I oftentimes wonder if Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Mark Golding have genuine sympathy for the thousands of Jamaicans who live in constant fear of losing their lives to a gunman or a reckless driver.

Yes, life is cheap in Jamaica, a land that we still want to make the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business. This is the national vision, embedded in the highly touted Vision 2030 Jamaica.

Perhaps those two unfortunate students from Chetwood Memorial Primary School in Montego Bay, St James, might have voiced that vision with much alacrity when they were alive, full of hopes and dreams.

On Monday afternoon seven-year-old Justin Perry and nine-year-old Nacholiva Smith were travelling in a taxi on their way home from school. In one fell swoop the lives of these two innocent souls were snuffed out by a gunman’s bullets. Collateral damage, no doubt, some will say, while others perceive this to be a heartless, cruel act of murder committed by a man who never thought twice to save the lives of these two young Jamaicans who will never experience all those dreams and aspirations of Vision 2030.

It has been said that a people without a vision will surely perish. In our case it is leaders without a vision that would enable them to do what is right to wrest this crime-ridden nation from the blood-stained hands of home-grown terrorists hell-bent on shattering and unravelling the social fabric of a country which Christopher Columbus described many centuries ago as one of the most beautiful isles the human eyes have ever beheld.

As is customary and expected, the nation was bombarded with the usual words of condemnation from the prime minister, National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, and Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson followed by them urging citizens to fully cooperate with the relevant authorities to bring the perpetrator to justice. Quite frankly, citizens have become tired of hearing the same responses over and over, which are then followed by the declaration of yet another state of public emergency (SOE). Crassly put, the more things change, the more they remain the same!

Call me cynical and overly pessimistic, but I am not among those who are going to be satisfied that all the prime minister can offer to this troubled nation as the ultimate crime plan is yet another SOE. For me, this, in the long run, is but a palliative cure, a Band-Aid being placed on a putrid, rotting sore.

Let’s face it, what has been unfolding in Jamaica in recent times is akin to a war zone. To put it bluntly, this has become a most sad state of affairs in which women, children, and the elderly are being killed without mercy. And all our leaders seem capable of doing, or more so saying, is “condemn” and “urge”.

Indeed, this sorry situation became even more tragically laughable when Holness suggested that his thoughts about capital punishment (hanging) may be “evolving” (whatever that means) and there has been some talk about creating a ministry to deal with crime. This reminds me of that famous and pungent line from Alice in Wonderland: “If you don’t know where you are going then any road will take you there.”

Is the Most Honourable “Brogad” now in Wonderland?

Both Holness and Golding have bodyguards provided by the State and no doubt live in gated residences. While this is understandable and acceptable, we wonder if because they are perforce living in this artificial bubble, far from the madding crowd, especially in the case of the prime minister, there is diminished empathy bordering on a “don’t care” attitude. Heaven forbid!

Nowadays, just about everybody I know keeps saying, “Might as well we live the best life possible every moment of the day because we may not be here tomorrow.” The level of fatalistic thinking has increased tremendously as the level of fear and trepidation has intensified concomitantly because of the perilous direction in which the country is heading.

And it is not only the murderous environment in which we find ourselves, wherein we can be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Driving on our pothole-riddled roads and having to look out for overtaking maniacs who operate their vehicles as if they are part of a suicide pact has kept many of us road users in a constant state of fear. Indeed, I for one never leave my home or office to go on the road without saying a prayer and asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It’s that bad. And very rarely is there any police presence or patrolling.

This state of lawlessness, indiscipline, intolerance, and scant regard for human life has led many citizens to become overly depressed and overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness, all of which is adversely affecting the quality of life of the average citizen.

The bottom line is that Labourites and “Anju” alone cannot do it, “Markie G” and Comrades alone cannot do it, the police and army alone cannot do it, the Church alone cannot do it. What is needed is a collaborative effort that must encompass every well-thinking, patriotic Jamaican. We continue to fool ourselves if we believe that any one party or its leader can take us to the Promise Land.

What is needed, also, in the very final analysis, is transformational, compassionate, no-nonsense leadership that can unite the nation around a common cause, which will then set the stage for zero tolerance if we are to successfully tame the beast.

Ironically, St James, which continues to be the murder capital of Jamaica, has as one of its Members of Parliament Dr Horace Chang, who holds the national security portfolio. He has my sympathy, because if he really cares about his constituents and the country at large then he must be having many sleepless nights.

And so, as we watch Jah’s kingdom going to waste and the bloodletting continues unabated, we are left in agony and despair, ruminating on the words of songwriter Ronan Keating, “So tell someone that you love just what you are thinking of if tomorrow never comes.”

Lloyd B Smith has been involved full-time in Jamaica media for the past 48 years. He has also served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com.