Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator
Police stand guard at the intersection of Gold and East Queen streets on November 25 this year, following the shooting of councillor of the Rae Town division, Rosalie Hamilton. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer
An estimated 1,500 people have been murdered over the past three decades in the bloody conflict between Southside and Tel-Aviv, two rival communities in the hotbed of central Kingston. The bloodletting began more than 30 years ago, following a dispute over a pair of 'bell-foot' pants.
The violence over the years has been fuelled by vengeance and reprisals. Several fragile peace treaties have been shattered. The recent shooting of Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the Rae Town division, Rosalie Hamilton, and two other women, is a result of the legacy of instability left by factions.
And so is the shooting of Joseph Knight, the People's National Party's (PNP) chairman for the constituency now recuperating, he has allegedly been receiving death threats.
The Gleaner spoke with one of the original members of the 'Skull' and 'Southie' gangs, who explained how the war between Tel-Aviv and Southside began.
"Back in the late 1960s and early '70s, we were all one, known to everybody as the 'Max Gang'," the former gang member said.
He said 'Max Gang' back then comprised both Rastas and non-Rastas. They were men who people referred to sometimes as 'soul boys'. The gang operated in the territory which is now called Southside and Tel-Aviv. Rosemary Lane was their base, where they cooked and socialised.
'Fire fe dem pants deh'
According to 'Tallman', who was one of the popular and highly respected men on the corners in Southside during that time, things changed for the worse one Sunday night in 1969 when a notorious member of the gang, Winston Green, alias 'Leliments', a tailor by profession, was clad in a pair of 'bell-foot' pants (pants which have the appearance of bells) and an unusual shirt. He and his girlfriend were heading down to Victoria Pier, to attend the regular Sunday night dance, 'Sunday A-go Go'.
"He was walking past Rosemary Lane and Barry Street corner, when some of the Max man seh, blood fire fe dem pants deh, only b...boy where dem pants deh," said Tallman.
Green, who is now deceased, ignored the snide remarks and the following day cut and wounded two of the men who were criticising his attire. This immediately sparked a split in the gang.
"Some of the men went with the Rastas, led by Buckles Henry, to the bottom of Rosemary Lane, while the others took sides with Leliments, Proben Williams ('Dixie Boy') and 'One Eye Danny', who was Leliments' brother, to the top of the lane," recounted Tallman.
Eventually, Buckles and the Rastas switched allegiance to 'Skull' in Southside. Thereafter, Buckles and Leliments would clash in some fierce fights. The conflict raged until Buckles was stabbed and killed in 1969.
Leliments was said to have been the first man from central Kingston to ride a 354 high-powered motorcycle and drive a Jaguar motor car. He was shot and killed in the United States during the mid-1990s.
The Gleaner understands that after Buckles died, the tenor of the war was ratcheted up with the introduction of guns. These included home-made guns like 'Sand Buckie'.
Spiral of death
By 1979, most of the original gang members had either died, migrated or been imprisoned. Some of their children, combined with other relatives and friends, became involved. The cycle has continued, and today, even bigger, more powerful guns are the weapons of choice.
Councillor for the area, Rosie Hamilton, herself a double shooting victim, is pleading for peace, and is calling on the security forces to quell the violence.
"The peace broke down two years ago. Something happened at a meeting and since that there has been hatred and bad blood between the youth of Southside and Tel-Aviv," lamented Hamilton.
"I am praying for the guns in central Kingston to rust," said Member of Parliament for the area, Ronald Thwaites.
Thwaites, a Catholic deacon, believes the bloodletting could end if a concerted effort was made to tackle the problem on two fronts - seizing the guns and improving the social infrastructure of the inner cities which are firmly in the grips of poverty. He also blames his political antecedents for the present-day realities.
Members of the Special Anti-Crime Task Force search the body of 24-year-old Michael Gladstone Gayle who was killed in an alleged shoot-out in Southside, central Kingston, in 1993. - File photos
A man boasts his flexibility on the streets of Tel-Aviv, in this July 24, 2006 picture. In the background are damaged buildings which graphically explain the neglect into which the war-torn community has sunk.
Left: A boy rides his bike on a relatively lonely Gold Street in the Southside community. Children have also suffered in the decades-long conflict. Right: This little 'nurse' waves to a few of her friends as students of the Holy Family Primary School march through Southside for peace in June last year. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
