Tweet
... this provides an opening for intelligent spending on community development to support this peace process. What will the authorities do? Probably ignore it.
Rival gangs commit to ending conflict in Trench Town
By INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
WALKING from one "corner" to another in Trench Town, West Kingston, could cause blood to flow in the streets as deadly conflicts between rival gangs over the years have restricted the free movement of residents, ultimately imprisoning many in their homes.
LEVY... continued dialogue will build trust
However, last Tuesday, for the first time in more than a decade, rival gang leaders and their "foot soldiers" sat beside each other as they committed to ending the long-standing conflict, thus freeing up access to all areas of the community.
At a meeting organised by the community members themselves, with the support of the National Transformation Programme (NTP), Peace Management Initiative (PMI) and the police, scores of men and to a lesser extent women piled inside the Trench Town Peace and Justice Centre to chart a new course for the war-torn community.
The main objective is to get major gangs like Fatherless Crew, Action Pack, Buckas and Entourage to put their differences aside so that persons from all sides of the warring factors can freely move throughout the community.
The big issue, however, which had to be resolved was that of trust, an institution eroded over the years with each grisly death of a loved one.
After the near three-hour-long meeting, the group committed to starting the process by encouraging women and children to begin moving freely through the community.
Following further dialogue, which it is hoped will bring greater trust, the men will be encouraged to follow suit.
"No six or seven men should hold the community at ransom after a nuh unu a run the country...a nuff a we lose family but we haffi put weh the past," said one man who was key in organising the meeting.
"The community need fi develop now so we can mek money," he added.
A leader from one of the main gangs said this trust would not happen overnight but will require some time because of the emotional scars inflicted over the years.
"Trust nuh come overnight it is something we haffi build but this is a first step," he said in reference to the meeting.
It was this trust that the leader of the Fatherless Crew sought to build as he guaranteed safe passage to members of Entourage who for years have not been able to travel along a particular route to get to an area of the community.
However, the Entourage leader said he was not quite ready to begin walking that route yet until a greater level of trust was developed through further dialogue.
"Me willing fi mek anything go through fi development but we can't just rush in so," he said. "Me never did plan fi deh ya so but me deh ya because me needed to be and that is a first step," he said.
Another leader expressed concern that while leaders commit to one thing "their soldiers" do not conform and this could cause greater problems.
He said some of the leaders are to be blamed for the behaviour of their subordinates.
One man said those who were leaders on the corner should get their subordinates to let bygones be bygones if this peace move was to bear fruit. "If the leader say leggo the negative vibes and them don't hear then we must deal with them," he said.
He pointed out that he was heartened to see that resources had been pumped into establishing studios in the community as he said Trench Town should not be about guns, but music.
"One time man use to come from foreign with money fi buy gun and bullets now me see man come from foreign and use money fi build studio," he said.
One woman said she wanted to see sustained peace in the community and not only a temporary commitment.
Another leader of one of the gangs said he was heartened that for the first time in many of their adult lives they were able to come together, something many had not done since they were kids playing in the streets.
"It is a joy to see man and man who use to be at it come together like this and so anything we can do to get the community back together we need to do it," he said.
Sonia Whyte, administrator of the Peace Centre, said it took a lot of strength to get the men together for such a meeting.
"The back of the dragon has been broken," she said.
She pointed out that every February when Trench Town is to host its festival commemorating the birthday of reggae icon Bob Marley, there has always been an upsurge of violence in the community. For the first time this year there were no incidents.
Following the meeting, the leader of Fatherless crew told the Observer that he was satisfied with the outcome of the first meeting as he wants to see the community "free up".
"All the man dem use to war with each other and this is a big step," he said.
Head of the NTP, Reverend Al Miller, urged the men to maintain peace in the community as he reminded them that the development so sought after for their community cannot happen in an atmosphere of war and strife.
He, however, made it clear that to have lasting peace there must be a platform of lasting truth as trust will only come with truth.
Meanwhile, Donna Parchment of the PMI gave the group's commitment to working with the community, noting that they were not there to instruct the community on what they need to do but to hear their issues and to work alongside them.
Horace Levy, also of PMI, said for sustained peace in the community they must form among themselves a council of corner leaders and others meeting regularly to chart the way forward. It is this continued dialogue, he said, which will build trust and make free movement possible throughout the community.
