The Editor, Sir:
I have been living in Jamaica for the past 10 years. I left Jamaica when I was a teenager in the '70s and returned as an adult in the '90s. In the ten years that I have been back, there are many articles in The Gleaner which I have read that have disturbed me considerably but I have to say that today (October 6) I wept like a baby. The article "Thugs torch family of four" reminded me of the recent cover of The Economist which read "America's Day of Shame" which referred to the United States' response to the devastation and plight of the poor who suffered at the hand of 'Katrina' and even more terrible, at the lack of response from the people whose job it was to help them. The Gleaner's headline should have been 'Jamaica's Day of Shame'.
I cannot tell you how disheartened I am to think that there are people, and I use that word loosely, who could have stood by and listened to that child as she pleaded for someone to come to her rescue from the burning flames and, not only disregarded her wails but, deterred persons from coming to her assistance. Therefore, it is not enough to say that these men are not human beings; that would be putting it mildly. How much more can our people suffer? How much more can we endure?
I know more than five people who have been murdered. None were close friends or relatives, but two of them I worked with; the others I knew to say hello to whenever I saw them. One was shot because she was thought to be an informer; one as a reprisal for something that her son had done; one caught in a robbery attempt; and two, the reason has not yet been determined. I could probably think of more but these come to mind immediately. This is not normal and if you travel anywhere in the world that is not at war or in civil war, you would be hard put to find someone in similar circumstances.
For the first time today, I questioned myself as to whether I want to continue to live in this country. All my friends can attest to the fact that I always defend Jamaica when I travel overseas and I berate Jamaicans who consistently belittle this country that I love so much, as I did at a dinner party in New York earlier this year. But today my shame, hurt and despair of this cowardly and dastardly act are so powerful that I don't know how I will ever be able to defend Jamaica again.
I am, etc.,
ELIZABETH HIND
ebuchan@uwimona.edu.jm
