Dear Editor,

Now that Tivoli Gardens, the reported “mother of all garrisons”, has been pacified, what’s next? The forces of law and order have implanted themselves with a police post being established in the community for the first time. It’s been reported that JPS and NWC have severed the over 90 per cent illegal connections that existed and the Government of Jamaica has pledged to assist with repairs to houses damaged as a result of the incursion – all features of “regular” Jamaican community life.

The logical next step on the road to creating a normal community is the expansion of employment opportunities, especially for the youth of the areas affected. An important aspect of the raging debate that has been conspicuously absent is that of the historically high levels of unemployment that have characterised the area and the impact of this on the levels of recruitment to criminal enterprise.

A programme of deliberate employment is essential. How else will residents finance daily living, in light of the removal of the main “breadwinner”? How will JPS and NWC be paid? Surely the area cannot be allowed to exist without the amenities of modern life, as this will only serve to assist the communities in reverting to the pre-incursion status quo.

The rate of over 90 per cent illegal utility connections is directly correlated to the rate of unemployment for the area, which historically has hovered around 90 per cent.

The Opposition has been noticeably absent from the discussions on the way forward, with members more keen on scoring political points with plans to “wrest West Kingston from the JLP”. Where is the plan of reconstruction from the PNP? Surely Tivoli is not a JLP problem, it’s a national one! The call to dismantle garrisons was heeded. Now that dismantling has occurred, where do we go from here? Should the area be left in rubble or abandoned? The US and the Allies rebuilt Germany and Japan, surely Jamaica will rebuild Tivoli Gardens.

Even the institutions of civil society seem muted on the way forward with seemingly more emphasis being placed on the rites and rights of the dead. What about the plight of the living, the “non-combatant” survivors? Beyond the grief counselling and mass funerals, what next?

National consensus must be reached on the way forward, the crime bills now before Parliament are a starting point simultaneously with an “affirmative action” programme for the immediate expansion of employment opportunities for inner-city residents.

For too long inner-city residents have been denied employment opportunities based on their addresses, condemning them to the welcoming arms of the community don. Where do we go from here, Jamaica?

Phillip A Chambers

phillipdcchambers@yahoo.com