A peace tour of four communities in the war-torn area of Mountain View in Kingston came to an abrupt end yesterday, as residents of the community of Back Bush refused to join the peace effort, and gunshots rang out from the hills behind the community’s shanty town.

The tour, which began in the Jarrett Lane community and passed through 63 Mountain View Avenue, McGreggor Gully, and Jacques Road, was initially seen as an overwhelming success, as it brought together warring factions, many of whom before yesterday had not interacted with each other for up to three years.

From about 10 am yesterday, area leaders from the various communities walked through streets which, up to earlier this week, were battlegrounds and killing fields for marauding gunmen intent on driving terror into their neighbours. The death toll in this latest round of violence, which began almost three weeks ago, is nearing 20. The victims include women and the elderly.

Yesterday, the group of about 200 marchers had barely arrived in ‘Back Bush’, the last stop on the tour, when gunshots rang out, and residents of that community refused to join the peace talks.

“We nuh inna no peace ting cause we nuh inna no war wid nobody,” an irate woman from Back Bush screamed at the gathering that included officials from the Peace Management Initiative, political Ombudsman Herro Blair and JLP caretaker for Eastern St Andrew, Philip Henriques.

The Back Bush residents’ reactions and the gunshots caused the touring residents of Jarrett Lane, Saunders Avenue and McGregor Gully — all areas with strong support for the People’s National Party (PNP) — to become skittish. And even after being coaxed to stay, they opted to return to their communities until the PMI and leaders from Jacques Road and ’63’ brought reason and restraint to the situation.

The tour ended at that point, the incident in Back Bush clearly transforming the optimism of Mountain View residents to disbelief and frustration, as many, especially the area leaders, seemed genuinely desirous of peace.

“Mi nuh know what a go happen now, cause look how all a we come together an say well, let’s work it out, an dem people here a go come wid dem ignorant self and say dem nuh inna peace? From morning we a walk y’know!” lamented one man who identified himself as a Jacques Road resident.

He told the Observer that his children were the motivation for him to join the march. Since the beginning of the summer holidays, concerns about their safety had made him send them to a rural area of the island, he said.

“De way dem a flex, my pickney dem nah go able fi come back in time for school, cause if de war nuh done now, no peace caan hol’ fi September,” he added shaking his head in disappointment.

One woman from Jarrett Lane appeared equally upset.

“We all frustrated now, because we don’t know where to turn if some Labourite want peace and others a fight it,” she said. “This haffi be a everybody thing or no peace caan keep, and in the end, a nuh de man dem a feel it, a we, de woman, de mothers, a we.”

But even as it appeared that the fruitful day’s efforts would be eroded by the reaction of the Back Bush residents, Blair and the PMI which he heads tried desperately to allay fears and to reason with the area leaders there.

“It was like one bad apple tried to spoil the whole bunch, but it has not been spoiled, thankfully. We have done some damage control,” said Blair later that afternoon.

He told the Observer that the Back Bush residents’ reaction had stemmed from the failure to notify their area leaders of the planned peace tour, as had been done for the leaders in the other communities.

That mistake, compounded with the injuring of a blind man during a shoot-out between gunmen and police earlier in the day, had residents agitated and distrustful. The decision to go to back Bush, Blair explained was made on the spur of the moment.

“Because things had gone so well in the other communities, everybody said, well, lets give Back Bush a try,” he said. “But it appeared to them in Back Bush like an invasion when they saw the leaders and the people from other communities, and they became even more agitated.”

After the crowd dispersed, however, PMI officials spoke with area leaders from Back Bush, who apologised for the residents’ behaviour and agreed to participate in a series of peace meetings that will begin on Monday.

“I am so sorry that it went that way, because those people should have been properly informed, but even with that incident, in the nearly two years I’ve been working with those communities, today has been the best day,” said an optimistic Blair.

“All, in my opinion is well, and the guys from all the communities understand that the peace is still in effect,” he added.