MR. JOHN Issa, chairman of SuperClubs Resorts, has blamed Jamaica's current socio-economic problems on the level of inequality and injustice in the island."If there is one cause from which this most undesirable state of affairs has arisen, that cause is the number of areas of life in Jamaica in which injustice has been the rule, not the exception. Without justice there is no peace," Mr. Issa said.
He was addressing retired military personnel who had gathered at the Jamaica Legion's and Royal Air Force's Association's headquarters, Curphey Place, Kingston on Wednesday, for the first quarterly luncheon of the recently-formed Caribbean Association of Military Professionals (CAMP).
CAMP was formed in April and aims to harness the skills of retired military personnel throughout the Caribbean so that they can continue to contribute to society, either by counselling or by passing on values to young people through civil organisations. The organisation also plans to offer assistance to retired military personnel who are in need.
In his address to the group, Mr. Issa said inequality and injustice had resulted in some people facing the courts, others not being able to get required licences, not paying taxes or customs duties, and not receiving education while others did. He said this had promoted the growth of two Jamaicas, one of which did not expect either police protection or justice in the Courts.
"In this Jamaica, order is more often maintained by the most powerful gang (and) justice is dispensed by the community leader or the mob," he said.
The other Jamaica, which Mr. Issa dubbed "uptown" or rural, expected the police force and the courts to provide and administer law and order. This Jamaica also expected protection from the police, justice from the Courts, some level of service from public institutions and many of these Jamaicans still believed that they were represented by Parliamentarians.
Although both Jamaicas were different in many ideals and expectations, he pointed out that both were now on a collision course, becoming linked via increasing experiences with crime and violence. The situation had been made worse by almost 30 years of no net economic growth. "With the proverbial pie getting smaller and smaller, there has not been sufficient slices to satisfy the two Jamaicas...and as economic hardships increased the distance separating the two Jamaicas began to shrink," he said.
The collision between the two, Mr. Issa said, was now being seen through downtown crime moving uptown, the growth of garrison communities in the midst of prosperous residential areas, in the increasing incidents of land capture and squatting and in uptown residential areas being garrisoned by private security guards.
"This is a recipe for disaster. I don't know if our leaders (from all sectors) realize that if we do not find a way of reversing these trends, our people will be condemned to an even more miserable quality of life."
