I sat at home a few evenings ago looking at the news broadcast on one of our local television stations when I heard a Tivoli resident say something rather disturbing but sobering about their area leader and strongman Christopher “Dudus” Coke. The woman said in effect that “Jesus died for us and we will die for Dudus”. I was shocked and at the same time intrigued by such an admission of loyalty and commitment to their area leader. Interestingly, many claim that this don is the antithesis of the Jesus of whom that woman spoke. I concluded that her declaration was reflective of three dimensions of garrison life – its spirituality, its politics, and its economics.

One of the dimensions of garrison life that intrigues me is garrison spirituality. It seems many people who live in garrisons like West Kingston, and especially Tivoli Gardens, embrace a conflation of Christianity and its Christology or messiah theology and their understanding of the strongman or don who is seen as a local messiah. It is obvious that the perception held of their leader by many residents of garrisons is built on their understanding of Jesus’ life and mission. They embrace Jesus’ role in delivering humanity from spiritual bankruptcy, but they move beyond that to fill a perceived void in the non-spiritual world for a socio-political messiah to deliver them from socio-political bondage. What bothers me is that their messiah theology is articulated in the reverse. It is reversed garrison Christology in that rather than the garrison “messiah” dying for his people, they are willing and ready to die for him.

A second dimension of garrison life that fascinates me is garrison politics. Beyond the fact that garrison spirituality is apparently married to garrison politics, it is obvious that garrison politics is complex and multifaceted. One does not have to look too far to see that many garrisons operate as “states” within the Jamaican state, or “countries” within the country of Jamaica. This is obvious in the utterances of the residents of these garrisons. One that I find rather interesting is their calling their benefactor “president”. It smacks of defiance of the Westminster model with the prime minister as the ultimate leader of the country where this system operates. If indeed the don is revered as the “president”, then garrison residents elevate him above the prime minister and vest in him more power and authority than the duly elected leader of the land. Not even Jesus was given such an esteemed place in Israel, although some tried to elevate him to such a position.

In addition to the spiritual and political dimensions of garrisons, there is the economic aspect. There is no doubt in many people’s minds that an economic underpinning lies at the heart of the garrison structure. It reflects the failure of the State to adequately and decisively address the socio-economic challenges of persons living in these garrisons. Inevitably, someone would step up to the plate, as it were, and take charge of the situation, albeit exploitatively. This socio-economic “messiah” provides for and protects the residents, especially those who are willing to comply with the “laws” of the state within the state. The recent protest marches in Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town demonstrate this reality and reveal the people’s determination to maintain the status quo because of the failure of the body politic.

It is obvious, therefore, that the answer does not lie in simply dismantling the garrisons. This is indeed desirable, even to some who are residents of these enclaves. The dismantling of garrisons poses a serious challenge: what are the alternatives to this religio-political-economic phenomenon? Such a system has spawned people who claim willingness to die for their leader because of what he does to perpetuate the system. It is amazing that many spiritual people in Jamaica are not ready and willing to die for their leader. Any credible government in Jamaica needs to grapple with and be willing and able to replace the three dimensions of garrison life (spirituality, politics, and economics) that make it such an attractive and compelling reality in Jamaica.

earlmontwilliams@flowja.com