efforts are not in vein.

Grace Staff Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has instituted among other things, a homework centre and an employment databank which has allowed people to live close to normal lives in the city.

However, the cry for employment is very loud among the residents. On one of our visits, a young man showed us an empty knapsack. He said he had just returned some uniforms to a security company, which had employed him, but refused to pay him a salary after six months on the job.

Noting that unemployment is almost 70 per cent in the constituency, Mr. Whittingham is appealing to corporate Jamaica for assistance. He said many of the youngsters in the communities have at least basic qualifications, they only need a chance. Mr. Whittingham said that if unemployment continues to remain high, crime reduction in the area will be very difficult and as one resident puts it, it makes it easier "fi any card play."