It has been 10 years since this country’s security forces entered Tivoli Gardens and causing death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. For all these years I have been asking of anyone who will listen: Why did the security forces invade Tivoli Gardens? The response I frequently get is that they were looking for Christopher “Dudus” Coke to detain and extradite him to the US. They grow weary when I insist that was never the reason, and that a truthful answer may be more closely linked to those Reneto Adams ‘antics’ carried out at intervals on previous occasions when misguided ‘leaders’ in the society laboured under the illusion that garrisons could be ‘dismantled’, and Tivoli was the Achilles heel of the PNP.

I rejected the “Dudus” argument because the security forces claimed, at the time, to be teeming with “intelligence”. That being the case, they ought to know what the rest of the country knew. Firstly, Dudus did not live in or near Tivoli Gardens. Secondly, Dudus had not been in Tivoli for a long time, and was, in fact, not even in a neighbouring parish. That being the case, why would this huge army of gunmen — as we were led to believe — assembled in Tivoli to prevent the apprehension of a man who was not there.

I watched the barricades facing Coronation Market going up. The objective was a futile attempt by fearful residents — with memories of the Adams ‘operations’ still fresh in their consciousness — to keep out the security forces. The ‘shottas’ had long removed themselves. They were not fools. They had no helicopters, no tanks, no armoured vehicles, and no missiles. For them to put up some old stoves and garbage at the entrances and allow themselves to be surrounded and slaughtered in Tivoli by a combined force of about 15,000 trained police and soldiers, with the support of these equipment, would be madness.

This was not a surprise operation. Was this really lost on the security forces who had telegraphed all their moves? I think not.

So when this massive, fearsome force arrived, the ‘resistance’ they speak about came from weeping, traumatised women, the elderly and infirm, as well as terrorised girls willing to accede to the variety of requests of these monsters in order to save their men folk and, of course, the young males who foolishly believed that their innocence was any guarantee of safety.

Unbelievably, the security forces requested and were allowed to exclude the media. This, obviously forgetting that the major problem with the Adams attacks was the paucity of reliable information. In the end, the public was treated to a duppy story about vicious fighting and, although the security forces prevailed, 75 of the ‘attackers’ were killed. Oh! After days of ‘vicious’ fighting, what happened to the casualties on the other side? I believe the biggest challenge facing the security forces during this operation was dealing with the terror-induced body emissions.

What Jamaica needs to know is this, if only 76 were slaughtered, that means that the 63 missing people must still be hiding from their homes, having abandoned their belongings and their loved ones for the past 10 years.

And were the many decomposing bodies sneaked into May Pen Cemetery included in the 76? In addition to the dead relatives, there were damaged businesses as well as destroyed buildings and valuables that just disappeared into thin air after searches by the security forces.

Some $112 million was made available as an initial payment. But what steps were taken to reconstruct this ‘dismantled garrison’? Did it dawn on anyone that this experience would result in feelings of aggression, deep depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, as well as academic and cognitive difficulties? And that’s just in the short term. The trained person, who knows the signals, will admit that many of these problems have endured.

One month after school resumed I called some schools in the area to ask if they had noticed any difference in their students. Some didn’t observe anything new until I asked some specific questions and they agreed that some things had changed. That “troublemaker”, for example, had not suddenly started to “behave”, as they thought, he was suffering from depression.

But it is not only those who were alive during this event who have scars. For those women who were pregnant, the risk of the unborn child developing a mental or physical illness later in life would have significantly increased — like the slow learner or the one who “woan listen”. Any mothers with nine-year-olds having these problems?

Years later there was a commission of enquiry which concluded that there was compelling evidence to suggest that these agents of the State engaged in extrajudicial killings and used strong language to condemn the actions of the police and military commanders. What seemed to worry the commissioners most was that the police did not acknowledge responsibility for any civilian deaths, whatsoever. Perhaps out of delayed embarrassment, in 2017 the Jamaica Constabulary Force conducted an “internal review” of the Tivoli operation and cleared the five cops singled out by the commission for wrongdoing. Those involved were allowed to continue to “serve”. This means the police decided to investigate the police, which is like asking an indulgent mother to investigate whether her son, whose breath is reeking of white rum, to determine if he had been drinking white rum.

So, after 10 years, is Tivoli better off than it was before the invasion? Are the residents safer? Are they more productive? Does anybody remember Tivoli High School, which had excelled in so many areas? What happened?

In the same year if the enquiry professor emeritus in the School of Education at The University of the West Indies Errol Miller had just completed a project in several inner-city communities. He told The Gleaner that the experience had led him to believe that violence is the greatest threat to the educational outcomes of students. He spoke further on what he described as the “crippling effects of violence”. I had concluded that the schools in west Kingston no longer needed a guidance counsellor; they needed a counselling department.

At this moment, businesses, shoppers, and residents are terrified as gangs are arming themselves for war to determine who controls the extortion racket in the downtown area. News now that a final payment of $200 million to residents is offered is probably the greatest insult. Does this represent a sum, decided on in 2010, including interest over 10 years? If so, how much was decided on? And what portion of this is due to a mother who raised two sons to ages 20 and 17 while taking care of her disabled father only to have them taken from her? Did the determination of the amount take into consideration that many who did not die were injured? And that some of these injuries caused — and in some cases still do — a decrease in their personal productivity also reducing the possibility for enjoyment of life? And, even with this money, the impact of the injury on productivity persists? How much consideration was given to lifetime expected earning capacity, loss of non-market work and services, and loss of financial support? Did those who proposed this paltry sum reflect on the fact that, in 2010, the exchange rate was $81.33: US$1. And if we assume that when certain investments in business and other purchases were made five or six years earlier, the exchange rate was $61.34:US$1? But, using this money to pick up the pieces, today’s exchange rate is $146:US$1?

And why are my taxes being used to compensate for this murder and mayhem?

Proper and adequate compensation, by my calculation, would be several times this amount. But since proper arrangements were not in place for compensation in these matters, I am proposing that some non-cash sweeteners be added. What about scholarships to HEART Trust/NTA colleges and other institutions, creative National Housing Trust arrangements, etc?

The enquiry commissioners made a raft of recommendations. How many have been implemented? There are no discernible changes in the security forces. They are still scraping up young and youngish men in unproductive net fishing exercises. The weapons they use for their misdeeds are still not traceable. The ‘invaders’ are still getting promotions.

I see a flashing blue light in my rear-view mirror. It is signalling that another ‘Tivoli’ is possible. And when that day comes, if citizens need public accountability, the media must be embedded with the participants.

Glenn Tucker, MBA, is an educator and a sociologist. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or glenntucker2011@gmail.com