NEW YORK, USA — While 200,000 New Yorkers converged on Midtown Manhattan to participate in an anti-war protest Saturday, the Jamaican community in New York, for the most part, stayed away in droves, choosing to keep a low profile even though they echo the anti-war sentiments.

“I’m not a resident and I’m not even legal,” said Alia, an unemployed Jamaican, citing her reason and that of many in the community for staying away from the march.

“Like you nuh hear ’bout the Homeland security,” retorted a customer while waiting for his order at a Jamaican restaurant in the Bronx.

But despite the tension in the air, Jamaicans here are going about their daily lives without the proverbial shiver in their boots. War is on everyone’s lips, but it’s the effect on the economy and their livelihood that’s of paramount concern.

“This is my second fare for the day,” lamented a Jamaican yellow cab driver depositing his airport passenger in the Bronx shortly before midnight Friday. “And I’ve been on the streets since five this afternoon.”

“In this country, it’s all about work and going home,” said Myrna Hunt, who was born in St Thomas but schooled mostly in Kingston. She has several reasons to be concerned, by her own reckoning.

“Just last week I survived another round of lay-offs,” Hunt said about the third such manoeuvre in recent months.

The forty-something Queens resident has a 23-year-old son in the Navy based in the state of Maryland. “I’m not too worried now, since they didn’t call him in the first pool. They have so many (troops) over there now that I don’t think they are going to call for any more for now. And he feels confident they are not going to call him either. Apart from that, I’m a bit concerned about gas, like nerve gas of some kind, even though there’s little chance of that. But you never know.”

Such concern prevents former Morant Bay High student, Tarique Wilson, who is presently enrolled at New York Technical in Brooklyn, from dozing off on the train these days. “I’m afraid to take the trains,” said the Bronx resident. “It probably doesn’t take much for them to set off some gas in the subways.”

Apart from the war, several Jamaicans are also upset at President Bush’s demeanour.

“Bush shows the same arrogance as Giuliani,” offered a Bronx cabby who desired anonymity. Giuliani is the former New York mayor whose approval rating shot up after the September 11, 2001 terror attack on New York. His good showing in the polls, analysts say, resulted from Americans’ perception of his handling of the post-attack crisis.

“I’m curious though, how come I don’t hear any polls showing Bush’s approval rating,” the cab driver said.

“I don’t trust the media, I don’t trust Bush, I don’t trust any reports from intelligence,” a sceptical former Kingston resident, Ricky Reid, said. “Next thing you’ll here is that they find weapons of mass destruction and I’ll bet is them carry it there.”

One Jamaican who attended the march wearing a Reggae Boyz shirt, happened unto a soccer field late afternoon and received some good-natured ribbing from his team members.

“How can you go like you a represent Jamaica. You mad. Mind you make the man them drop a bomb on Jamaica and then them say it’s a mistake.”