Stephen VasciannieBETWEEN THURSDAY and Saturday of last week, these were the front-page banner headlines that greeted Gleaner readers: Thursday--"Four More Killed"; Friday--"583 and Rising"; Saturday--"13 in Three Days". This pattern of emphasis concerning the ubiquitous killing fields of Jamaica was also reflected on the front page of the Observer newspaper: Thursday--"4 More Killings"; Friday--"Five More Killed"; Saturday--Three More Murdered".
This journalistic compilation of murder statistics underlines the perception that we are a nation in full fright. The influential "Butch" Stewart is now giving thought to migration, owing to crime and violence; the Private Sector Organisation is shouting for immediate Government action to fight crime; and the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association, the Council of Private Sector Presidents, and others, have joined the line, pushing for a break to this seemingly relentless spiral into murder and mayhem.
To be sure, the private sector leaders that are now crying out are trailing the people. Karen Madden, quoted in The Gleaner last week put it quite appropriately, when she said: "If Butch a bawl, then me supposed to holler". In the four years and eight months since January 1996, no less than 4,352 people have been murdered on the small island of Jamaica. Thousands of lives gone literally to waste, thousands of families weeping bitterly at the graveside, without answers, without understanding, and without hope.
In all this, the Private Sector was all too keen to suggest that we were on the right track generally, and to hope that we would turn the corner soon enough. And, as a variant of this unjustifiable social optimism, The Gleaner adopted a policy of not reporting crime and violence on its front pages. One had the sense, too, that tourism interests were not inclined to emphasise the murder rate in Jamaica, for fear that this would only exacerbate matters by discouraging the flow of visitors to our shores. So, while the people were battered and bruised by murder, some significant sectors were disinclined fully to acknowledge the true extent of sufferation upon us.
But now, the worm has turned. Butch Stewart, Peter Moses, Beverly Lopez, and other representatives of local capital, now speak with one voice. Rip Van Winkle is no longer fashionable; the Government must "shape up or ship out".
State response
So far, the State's response to the current private sector pronouncements has been two parts bewilderment, two parts defensiveness, and no part action. The bewilderment is perhaps most evident in the stance taken by Commissioner Forbes, though he is not alone on this point. In 1997, there were 1,038 reported murders; in 1998, the figure fell to 953; this downward trend continued in 1999, when the number of reported murders was 849; and, if we use a straight line graph, this year's figure will be in the region of 890 to 910.
So, then, Commissioner Forbes seems to enquire, if the figures imply a generally declining rate of murder and other crimes, why should we have the hullabaloo at this time? This is a fair question, but, the hapless citizen buffeted by 4,352 murders since 1996, now wants answers from the State, not questions.
Also, this particular question, when posed by the State at a time when the private sector is crying out, implies a certain answer. More specifically, if the Commissioner of Police notes that crime is actually decreasing when the private sector is bawling out, this implies that the private sector is unaware of the true situation concerning crime, or that the private sector has some ulterior motive in speaking out at this time.
But, this is precisely where the State bewilderment becomes most evident. The private sector may or may not have motives other than those that they have stated, but, the truth is that they, like the rest of Jamaica, have every right to be frightened. And, indeed, they should have been frightened for every year since violence captured Jamaica from its law-abiding citizens. No one can take comfort from a murder rate of 849 in one year, on a small island, with no civil war.
The Government is truly bewildered if it believes that we can derive any comfort from a decline in our murder rate from 953 per annum, to 849.
As to defensiveness, we may note, for instance, the ridiculous statement reportedly coming from Jamaica House last Wednesday. In this statement, the Government noted that it was "aware of the country's impatience regarding the death penalty and gives the assurance that strenuous efforts are being made to remove the remaining legal and other impediments to the resumption of hanging". Let me revise my suggestion. This is not defensiveness, this is lunacy.
Death penalty
Specifically, it is lunacy for any Government official to suggest that the death penalty debate in Jamaica should be at the forefront of our thoughts at this time. True, the death penalty may serve to punish persons who have committed murder, and, arguably, over the long run, it may deter some people from taking life. But, to introduce the death penalty argument as if to say that the current death rate is linked significantly to the fate of Neville Lewis and a few other persons indicates a complete lack of understanding of the crime problem upon us.
And, it indicates more than that. It suggests to me that, even at a time of siege, the Government is prepared to play politics with crime and violence. More particularly, the Government knows that most Jamaicans want to have the death penalty reintroduced, so, at a time when the society is falling apart, it seeks out a scapegoat: don't blame us for the crime rate! Blame those who oppose the death penalty! Blame the human rights people! Blame the British High Commission! Never mind that we have been elected to govern, and one of the first elements of governmental responsibility is the preservation of law and order! Blame everybody but us!
Against this background, one can fully understand the decision of many Jamaicans to take flight for other shores. Who can blame the young Jamaican for wanting to migrate: in other places, bad things may happen just the same, but, somehow, the probability seems much higher in Jamaica.
We want the Government to govern. And if they cannot, then they must move out of the way. The Gleaner is absolutely correct: "the clock is winding down".
Stephen Vasciannie, an attorney-at-law, teaches at the University of the West Indies.
