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Lloyd B Smith
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
In 1997 when I ran on a Jamaica Labour Party ticket in South St James in the general election of that year, I was visiting a deep rural district and was walking through the main thoroughfare, meeting and greeting potential voters, when I was approached by three well-dressed young men who had just driven up in a white Toyota Corolla.
Lloyd B Smith
Their driver who looked like someone out of a "Godfather" movie stood some distance away leaning against the front of the vehicle. By his body language and general demeanour, I immediately assumed that he was the leader of the pack.
"Wha happen, boss?" one of the men asked as he approached me with a wide grin and an extended hand which I shook unhesitatingly. After all, I was then in the business of pressing flesh with the hope of garnering votes. His other two cronies encircled me and persuaded other individuals who were following me around to "give the dads" a break as they wanted to reason with me on a private and personal basis. At that time, I was somewhat unfamiliar with the area, so sensing that these guys might be some willing workers in the field, I acquiesced to their request and strolled off with them to an isolated spot.
In short order, the men set about to educate me into how to win an election by foul rather than by fair means. Part of that strategy was to provide them somewhere to reside during the campaign, procure for them some rent-a-cars, ensure that there was a constant flow of food and liquor, and of course, the pièce de résistance, arms and ammunition. In other words, guns and bullets. Once those requirements were met, I could sit back and relax because they would ensure that victory was mine by any means necessary. Of course, I would have to provide them with a weekly "bag o' money".
I quickly parted company with them in as amicable a manner as I could muster, declaring that I would prefer to lose by running a clean campaign than to win by a disruptive, dishonest and evil methodology. They retreated reluctantly, still trying their best to convince me, but I held my ground and as they were about to drive off, I heard one of them say, "The dads a idiot, him nah say nutten. Pity him no know say him done lose aready."
Very strange behaviour and I did wonder if my entering politics had anything to do with it.
The campaign was a relatively peaceful one and everywhere I went afterwards I was treated with respect or just ignored. Nobody "troubled" me. Incidentally, my opponent at the time Derrick Kellier continues to be the member of parliament for that constituency, having defeated every candidate that the JLP positioned against him. Kudos to Kellier as this is no ordinary feat!
That encounter with hoodlums was to become my first turn-off with respect to Jamaican politics. The second turn-off of much significance came at the end when I was instructed to file my returns as a candidate. I was presented with a form by a senior member of the JLP and when I examined it my immediate reaction was, "But this cannot truly reflect how much money was spent during the campaign." He smilingly turned to me and said, "Don't watch that. Just put a figure. It's the norm in both the JLP and PNP. You won't face any consequences."
I was dumb-struck. Here I am seeking to represent the people on a platform of honesty, integrity and transparency and one of the first acts that I am to commit after the election, win or lose, is to fraudulently fill out an official document! Needless to say, I eventually filled it out but up to this day, every time I think about it, I see myself as a damn criminal. In this context, what am I to think of the 60 people who sit in Gordon House? I leave you the reader to decide.
This scenario that I have just painted convinces me that much of the criminality which pervades the Jamaican society has been engendered, nurtured and sustained, whether wittingly or unwittingly, by our politicians. After all, it is the "runnings" and "a nuh nutten".
Just picture this scenario for a moment that has been played out in just about every election since Jamaica gained political independence in 1962. Brer Anancy decides to run in a constituency. He is soon made to think that the only way for him to win comfortably is to have in his team a number of enforcers who are well-heeled and well-armed. The main excuse usually given is the other party is doing the same thing so he would be a fool to think otherwise. Many young men, unemployed, unskilled and hungry, are recruited, given a "food money" and a gun with bullets to guard the turf, and where necessary bring stubborn voters in line whether by gentle persuasion ("let-offs" of various kinds) or brute force (which may include murder, arson and blackmail).
So the election is won or lost by this candidate and he, no doubt well-intentioned, sends out a message that he will be collecting back the guns, etc. Well, these hoodlums send back to say the only way they will return the guns and bullets is if they are guaranteed a well-paid job or even better, a contract.
Neither of these requests can be expeditiously implemented so the hoodlums keep the guns and now, finding themselves without any means of financial support and other "backative", have no other alternative but to turn to crime and violence in order to maintain the lifestyle that they have become accustomed to, thanks to the candidate and his party backers. Multiply this scenario all over the island and you will begin to see the picture. An ugly picture. A terrifying picture.
So now the legislators in Gordon House have voted on the controversial question of capital punishment (hanging) and we see a very hypocritical game being played out before our very eyes. Don't hold your breath. It is the politics of crime.
The bottom line is, when are our members of parliament and councillors going to deal with the issue of crime in their neck of the woods collectively and individually? Do they have the moral authority and the political will? Jamaican politics has painted the people into a corner that is fraught with danger, double standards, hopelessness and ineptitude. We need change we can believe in, but who will stand up and be counted?
lloydbsmith@hotmail.com
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...S_OF_CRIME.asp
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
In 1997 when I ran on a Jamaica Labour Party ticket in South St James in the general election of that year, I was visiting a deep rural district and was walking through the main thoroughfare, meeting and greeting potential voters, when I was approached by three well-dressed young men who had just driven up in a white Toyota Corolla.
