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Please, help us
For weeks I have been like a recalcitrant child, unable to make up my mind about an issue that has been affecting me for the last two years, but was re-energised by a letter from a friend who visited Jamaica during the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival.
My big concern is the 'squeegee boys' (windscreen wipers) that are located at both the Baywest and KFC stop lights, in downtown Montego Bay, who have literally become a nuisance to the society.
Everytime I've had to stop at these lights, especially by KFC, I feel threatened and so did my friend when she visited in January. I am repeating exactly what she said, "At one point, myself and three other girlfriends were surrounded by no fewer than eight boys jeering us with physical and sexual slurs. Why do we as a society put up with this? We turn a blind eye and grumble under our breaths. This situation is a time-bomb waiting to explode. One guy threw water in a friend of mine's face a few weeks ago. Must we wait until someone gets killed because he/she did not want his/her windshield washed?"
questions
These are the questions she wants answered by the authority, which handed over the mobile crime unit late last year to patrol the Hip Strip and that is the 'last' that we all saw of it.
This is harassment, which I'm sure is a crime. Jamaicans from overseas visiting Montego Bay and those of us residing here have the right to stop at a stoplight without being harassed.
My friend says she loves her country and returns every chance she gets, but if she continues to fear for her safety, "what's the sense?".
Writing about this problem is even more pertinent with the recent return of the director of tourism, Basil Smith, from New York. The director spoke eloquently to the diaspora about the possibility of investing in their homeland.
If the people he is targeting can't even stop at a stoplight in peace in the tourism capital, 'dog eat wi supper'.
This one is for the Ministries of National Security and the Tourism. It is time something was done about this situation.
For weeks I have been like a recalcitrant child, unable to make up my mind about an issue that has been affecting me for the last two years, but was re-energised by a letter from a friend who visited Jamaica during the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival.My big concern is the 'squeegee boys' (windscreen wipers) that are located at both the Baywest and KFC stop lights, in downtown Montego Bay, who have literally become a nuisance to the society.
Everytime I've had to stop at these lights, especially by KFC, I feel threatened and so did my friend when she visited in January. I am repeating exactly what she said, "At one point, myself and three other girlfriends were surrounded by no fewer than eight boys jeering us with physical and sexual slurs. Why do we as a society put up with this? We turn a blind eye and grumble under our breaths. This situation is a time-bomb waiting to explode. One guy threw water in a friend of mine's face a few weeks ago. Must we wait until someone gets killed because he/she did not want his/her windshield washed?"
questions
These are the questions she wants answered by the authority, which handed over the mobile crime unit late last year to patrol the Hip Strip and that is the 'last' that we all saw of it.
This is harassment, which I'm sure is a crime. Jamaicans from overseas visiting Montego Bay and those of us residing here have the right to stop at a stoplight without being harassed.
My friend says she loves her country and returns every chance she gets, but if she continues to fear for her safety, "what's the sense?".
Writing about this problem is even more pertinent with the recent return of the director of tourism, Basil Smith, from New York. The director spoke eloquently to the diaspora about the possibility of investing in their homeland.
If the people he is targeting can't even stop at a stoplight in peace in the tourism capital, 'dog eat wi supper'.
This one is for the Ministries of National Security and the Tourism. It is time something was done about this situation.
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