It was an act of cruelty that brought the

already violence-torn Kingston to its knees, shook the island to the core and

made international headlines 40 years ago.

Eventide Home for the Aged was forever

changed when 144 elderly and infirmed women were killed in a fire at the institution

on May 20, 1980. Eventide was home to some 700 Jamaicans at the time.

Residents of Slipe Pen Road awoke heartbroken

that fateful Tuesday morning, as the Myers Ward of the Eventide Home was

reduced to “metal rods, zinc sheets and ashes”.

The old, wooden building, erected to house

the poor for more than 100 years, yielded to the unforgiving fire set by arsonists;

of the 211 women living at the ward, only 58 escaped alive.

Another two women died from the severe burn

injuries they received at the Kingston Public Hospital, seven were missing and

presumed dead.

An article, archived by the , recalled it took firefighters from the capital and neighbouring parish of St Andrew to tame the deadly inferno.Jamaica National Heritage Trust

“The loss caused by the fire was estimated

at J$150,000. The Government agency responsible for the upkeep of the home, the

Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation (KSAC), announced that whether Eventide

was repaired or rebuilt at a new location it would be costly to the Government,”

the JNHT wrote.

Forty years later, and the investigation is

still no closer to unearthing those responsible for the atrocity.

However, as the island was being consumed

by the mayhem that was the 1980 general election political campaign,

conspiracies ran rife and untamed that the tragedy was deeply rooted in

tribalism.

“One opinion on the cause of the fire

argued that it was the result of political manoeuvring during the final months

leading up to the most violent general elections in Jamaica’s recent history.

There were in fact a number of reports to the police from persons living at the

home that gunmen had entered the premises more than once, claiming they had

come to kill the staff and inmates for reasons connected with their alleged

political affiliations. Moreover, gunmen besieged the premises of the home just

six months after the fire and this time injured two persons,” the historical

article continued.

The conspiracies didn’t stop in Jamaica

either, from allegations of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) involvement

to the Reichstag, the heated political landscape quickly overshadowed the

disaster.

The victims were buried in a mass grave and a memorial constructed in their honour at the National Heroes Park in Kingston.

For more, watch this riveting documentary by Fae Ellington below: