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  • End the blame game now, Mr Smith

    Mark Wignall
    Thursday, October 11, 2007



    Of all the senior and junior ministers appointed by Prime Minister Golding, Derrick Smith seems to be the weakest, or the one least prepared for the enormous challenges facing his ministry, and indeed, the entire country.

    The recent spate of murders is nothing new. As I see it, given the state of affairs in the "hot" inner-city pockets, whenever there is a two- or three-month period when a welcome calm descends on these areas, it signals more of a regrouping of the gunmen who either have to relocate to other areas compassionate to their "plight" or, the guns have to lay low and await the police to get bored and leave.

    The police are also aware that whenever "organised" gunmen have a plan for one community, it is a simple matter for them to "hot up" another place for a day or two, then draw the police out to this place after which they unleash hell on the original community. Add to that the fact that some gunmen have friends in the police force, the communication lines are always open and it is a simple matter for a cellphone call to be made to say, "We leaving tomorrow, seen."

    Who are these gunmen allied to? What is the great cause for which these killers are fighting? It is known that in many of the ghetto areas the residents have been long abandoned to their own devices. The disadvantages are many. They live in squalor, that is, poor water supplies and sewage, tentative garbage collection, too many people in close proximity putting pressure on, say, a washing area, high teenage pregnancy, poor family life, inadequate education and high youth unemployment. We know all of that.

    The advantages are, in most cases, non-payment of utility bills (JPS and the Water Commission dare not disconnect), low rental, and the community serves as a haven for most of the criminality perpetrated by the young men living there.

    Again, the question must be asked, is there a great cause being fought for which makes the killing of children justified? To the law-abiding, it boggles the mind that an adult human being can casually snuff out the lives of children and infants. To those gunmen who murder at will, the anger is beyond comprehension. None out of ten times a young killer will have had a history of violent deaths in his family, almost all killed by, usually, the police or other gunmen.

    In the late 1970s when I visited a heavily armed inner-city community, one woman told me, "If yu come yah las' year an si a yout and now yu nuh see 'im, 'im eider deh a prison, cemetery or foreign." Many of the young men no longer know why they are doing what they are doing, only that it is what their fathers and uncles did. Where violence is the first resort in most matters, the cause of whatever is the latest fuss loses its appeal and the gun takes over.

    Derrick Smith, it seems, would like us to believe that the latest round of murders is being carried out by guns painted orange. If he really believes that there is an overriding political motive attached to the killings, what is it then holding him back from telling us that if we want the killings to cease, we should speedily re-elect the PNP?

    Security Minister Derrick Smith is very obviously one of those in the JLP who were rewarded for long service. Years ago when he was the JLP spokesman on national security, a joke in PNP circles was that the only time Smith opened his mouth was whenever there was a jailbreak somewhere.

    I would like to believe that our new minister of national security is more solid than that. I know the minister. He is not one of those given over to arrogance and bad manners. In plain language, Mr Smith is a nice man. Since 1989 he has had all the time in the world watching Jamaica's murder rate shoot through the roof while he has made comment where necessary. We believe that he must have had grander plans which went way beyond the spurious comments.

    Today, this time, we are calling on Derrick Smith to address the nation and fully inform us as to what he understands our crime situation to be, the proximate causes and the solutions in the short and long term. We know that crime is connected to too many guns in the wrong hands. That is a given.
    What we do not know is, who is bankrolling AK-47s and M-16s at over $250,000 per firearm. How does a youngster, aged 22, who has never held a steady job get possession of an assault rifle at that price? I certainly did not get the impression that the politics of the day was still into bankrolling arms and ammunition.
    A few months ago a 36-year-old man whom I will call "Rat" was shot dead. I won't say which geographical area he operated in because that would be giving it away. Rat was allied to the JLP and had been one of those individuals leading the extortion charge along a well-known, well-travelled strip of road. In the many conversations I had with Rat, especially those which centred on extortion, his responses would always be, "Mr Wignall, a foolishness dem a chat. No extortion nah gwan ya so."

    As I gathered, his JLP contacts wanted him to cease the extortion but he wanted money, hard cash in his hands. My sources tell me that money exchanged hands, but no sooner had that been done than a well-known PNP activist don approached him with an offer of cash to change the "colour" of the community from green to orange.

    In quick time he was shot dead, not by a well-known "shotta" but by a 14-year-old child with a "matic". The Rats of Jamaica are easy to spot. The real difficulty is in isolating the 14-year-old who is, in too many instances, all too willing to fill a slot at a time when the gun culture has made the leap from subculture to centrestage.

    It is my view that Senator Trevor McMillan would have been a better pick for Security Minister but then again maybe, just maybe, the colonel may be headed back to a place where his services can be better utilised.

    For now we can do without excuses from Mr Derrick Smith. I agree with him that there has been a spike since the JLP won the elections. But, so what! Over the long, debilitating life of the PNP administration there were many peaks and troughs in the murders committed.

