Jim Bush gives a hug and a reassuring word to a student of Charlie Smith High School in west Kingston. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Robert Lalah, Assistant Editor - Features

He stands out like a sore thumb on the grounds of the west Kingston high school. He doesn't however seem to care very much, as he walks around shaking hands and giving hugs to the students. His name is Jim Bush, a retired engineer from Detroit, and he's in the island to support his wife, pastor and counsellor Juanita Peekvary. She's the Charlie Smith High School chaplain and she's been kept busy over the past few months as the violence in the Arnett Gardens community continues to impact on the lives of the students.

Mr. Bush still lives in Detroit whilehis wife, who was born in the States, spends most of her time in Jamaica. Knowing that his wife spends her days in Arnett Gardens means restless nights for the talkative American.

"Absolutely I'm worried! I can hardly think of anything else," he said.

He was at the Charlie Smith High School a couple weeks ago as his wife led a prayer vigil for peace in the community. Days earlier gunmen ran into the schoolyard as classes were going on.

"It's the saddest thing in the world. These children are so beautiful and full of life and love and these thugs want to ruin it for them. It's absolutely unacceptable," Mr. Bush said, shaking his head.

"The last time I visited my wife here, we heard gunshots nearby. Can you believe that? Gunshots while we were at a school. I couldn't believe it! I mean I was so terrified, so can you even imagine what these kids must feel like?" he said.

Feeling of hopelessness

As an outsider looking in, Mr. Bush said that the poverty in the community seemed, to him, to be a major contributor to crime. "A lot of these young people are left with no option but to beg and not having a job denies them of that right to be real men. So because of this feeling of hopelessness and the need to put food on their tables, they are forced to take up the gun," he said.

Now some may feel that Mr. Bush, a giant in the field of engineering who played a major role in modernising Detroit's public transport system, is overstepping his boundaries by attempting to assess Jamaica's complex crime problem, but he says that he's a Jamaican at heart and only wants the best for the children he has grown so fond of over years of visiting his wife.

"These kids are who I care about. The Government needs to come into this community and help ease some of this poverty. Once these people are given an opportunity, then the crime will be eased. We had the same problem in Detroit and it took a lot of work but it's got a lot better now. I can't understand why it's been so difficult here. I'm sure the Government cares for these people but they haven't been able to do much to stop this crime," Mr. Bush said.

"I dread it when the phone rings. I keep thinking that something has happened to my wife or one of these kids. I really think we can get control of this problem if we put our heads together."