Once again Jacques Road, off Mountain View Road in Kingston is the focus of much attention. In three days one man, three women and a three month old infant was shot and killed by gunmen. Also six homes were destroyed by fire as gunmen threw a firebomb in to one house and the fire quickly spread to five other houses.
It was hoped that the opening of the new police station on Mountain View Road which is almost directly across from Jacques Road would have helped to alleviate the crimes in that area. Alas that does not seem to be the case. The police and soldiers are maintaining a strong presence and a curfew have been imposed since Tuesday night.
What is adding to the alarm is the amount of women being gunned down. Is it a case of ‘Cyaan ketch cwacoo, yuh ketch im shut’?

Follow up:

On Saturday September 24, another woman was chased into a busy business place on Gold Street and shot eleven times by gunmen. Since January a total of one hundred and nineteen women have been murdered. Is it that the killers are targeting the women when they can’t find their men?
A meeting was scheduled for today between the members of the Mountain View community and the Peace Management Initiative group headed by Bishop Herro Blair along with Member of Parliament Maxine Henry- Wilson. I have not heard any news on the outcome of that meeting as yet but let’s pray that some agreement can be reached.
Reports so far are that the root of the problem is that some residents of Jacques Road have switched their allegiance from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to the People’s National Party (PNP). Some say this has nothing to do with it. What ever the reasons some residents of Jacques Road are taking no chances. They have abandoned their homes and left the area for their safety.
This whole scenario is so familiar and very sad. Ever so often the residents flair up, a few persons are killed, the authorities step in, things are quiet for a while then it starts again. I shudder to think what life must be like for a child growing up there. Always on edge not knowing if today will be a good or a bad day. After a while they must become desensitized.
Our nation is in a crisis. Idle hands need to be kept occupied. People are desperate. We all need to pray that our leaders will find some long lasting solutions. In the meantime we all need to do whatever we can to help.
Nuff Love.