Daraine Luton and Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Reporters

Soldiers keep an eye on residents, while patrolling Collie Smith Drive in Trench Town on Thursday afternoon. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

THE SUN is out in all its brilliance. Little girls dressed in red tunics and white blouses and boys in khaki and red ties dash across the road to school. It's just past midday Thursday and this is Trench Town.

It has a place in history. It was here that reggae icon Bob Marley spent most of his life, along with other reggae superstars such as Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Delroy Wilson, giving birth to the popular lyrics which are now known the world over.

Trench Town was the home of the 'Mighty Mouse', known formally as Collie Smith, the talented Jamaica and West Indies batsman, who died in a motor vehicle accident while on tour with the regional cricket team.

For years, there has been talk about transforming the community into a tourist attraction but nothing has been forthcoming. Except for the few tourists who brave foreign advisories not to enter Jamaica's inner-city, Trench Town, for the most part, gets little attention from the authorities.

These days, the police have their hands full dealing with criminal elements there. Residents say these criminals are crusading in the name of politics. The police say they have a handle on the situation and life in Trench Town is almost back to normal.

Violence and poverty have prevented Trench Town from capitalising on its history. It is something that residents know and they long for the day when the "place will be all nice" according to Clive.

nobody cares

"We have a bad image already but nuff more things can gwaan round yah. But nuh baddy nuh care bout we. Trench Town a pure history," Clive remarks, while dilapidated houses peeped over his shoulders. He believes that with the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup (CWC) not too far away, preparations should long have been undertaken to showcase the community.

In 49 days the spotlight of the world will be focused on Jamaica for the CWC. Thousands of visitors are expected to flock to the Caribbean and Jamaica should get a sizeable bite of these tourists, many of whom are coming to the region not just for cricket, but to see the beauty of the island. Culture Yard in Trench Town is one place for such a stop. So far, only one day has been allocated to the community and that's March 17, when a concert will be held there.

Every now and again, tourists pop into Culture Yard and Rastafarians who live there believe Bob Marley's old-time residence could attract tourists in droves.

"Culture Yard is a gold mine. Is just fi Trench Town get the respect it deserves," an elderly Rastafarian says.

Sister Grace Yapp of the Trench Town Development Association (TTDA) agrees. She explains that a number of developments were outlined for the community and for Culture Yard in particular, but none of it will be ready in time for Cricket World Cup. Among some of those developments should have been the establishment of a museum in Culture Yard as well as a court yard and open air restaurant where tourists could learn about the history of the place while they dined.

Houses along First Street stretch where Culture Yard is situated should have also been developed into small cottages so residents can open their homes as small accommodation to tourists. This was to be pursued as part of the long term development plan for Trench Town.

But many of the projects have been delayed Sister Grace explains because of political violence in the area and the recent malaria outbreak and so will never be ready in time for CWC.

She puts some of the blame at the feet of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCO), which has been dragging its feet in organising a steering committee to guide the project.

"Can you imagine if we never had the violence and malaria and we had those places fixed up which we should have had long ago? People would be sleeping down there now. Cricket people, that's where they would have gone and hang out down there," she says.

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Not his real name