From ever since I can remember third world countries have often been viewed as volatile places to visit simply because most tourists translated the actions of peddlers as aggressive and unpredictable.
The truth of the matter is, even when I was growing up in Jamaica there was a level of concern for safety especially when navigating some of the city streets. However, for the most part, Jamaica felt safe for the people who lived there.
The only time there was real cause for concern happened when election time was near. Then, most leaders of their households got their mothers, wives, children and miscellaneous family members and headed for the hills, or battened down their hatches.
Several decades later, Jamaica has become front page news with its unconscionable, heinous crimes unfolding every day. Business men and women are fearful to navigate some of the streets of Jamaica because the career criminals which exist are swift, cunning and brutal.
Even the young children and women are being targeted. Young children are feeling a sense of trepidation because they are not safe commuting back and forth to school on the Jamaican country roads.
Some of the women who are major breadwinners for their family who rely on taxis to take them to and fro to their respective jobs are being targeted with some of the most inhumane acts imaginable.
The startling revelation is, these acts are not just carried out by civilians. It seems as if Jamaica is one of the countries who has finally joined the ranks where those who are sworn to protect and serve are rapidly taking advantage because of the corruption that looms.
Someone asked me recently why I thought Jamaica’s crime rate was so high. At first, I felt baffled and a bit out of my element because I believed that I did not know enough to comment. Then I regrouped and thought about all the criminal acts I had been reading about.
It was then, I realized I knew plenty regarding Jamaica’s crime situation. First, let me start with the youth. After keenly observing Jamaica I get the sense that the youth of today feel that there are not enough opportunities to engage their restless spirits.
Outside of schools, the leaders are not creating enough business opportunities for them to feel they have promising futures. What makes the youth crisis worse is the fact that not all Jamaicans are able to afford a proper education for their children, so where hope is already diminished it basically sends the young people off the ledges they have been clinging to.
Through films and western media, they begin to buy into the notion that cultivating lives of drug running and “shotterism” is going to get them the money, fame, and respect they crave. Even if they prosper for a while, eventually their opulent worlds come crashing down due to law and order, but not without creating terrible losses and chaos upon the land.
The second reason why crime has grown rampant in Jamaica is due to the fact that many Jamaicans which migrate abroad sometimes end up associating with the wrong influence, thus learning some very unfavorable criminal habits.
They too buy into the notion of “get rich quick” schemes. A good percentage end up being notorious for crimes such as drugs, killing, and robbing. After one too many strikes they are expelled from the foreign countries they migrated to thus returning to Jamaica to conquer and divide unleashing the dastardly tasks they have learned upon the Jamaican people.
The individuals who once helped to resuscitate Jamaica’s economy left the country because many were ran out by Jamaican’s new found task of denouncing the motto “Out of many one people” By this remark, I mean that Jamaica over the past few years has been celebrating themselves as a predominantly “African” nation making it an uncomfortable environment for those who were born there under different social mores and customs.
As far as any old-fashioned Jamaican knows the country is a remarkable mix of ethnicities from around the world. Yet, for some reason, there are a select few who choose to make the country something it is not.
Jamaicans will declare, “Don’t forget your roots!” But I must say it is some of the masses who have clearly forgotten what “Jamaica” stands for and have traded their respectable heritage to people who think they can buy Jamaicanness or broughtupsy.
Until the people of Jamaica stand up strong and say “We are not for sale” only then will they be able to reclaim their stance in the world and get the country back under control.
The Jamaica I know is one of beauty, calm and fortitude. When I was a young girl I could play in the yard until thy kingdom come and really did not have to fear it would result in tragedy. Nowadays, the youth are being robbed of their childhood and carefree living.
The truth of the matter is, every country has its snares and dangers which make its residents more mindful about milling around. However, in recent years the crime situation in Jamaica has reached magnanimous proportions. If the government does not take stringent measures to get the crime situation under control eventually the criminals will take over.
Another reason why crime has flourished and everyone has been willing to look the other way is due to the quality of healthcare which exists. Many of the criminal minded individuals are dealing with more pressing matters such as mental health.
One only need look at the senseless crimes they commit to realizing these are human beings who are in crisis and have clearly lost touch with reality. However, there is no help for some of these people because the brightest in the fields of psychiatry and health care have fled the country because they too began to feel unsafe in a place they were accustomed to calling home.
“Shotterism” from the word Shottas of movie fame: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281190/ “Shottas” The Movie
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