Lloyd B Smith
Their driver who looked like someone out of a "Godfather" movie stood some distance away leaning against the front of the vehicle. By his body language and general demeanour, I immediately assumed that he was the leader of the pack.
"Wha happen, boss?" one of the men asked as he approached me with a wide grin and an extended hand which I shook unhesitatingly. After all, I was then in the business of pressing flesh with the hope of garnering votes. His other two cronies encircled me and persuaded other individuals who were following me around to "give the dads" a break as they wanted to reason with me on a private and personal basis. At that time, I was somewhat unfamiliar with the area, so sensing that these guys might be some willing workers in the field, I acquiesced to their request and strolled off with them to an isolated spot.
In short order, the men set about to educate me into how to win an election by foul rather than by fair means. Part of that strategy was to provide them somewhere to reside during the campaign, procure for them some rent-a-cars, ensure that there was a constant flow of food and liquor, and of course, the pièce de résistance, arms and ammunition. In other words, guns and bullets. Once those requirements were met, I could sit back and relax because they would ensure that victory was mine by any means necessary. Of course, I would have to provide them with a weekly "bag o' money".
I quickly parted company with them in as amicable a manner as I could muster, declaring that I would prefer to lose by running a clean campaign than to win by a disruptive, dishonest and evil methodology. They retreated reluctantly, still trying their best to convince me, but I held my ground and as they were about to drive off, I heard one of them say, "The dads a idiot, him nah say nutten. Pity him no know say him done lose aready."
Very strange behaviour and I did wonder if my entering politics had anything to do with it.
The campaign was a relatively peaceful one and everywhere I went afterwards I was treated with respect or just ignored. Nobody "troubled" me. Incidentally, my opponent at the time Derrick Kellier continues to be the member of parliament for that constituency, having defeated every candidate that the JLP positioned against him. Kudos to Kellier as this is no ordinary feat!
That encounter with hoodlums was to become my first turn-off with respect to Jamaican politics. The second turn-off of much significance came at the end when I was instructed to file my returns as a candidate. I was presented with a form by a senior member of the JLP and when I examined it my immediate reaction was, "But this cannot truly reflect how much money was spent during the campaign." He smilingly turned to me and said, "Don't watch that. Just put a figure. It's the norm in both the JLP and PNP. You won't face any consequences."
I was dumb-struck. Here I am seeking to represent the people on a platform of honesty, integrity and transparency and one of the first acts that I am to commit after the election, win or lose, is to fraudulently fill out an official document! Needless to say, I eventually filled it out but up to this day, every time I think about it, I see myself as a damn criminal. In this context, what am I to think of the 60 people who sit in Gordon House? I leave you the reader to decide.
This scenario that I have just painted convinces me that much of the criminality which pervades the Jamaican society has been engendered, nurtured and sustained, whether wittingly or unwittingly, by our politicians. After all, it is the "runnings" and "a nuh nutten".
Just picture this scenario for a moment that has been played out in just about every election since Jamaica gained political independence in 1962. Brer Anancy decides to run in a constituency. He is soon made to think that the only way for him to win comfortably is to have in his team a number of enforcers who are well-heeled and well-armed. The main excuse usually given is the other party is doing the same thing so he would be a fool to think otherwise. Many young men, unemployed, unskilled and hungry, are recruited, given a "food money" and a gun with bullets to guard the turf, and where necessary bring stubborn voters in line whether by gentle persuasion ("let-offs" of various kinds) or brute force (which may include murder, arson and blackmail).
So the election is won or lost by this candidate and he, no doubt well-intentioned, sends out a message that he will be collecting back the guns, etc. Well, these hoodlums send back to say the only way they will return the guns and bullets is if they are guaranteed a well-paid job or even better, a contract.
Neither of these requests can be expeditiously implemented so the hoodlums keep the guns and now, finding themselves without any means of financial support and other "backative", have no other alternative but to turn to crime and violence in order to maintain the lifestyle that they have become accustomed to, thanks to the candidate and his party backers. Multiply this scenario all over the island and you will begin to see the picture. An ugly picture. A terrifying picture.
So now the legislators in Gordon House have voted on the controversial question of capital punishment (hanging) and we see a very hypocritical game being played out before our very eyes. Don't hold your breath. It is the politics of crime.
The bottom line is, when are our members of parliament and councillors going to deal with the issue of crime in their neck of the woods collectively and individually? Do they have the moral authority and the political will? Jamaican politics has painted the people into a corner that is fraught with danger, double standards, hopelessness and ineptitude. We need change we can believe in, but who will stand up and be counted?
lloydbsmith@hotmail.com
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...S_OF_CRIME.asp
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