- File
A worker from Madden's Funeral Home, right, assists a crime scene detective along Beckford Street to swab the fingers of one of the men killed in of last Saturday's shooting downtown, Kingston, which left four persons dead on the spot, and 10 shot and injured. Two others later died.
Erica Virtue, Staff Reporter
LOUD MUSIC blared from big speaker boxes on several roads in downtown Kingston.
It is perhaps an indicator that "life" has returned to normal, five shopping days after gunmen opened fire in the busy business district, killing four persons on the spot, and another two dying in hospital. Ten others were wounded.
When the shooting began, the chaos was unbelievable.
Blood, goods, bodies, screaming and fear was everywhere.
If human blood could be processed and woven to become a carpet, the tiny area called the Downtown Business District, would be covered with thick, red carpeting.
Every street, every alley, and every lane would be covered. The factory processing the carpet would have more than enough material for processing.
There has been a constant supply of the commodity in the last three decades. The decorators could even set their sights on carpeting the entire Corporate Area.
Welcome to downtown Kingston, Jamaica.
Enter at your own risk!
Wares, guns and garbage are everywhere and, in the midst of this residential and commercial madness, life goes on at least - until someone pulls a trigger.
In the meantime, it remains the centre of selling, begging, pushing a handcart to earn your dinner, moving goods quickly on the arrival of the police, dancing to the loud sounds from speaker boxes.
It's a hustler's domain.
During last weekend's shootings, one higgler said she wet herself.
"I could not move, I could not run and I could not do any thing. I just stand one place, numb, dumb," a young higgler said.
One of her male colleagues ask, "Where was her human rights to walk safe? Is only murderers have human rights. When gunmen mek people a wet dem self and turn fool, weh dem human rights people deh."
He wanted to know if he did not have any rights. He insisted on knowing.
Others demanded too, under their breath.
"Nice blouse, fi di ooman dem," a higgler walking by with arms heavily laden with blouses, gave The Sunday Gleaner a chance to escape from the unrelenting young man, with beautifully corn-rowed hair, and brilliant white teeth.
As the team walked along Orange, Beeston and Princess streets, at South Parade and parts of King Street, higglers' wares were everywhere.
Other higglers have now taken over the spot where bodies lay and blood ran last week.
On Thursday, there were no buyers.
The large crowd was made up of downtown dwellers and commuters, another set were the working crowd, they were walking to their various departure points.
They were in a hurry to get out of the area.
"My dear, shottas nuh give warning when dem about to kill people," a lady dressed like an enrolled assistant nurse said, while she too hurried on.
"Mummy yuh see weh the gun ting cause? Nobody nah even stop fi se we ave much more tings fi sell," he said, pointing to his latest stock of teen and ladies wear, "a pure idiot ting a gwaan down yah."
While the wares are displayed fully and the vendors' voices crack as they loudly advertise, you get the feeling that everyone was on the balls of their feet, preparing to run for their lives at short notice.
The conditions which exist in downtown Kingston, are not unique.
Mexico City, has been overrun by drug trafficking, kidnappings, robberies, smog and dog droppings. So is Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and Bogota in Colombia. Jamaica's only equal in the Caribbean, is Port au Prince.
Drug, extortion and lawlessness run things. Human life has no value.
Maybe, the biggest boost that the Jamaican economy could ever get, is news that in the last 48 hours, no killing has been reported. Forty-eight hours may be asking too much, 24 hours, or better, 10 hours.
