Garth Rattray

Sometime last year, while attempting to drive along Lyndhurst Road, I noticed all the vehicles ahead of me making U turns and going in the opposite direction. I barely glimpsed a piece of the yellow police 'crime-scene' tape when a truck driver, noticing my quizzical appearance, shouted to me, "Dem kill smaddy!"

The excitement with which he informed me of the police cordon and his matter-of-fact delivery of the tragic news was very disturbing. "Is this what we have come to?" I wondered. 'Dem' (them - a Jamaican or a group of Jamaicans), had killed 'smaddy' (somebody - a fellow Jamaican) and the laissez-faire manner in which this information was being disseminated spoke volumes about the dulling of our sense of moral indignation, natural coping defence mechanisms and desensitisation that years of thousands of brutal murders bring. The thought sent a palpable buzz down my spine and tightness in my throat.

Who constitutes 'dem'? This group is typically made up of young, underprivileged, undereducated, jobless, futureless, heartless, (effectively) fatherless boys or men with gang affiliations. Being a part of a gang affords 'dem' leadership, recognition, camaraderie, respect born out of fear, some degree of protection, financial and emotional support, and, of course, guns. 'Dem' are disposable mercenaries that mindlessly allow 'demselves' to be exploited by one 'big man' or another.

'Dem' have no respect for their lives or for the lives of others. 'Dem' will murder for money, for power or for respect. 'Dem' exists in the here and now. The realisation that murdering people will eventually destroy the entire nation is beyond 'dem'.

And, who is 'smaddy'? Lest we forget, we all fall into the extremely vulnerable category of 'smaddy'. These are the typical victims of crime. It's true that sometimes 'smaddy' is associated with 'dem' and that some deal or the other went sour leading to 'dem' killing 'smaddy'. However, oftentimes, 'dem' cannot find the particular 'smaddy' responsible for the loss of money, drugs or guns and so 'dem' will murder an innocent relative or spouse of that 'smaddy' instead.

Many 'smaddies' are murdered in the committing of a crime (like robbery and/or rape) or to cover up one. Sometimes 'smaddy' is murdered just because he/she dismissed an incompetent worker or refused to support an extortionist or was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

'Dem' will murder any 'smaddy' of their choosing. It doesn't matter if the targeted 'smaddy' is a guest in our country, a minister of religion, a professional or business person that contributes in a positive way to society, a parent struggling to keep body and soul together, a pregnant woman, an innocent child or an unborn child. Only top politicians are immune to 'dem'; the rest of us 'smaddies' are in constant danger. Two 'smaddies' recently brutally murdered by 12 of 'dem' were seven-year-old Damone Skyers and her 47-year-old mom Maureen Bennett, formerly of Torrington Park. This horrific event was extremely traumatic for the nation.

If you are one of 'dem', if you are nurturing 'dem', if you are supporting or hiding 'dem', it's time to take a good look at the pain, suffering, death and damage inflicted by 'dem'. Fortunately, there are far more 'smaddies' than there are 'dem'. Us 'smaddies' must stop viewing the murders of other 'smaddies' abstractly. If we band together and look out for each other, we will prevail and 'dem' won't be able to kill 'smaddy' so easily ever again.