Tears for a brother

THE EDITOR, Madam:

IN SEPTEMBER 1999 I came home to find my brother feeling not only betrayed but frightened for his safety, my parents both sick with grief at what was happening to their son, my sisters and brother screaming injustice and total abhorrence to anything political. Can a police officer be found criminally guilty of following a direct command.

After Ainsworth explained to me how he had lived for the past two months, I did not return to my job. I went home and I cried for the fact that we are poor. I cried for the fact that my brother went through hell. I cried for the fact that my mother cried the day he graduated from the police training school. Then I cried, for my country.

The frustration of day after day of going to court, month after month, and hearing, "The Crown is still conducting the investigation into the matter." To describe how we felt as a family to see our brother's picture shown on television with the false news that he had absconded is indescribable. This picture I should note was shown right after the pictures of escaped killers and other such common offenders of the law. This picture was the picture he used for his application to the police training school in 1985. We were never ashamed because we knew he was not guilty. Although our every word on the telephone was monitored we still spoke anyway because we had nothing to hide.

Then, God bless them, the decent-minded citizens of this country were not satisfied with the 'sacrificial lambs' who were chosen to be criminally responsible for the removal of the street people of Montego Bay. Only then did my brother get his chance to tell his side of the story, the true side of the story. Now he is free.

Thank God. We would like to say thanks to all who stood by us for their understanding, their prayers, their words of cheer and most of all for their belief in the fact that justice must prevail.

However, the justice scale is not yet balanced. We need to pray that others who are still charged will be exonerated and we continue to hope and pray that the masterminds behind this incident will be brought to justice.

I am, etc.,

J.M. GIDDEN

P.O. Box 4106

Linstead

St. Catherine

Back to Letters