Rival gangs commit to ending conflict in Trench Town
By INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
WALKING from one "corner" to another in Trench Town, West Kingston, could cause blood to flow in the streets as deadly conflicts between rival gangs over the years have restricted the free movement of residents, ultimately imprisoning many in their homes.
LEVY... continued dialogue will build trust However, last Tuesday, for the first time in more than a decade, rival gang leaders and their "foot soldiers" sat beside each other as they committed to ending the long-standing conflict, thus freeing up access to all areas of the community.
At a meeting organised by the community members themselves, with the support of the National Transformation Programme (NTP), Peace Management Initiative (PMI) and the police, scores of men and to a lesser extent women piled inside the Trench Town Peace and Justice Centre to chart a new course for the war-torn community.
The main objective is to get major gangs like Fatherless Crew, Action Pack, Buckas and Entourage to put their differences aside so that persons from all sides of the warring factors can freely move throughout the community.
The big issue, however, which had to be resolved was that of trust, an institution eroded over the years with each grisly death of a loved one.
After the near three-hour-long meeting, the group committed to starting the process by encouraging women and children to begin moving freely through the community.
Following further dialogue, which it is hoped will bring greater trust, the men will be encouraged to follow suit.
"No six or seven men should hold the community at ransom after a nuh unu a run the country...a nuff a we lose family but we haffi put weh the past," said one man who was key in organising the meeting.
"The community need fi develop now so we can mek money," he added.
A leader from one of the main gangs said this trust would not happen overnight but will require some time because of the emotional scars inflicted over the years.
"Trust nuh come overnight it is something we haffi build but this is a first step," he said in reference to the meeting.
It was this trust that the leader of the Fatherless Crew sought to build as he guaranteed safe passage to members of Entourage who for years have not been able to travel along a particular route to get to an area of the community.
However, the Entourage leader said he was not quite ready to begin walking that route yet until a greater level of trust was developed through further dialogue.
"Me willing fi mek anything go through fi development but we can't just rush in so," he said. "Me never did plan fi deh ya so but me deh ya because me needed to be and that is a first step," he said.
Another leader expressed concern that while leaders commit to one thing "their soldiers" do not conform and this could cause greater problems.
He said some of the leaders are to be blamed for the behaviour of their subordinates.
One man said those who were leaders on the corner should get their subordinates to let bygones be bygones if this peace move was to bear fruit. "If the leader say leggo the negative vibes and them don't hear then we must deal with them," he said.
He pointed out that he was heartened to see that resources had been pumped into establishing studios in the community as he said Trench Town should not be about guns, but music.
"One time man use to come from foreign with money fi buy gun and bullets now me see man come from foreign and use money fi build studio," he said.
One woman said she wanted to see sustained peace in the community and not only a temporary commitment.
Another leader of one of the gangs said he was heartened that for the first time in many of their adult lives they were able to come together, something many had not done since they were kids playing in the streets.
"It is a joy to see man and man who use to be at it come together like this and so anything we can do to get the community back together we need to do it," he said.
Sonia Whyte, administrator of the Peace Centre, said it took a lot of strength to get the men together for such a meeting.
"The back of the dragon has been broken," she said.
She pointed out that every February when Trench Town is to host its festival commemorating the birthday of reggae icon Bob Marley, there has always been an upsurge of violence in the community. For the first time this year there were no incidents.
Following the meeting, the leader of Fatherless crew told the Observer that he was satisfied with the outcome of the first meeting as he wants to see the community "free up".
"All the man dem use to war with each other and this is a big step," he said.
Head of the NTP, Reverend Al Miller, urged the men to maintain peace in the community as he reminded them that the development so sought after for their community cannot happen in an atmosphere of war and strife.
He, however, made it clear that to have lasting peace there must be a platform of lasting truth as trust will only come with truth.
Meanwhile, Donna Parchment of the PMI gave the group's commitment to working with the community, noting that they were not there to instruct the community on what they need to do but to hear their issues and to work alongside them.
Horace Levy, also of PMI, said for sustained peace in the community they must form among themselves a council of corner leaders and others meeting regularly to chart the way forward. It is this continued dialogue, he said, which will build trust and make free movement possible throughout the community.
