Dear Editor,

There was a time not too long ago when people living in rural Jamaica were reluctant to travel to the capital city of Kingston. Whenever urgent business required them to do so, they would conduct said business and return to their peaceful neck of the woods immediately. This shunning of the capital was due to the high crime rate, especially violent crime.

Sad to say, nowadays hardly a day passes without news of the most savage attacks coming out of once peaceful districts in rural areas. I think my first realisation of this new trend came a few weeks ago when the parish of St James, where you find the tourism capital of Jamaica, Montgeo Bay, had the highest per capita number of murders.

Hardly had the ink dried on that report before we were hearing of mob killing and injury of innocent people in remote Zion, Trelawny; the home invasion of and murder of a woman farmer in a quiet, peaceful district of self-sufficient St Elizabeth; the home invasion in quiet Mandeville at the residence of the former mayor; the doubling of the incidence of rape in Clarendon; and over the weekend the invasion of the market and the gun-slaying of two men in bustling Brown's Town, in the salubrious hills of St Ann. Of course, the rape of the five females, including three children in St James, just confirms that this parish is going to the dogs in terms of violence.

The first duty of any government is to ensure a safe and secure environment for its citizens, but not even that principal task can be achieved by this regime. To add insult to injury, there is no leadership offering hope or even the slightest promise that they have a clue how to deal with the terrible scourge of crime overwhelming the country. Yes, I wore black last Friday, not to protest against the report of just another brutal atrocity, but rather to mourn for my country and the dismal future we have carved out for our children.

Joan Williams

Kingston 10

gratestj@gmail.com