A very sad time for Jamaica

People of the beautiful island of Jamaica will record the May 24, 2010, National Labour Day, as the day the country's army invaded a community called Tivoli Gardens with a bid to cleanse it of criminal elements and serve a warrant to accused drug lord and ‘don’ Christopher 'Dudus' ‘Presi’ Coke.  Residents setup barricades at the entrances of the community which proved to be a deterrent to the police who wanted to enter the community.

Law abiding resident of Tivoli Gardens were asked to leave, busses were provided, noone took up the offer.  The days to follow were grey. On May 23 gunmen armed with high powered weapons set out on an attack against the state where they set fire to the Denham Town police station, and attempted to do the same to three others in downtown Kingston. The government called A State of Emergency as of 6:00 that day. At night fall criminals attempted to attack other police stations in Kingston. Police officers were engaged in gun battle with criminals for the entire night. At the break of dawn, two police officers were dead and others injured from a battle on Mountain View Avenue.

As daylight broke on May 24, citizens in some parts of Kingston were kept alert by the sporadic outburst of gunfire being exchanged between gunmen and lawmen. As mid-day drew near Soldiers moved in on Tivoli Gardens, the resounding sound of gunfire could be heard across downtown Kingston. After day three of what seemed like a war, over 60 lives were lost, more than 300 men were detained, and one soldier was shot dead.   

Leading up to the Jamaica Defense Force invasion of Tivoli Gardens, in West Kingston

Barricades were placed at the entrances to the community, rumors soon spreading like wildfire in the streets, gave the impression that the Tivoli residents were being held hostage in their homes and that their cellular phones were being confiscated. Soon after, the government issued a statement, advising the residents that busses were being provided for them to be taken to an undisclosed location for safety.  Some residents – mostly women and children – took to the streets the next day, clad in white, displaying cellular phones; armed with placards and shouting “we will die for him”, “we are not being held hostage” “leave Dudus alone” among other statements geared to making it clear that they were free.

As gunfire rang out across West Kingston on Monday, May 24, residents began calling media houses begging for help, some saying that they wanted to leave but they could not, some begging for their prime minister to intervene. The question on most Jamaicans mind after hearing this was: ‘why did they not leave when they were given the option, and why did not say that they were having difficulties leaving ‘.

Tivoli Gardens a community nested in West Kingston, Jamaica, is only known by name by a large percentage of citizens in Jamaica. It is not a community that you just walk into; you could probable say 'you need a passport to enter'. If you did not know someone living there you would not dare enter. It was built as a self sustaining community, and at times, seemed like an island to itself, governed by a ‘don’ inhabited by residents who many Jamaican know little about.

It is very sad that this invasion had to happen, it is very sad that the beautiful island of Jamaica’s image has to be tarnished by the unbelievable strong influence of one man. May 2010 is and will always be the saddest month in the history of Jamaica.  Many will assume and many will judge but Jamaica is still a paradise, with loving people who want the world to know that Tivoli Gardens and to an extent Kingston is just a small fraction of the island.