political unrest

As you may or may not know there has been some political unrest in Jamaica over the last week or so. Our travel has been strongly restricted, we're not allowed to leave our homes after 6:30, and a few volunteers have even had to be relocated to another site, at least for the time being.

The political scene in Jamaica is highly controversial, something that many Jamaicans will argue and debate about all day. As we've said before, Jamaicans are very passionate people, and this passion definitely carries over into politics. Many people get extremely heated about politics, and the Peace Corps has strongly encouraged us to stay neutral (or at least not let on to anyone where we might side). Because of much of this, it can be very difficult to decipher the Jamaican political landscape. It seems to be filled with rumors, emotions, distrust, personal perceptions, convoluted information, and an individual's agenda. I know what you're probably saying, “Yeah, but isn't that politics everywhere?” Well, yes, but it's even more so here in Jamaica. In light of all this, we'll try to do our best to give an unbiased recap of the recent events....

Last year, the US requested the extradition of a man, Christopher “Dudus” Coke, and he has yet to be apprehended. Since the time of this original request, there has been much controversy over this issue. Now, extraditions to the US are not an uncommon practice; over the last 50 years, the US has asked for many individuals to be brought to their custody. Actually, the US called for many others prior to Dudus, and they have all been processed and sent Stateside. Why is the situation with Dudus unique? Well, Dudus is a very powerful don that oversees an area in West Kingston called Tivoli Gardens. The current Prime Minister Bruce Golding's constituency covers the area of West Kingston. Golding is with the JLP party, of which Tivoli Gardens has had long ties with. Like the US, Jamaica has a two party system, the Jamaica Labor Party(JLP) and the People's National Party(PNP), but under a parliamentary system.

Strong rumor has it that the politicians and political parties are heavily linked with the gangs and gun violence, and have strong relationships with many of the dons. This practice appears to go back almost 40 years now. We can neither confirm or deny this; this is just the word on the street... generally accepted as truth by almost everybody in Jamaica. This latest incident revolving around Dudus seems to confirm some of this belief. The current administration has appeared to avoid the issue of Dudus, not heeding to the US's request. Many people believe that this is due to Bruce Golding's personal tie to Dudus. Plus, there's the thought that if Dudus is extradited, all hell is going to break loose with gangs around the island for a couple of reasons... 1) it upsets the balance of power in the “underworld” and 2) Jamaica is a small island and many of the gangs are strongly linked.

About 2 weeks ago, Golding gave a speech on national television, saying that the extradition papers would be signed. A few days later, 4 police stations in Kingston were attacked, one of which was burned to the ground. The Kingston Public Hospital came under gunfire, and the infamous Cornation market was also razed. Golding declared a State of Emergency for Kingston and the parish of St. Andrew.

Since then, it's been a whirlwind of events with everyone glued to their TVs to catch the 7 and 8pm news. The military and police have been called in from all over the island to Kingston, which resembles somewhat of a battle zone right now. After about a week of the chaos, many people have been killed, civil rights controversy abounds, and still no Dudus.

Who knows how all of it will end, but one nice thing is that we're probably located in one of the safest places on the island right now. Crime in Accompong is almost non-existent, and we're far-removed from the situation in Kingston, at least geographically. Plus, after only a week, the community seems to have taken us under their wing, making sure we feel safe and comfortable. While watching the news in some of the local shops, some of them have even offered their unsolicited reassurance, “Don' worry yuhself, wi won' let anyting 'appen a yuh”, as if they could read our worried mothers' minds back home.