    The first order of business is the taking in of the guns and in this regard I expect the minister to be more creative. What is there to be lost from instituting a gun amnesty for, say, three months?

    observemark@gmail.com
    "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

  • #2
    The JLP gov't should have hit the ground running on the crime front. Since they have taken office there has been meetings regarding crime, where is the implementation? Where time can be given for things to fall into place on other fronts, the crime situation needs to be controlled ASAP.
    "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

    Comment


    • #3
      It is a strange thing...but, Boxhill engaged in attempts to tar and feather Burrell. Boxhill stayed on that path for years and years - up into his last 12 months. Amazing - his entire term!

      I will not say he achieved nothing...that would be a lie. I think his greatest achievement was bringing the "youth as focus"...a focal point. ..but, in the grand scheme of things he was seen by his peers (the JFF Parish administrators and delegates) and others as a failure!

      It is to be hoped that Derrick Smith and the rest of his JLP collegues will not follow the Boxhill example...but, will just "do"...work and perform!
      "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

      Comment


      • #4
        Wow! What a wonderful thought, Lazie! Funny, but I think I said the same thing about a week ago. I don't believe you would care to go searching for those posts now, would ya?

        Meanwhile, yuh parring P, Maudib, says we waited 18 years wi must can wait on them to do dem ting. This while people are dying all over the place, not just PNP areas.

        Oh well!


        BLACK LIVES MATTER

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Karl View Post
          It is a strange thing...but, Boxhill engaged in attempts to tar and feather Burrell. Boxhill stayed on that path for years and years - up into his last 12 months.
          I won't even ask you to provide evidence of that. But keep up with the nonsense. In a few weeks, your employer takes over. Oh, how nice it will be to see you start excusing everything he does, just as Lazie and Maudib are now doing for the JLP.


          BLACK LIVES MATTER

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Lazie View Post
            The JLP gov't should have hit the ground running on the crime front. Since they have taken office there has been meetings regarding crime, where is the implementation? Where time can be given for things to fall into place on other fronts, the crime situation needs to be controlled ASAP.
            Truth is they were 18 years in opposition - seeing all things and promising solutions. I do not think it is unreasonable to believe they would have had plans in place for all-things (provide remedy to problems) to see those solutions come into being?
            Right?
            "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Mosiah View Post
              I won't even ask you to provide evidence of that. But keep up with the nonsense. In a few weeks, your employer takes over. Oh, how nice it will be to see you start excusing everything he does, just as Lazie and Maudib are now doing for the JLP.
              Mi expose yuh yesterday .... just walk carefully today.
              "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

              Comment


              • #8
                I was exposed yesterday?! Pales in comparison to your expose (as in expozay) several moons ago!


                BLACK LIVES MATTER

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Mosiah View Post
                  I was exposed yesterday?! Pales in comparison to your expose (as in expozay) several moons ago!
                  hehehe ... if yuh say suh. Last I checked, you're the one with the memory problem.

                  Where have I been making excuse for the JLP gov't?
                  "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Luckily for you, you have agreed with me that they should have hit the ground running with this crime thing. Maudib on the other hand has fanned it off like no big deal. Afterall, he does not live in the ghetto.

                    Just a warning though, Lazie, I will continue to point out each and every one of your lies. No feel nuh way! Keep your search button close by!


                    BLACK LIVES MATTER

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      All right, Smith is from my Parish, I'll give him a buss arse and sent him straight In fact, I'll call his granny too and mek har deal wid him.

                      Mi tiad of all talk and no action.
                      Life is a system of half-truths and lies, opportunistic, convenient evasion.”
                      - Langston Hughes

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Mosiah View Post
                        Luckily for you, you have agreed with me that they should have hit the ground running with this crime thing. Maudib on the other hand has fanned it off like no big deal. Afterall, he does not live in the ghetto.

                        Just a warning though, Lazie, I will continue to point out each and every one of your lies. No feel nuh way! Keep your search button close by!
                        Lies? Like how you accuse me of lying when I said you called the JLP's proposal as empty promises? You are yet to point out a lie that I've told Mosiah. Furthermore, mi back broad .... suh you calling me a liar is no big deal.
                        "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          The trouble is, I can't even remember the minister talking on the issue. Not even dat him nuh have!


                          BLACK LIVES MATTER

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Mi tiyad fi point out yuh lies, Lazie. You just continue to deny them, one by one. But I will not be deterred. Luckily, yuh back broad.


                            BLACK LIVES MATTER

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Mosiah View Post
                              The trouble is, I can't even remember the minister talking on the issue. Not even dat him nuh have!
                              Well, actually he did! Didn't he tell us that there was a meeting with the PM and that people should be expecting some inconvenience? The article was actually posted here and you did respond to it.
                              "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

                              Comment

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