Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

Spanish Town, St. Catherine

President of the Returning Residents Association, Percival La Touche, said immediate attention needed to be paid to the life of returned resident as, in the last seven years, 209 have been murdered.

He said that, with an average of 30 deaths per year, it is clear that criminals do not believe they will be punished when they kill persons who went abroad and worked hard before returning to the island.

Having attended several funerals, he claimed that, since the start of 2007, eight returning residents had been killed and that it was heart-wrenching to see that, when they return, they cannot enjoy their hard-earned money.

Authorities have failed

He added that this trend has been allowed to continue as the authorities failed in a bid to deter criminals from preying upon returned residents. He said the time had come for persons, when caught, to pay the ultimate price for their acts.

Mr. La Touche was addressing the funeral of returned resident, Ivy Vernice Rhodes, of Kitson Town, who was burnt to death in her house on September 28, exactly 10 years after she returned to the island, having worked in England for 37 years.

"I am not afraid to say that the only crime these residents have done is to return to Jamaica and that alone is very sad," he said.