Aubyn Hill
I SPEND a lot of my time going around the country encouraging Jamaicans to become entrepreneurs and invest in the country. When I travel overseas, I carry the same message with similar enthusiasm and when foreign businessmen and visitors meet me I make sure they understand the quite substantial comparative advantage Jamaica possesses as an investment destination. Two articles in this newspaper last week - one on Tuesday written by a "Frustrated Motorist" and the other was headline of The Gleaner on Thursday, September 15 2005, "12 killed in a day" accompanied by graphic pictures and statistics - increased the fear and dismay in the hearts of many Jamaicans and must surely act as a disincentive to prospective local and international investors. We are reliably informed that last year crime reduced GDP growth by about four per cent.
OUTRAGE IN LONDON - NORMALITY IN KINGSTON!
No one with any sense would disagree that poverty is an excellent breading ground for crime and many criminals - not all - come from poor communities. But, poverty does not necessarily have to lead to crime and certainly not the kind of wanton murder that we seem to perpetrate here in Jamaica. In the same Gleaner article last Thursday, we are told that 29 people were murdered between the previous Saturday and the Thursday, 12 people were killed in a single day and 80 persons were killed in the month of August this year.
On July 7, 2005, the London underground and buses were bombed and about 50 people were killed. The carnage of these 50 plus people shut down the city of London and caused the government, led by Prime Minister Tony Blair, to change its entire approach as to how it will handle terrorists and people who would simply speak to encourage terrorists. My heavens, we have 12 people murdered in one day and 29 murdered in five or six days and we seem to carry on business as if everything is normal. Certainly, this is the kind of statistic and reality that should push organisations such as the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), the churches, businessmen and professionals to meet in the parks and downtown - peacefully and without the blocking of roads and the stoppage of vehicular and pedestrian traffic - to make it clearer to the criminals that 'enough is enough'. These peaceful, well-planned and approved demonstrations must be used to strengthen the backbone of the Government and the security forces and convince them that the citizens of every walk of life are behind them and will give them their support to deal decisively with murderers and the criminal environment that support them. The Government must also get the message that 'enough is enough' - and act on it.
LAWLESSNESS ENCOURAGES CRIME
The letter from the "Frustrated Motorist", who happened to be a lady, should be required reading for every member of parliament, particularly Government ministers and everyone in the police force. For us to tolerate "a young windscreen wiper" to target this woman every morning and then threaten her and damage her car with his squeegee handle is simply outrageous. This young man - may be just a young boy - has caused this adult woman to describe herself, based on his behaviour towards her, as 'frustrated', 'angry' and 'frightened'. She said "a senior female officer" at the Hunt's Bay police station was "polite and sympathetic" but told her pointedly "the police could do nothing unless I pointed out the boy to them so they could arrest him. I would also have to accompany them to the station to identify him again for charges to be filed." Sympathy, but no outrage! Is this the disposition of the police high command? The route suggested by the policewoman made the writer feel that her life could be at risk.
WINDSCREEN WIPERS
The unfortunate fact is that this happens across the Corporate Area every single day. On work days it is distressing and upsetting to see how many people, mainly female drivers, are harassed by these young boys who insist on cleaning their windscreens. I have been told by female professionals that some of the youngest boys, in the vicinity of the St. Andrew Parish Church - ironic isn't it? - make the most filthy propositions and statements to them and the tone and virulence of the abusive language is a source of fear to them. And we do nothing about it.
Indeed "Frustrated Motorist" wrote "I pleaded with the police to just remove these boys from the area on the basis of my complaint, to which the response was that if they remove them another set would soon show up." Former Mayor of New York City Rudolph Guilliani, took over a police force that was told the same thing and avoided dealing with these squeegee windscreen wipers. While there was no law to remove them from the streets, he searched the law books to find that whenever they crossed the street on a red light they were 'jay walking' and breaking the law. He would lock up these windscreen wipers - sometimes each one up to six times a day - and soon the message went out across the city that if you want to do squeegee wiping of windscreens and threaten female drivers, do it anywhere except in New York City. Mayor Guilliani was also accused of using important police muscle and time to deal with this 'little problem'. He pointed out, and proved, that all lawlessness eventually leads to crime and when you deal with the 'little problems' many of the bigger ones tend to drift away, because the message goes out that lawlessness and crime will no longer be tolerated.
WHO RUNS THINGS?
This week Prime Minister Tony Blair has made it clear that terrorists and those who preach and practice terrorist violence against law-abiding citizens will be locked up and driven out of Britain. He made it clear that he believed the laws in Britain were "not tough enough or effective enough" in protecting the basic civil liberty of every citizen - the protection of life and providing basic safety.
In Jamaica it appears that we too have been too soft on criminals and lawlessness and in effect, by this softness and accommodation, have been ruthlessly hard and are without compassion towards law-abiding and helpless citizens. Too many helpless people have been murdered and too few murderers have paid any kind of price for their lawlessness. We the citizens, the leaders that we elect and who seek to be elected, the security forces - indeed everyone - must signal that 'enough is enough'. Criminals have to be confronted with a relentless, blatantly swift, unquestionably forceful and lawful set of responses that will act as clear disincentives to the rampant murder, criminality, disrespect and harassment that law-abiding citizens are suffering with such painful regularity in our society. The Government and the security forces, backed by the support of law-abiding citizens fuelled of the outrage of the murder statistics and the encroaching fear in the society must confront the criminals with whatever is necessary to let them fully understand who runs things in Jamaica.
Aubyn Hill is managing partner of Corporate Strategies Limited, a restructuring and financial advisory firm. Respond to:writerhill@gmail.com
