It crushes the heart to see the life snuffed out of a young Manchester law officer who had just signed off from his day of civil service and was going home to his family. Two hoodlums waited for him at his gate and shamelessly gunned him down for reasons unknown.

The most distressing part of this scenario is that the murderers knew that he was a policeman and he was most likely armed. This did not deter them in anyway. Now, can someone tell me what chances an ordinary Jamaican who has no firearm has against these evil monsters? How many gated communities can we erect? How many grilles can we instal? When is this madness going to stop?

Jamaica, as a country, is under siege by criminal elements and is threatened with anarchy. Leaders seem confused and clueless about what actions to take. Some citizens are calling for the death penalty, foreign interventions and other drastic measures. The fact is that one thing everyone agrees on is that something needs to be done, and right now.

If we allow law and order to break down in such a way that policemen and women are fearful for their lives then our society is gone. Crime is no longer a ghetto statistic. The criminals have no boundaries. They will lie in wait at our homes, gated community and guard gate, to gun us down.

Alvin Buchanan

alvinbis@gmail.com

get rid of illegal guns

Mr Prime Minister, you are not doing the right thing. All we want from you is for you to get the guns from off the streets, nothing else for the time being. Forget about everything else that you and your Cabinet are planning and just busy yourselves with getting the illegal guns off our streets. Do it now for Christmas, do it or leave our Jamaica House.

If you can't do it, then just leave the job. We have other people who are willing and able. Forget about the IMF, the BOJ, the oil exploration, deejays, buying dogs and everything else that you are busy arranging.

They are not of any importance until you get rid of the illegal guns. Do this and you will remain PM for as long as you wish. Fail to do it and you will fail miserably.

Concerned Jamaican

shegan@yahoo.com

Why the subservience?

Why can't we stay away from subservient mindset, attitude and behaviour?

Why would we want a tourism school in Jamaica? Where has it got us? I am quite sure we have more than that to offer the world.

We need to be training more doctors, scientists, writers, trades people, educators, lawyers, early childhood educators, farmers, etc.

We need to look at better infrastructure and building for the green future that is here, and I should think that Jamaica would want to be part of that. This is where we need to be training our people and putting institutions in place.

Jacqueline Dwyer

jacquelinedwr@gmail.com