DESPITE welcoming plans to transform the infamous red-light district, popularly called Back Road, into a tourist destination, religious leaders at the nearby Portmore New Testament Church of God are warning that a Las Vegas model may not be the best approach.

Jerome Moody, a deacon at the church, has been concerned about the Port Henderson Road strip for more than 20 years.

“It is something that I think really needs some rethinking in order to minimise or eliminate the kind of activities that we are currently aware of that takes place by night, especially in that space. It’s just a blemish on the whole community of Portmore and a whole degradation of the personhood of our women,” said Moody.

“If we can transform that area into a major commercial activity space that provides the kind of income generation that is sustainable, that people can live above the poverty line without extending themselves into behaviours that are ungodly and risky, I would welcome that any day,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Pastor Cornel Shaw said for years the church has been praying for an end to the illicit and sinful activities that take place along the strip, using all resources possible to try to bring about change, but they have not made much progress.

“We have been praying about it, we have been doing community walks, we have been in the community, too, and even assisting [some of] the persons. We can’t call the names of sex workers that we have personally evangelised to, but we have been in communication with them for some time, wanting to see how best we could possibly help in terms of providing them with a home and a trade,” said Shaw.

“What we could do could not [provide] half [of] what they are possibly earning or getting, so [we] believe that if someone, some initiative, if the Government could do this, it would be a wonderful experience — our prayers answered,” he said.

However, Pastor Shaw has expressed concern about the approach suggested by Member of Parliament for St Catherine South Eastern Robert Miller, to model the strip after Las Vegas in the United States.

Miller, sharing his plans with the Sunday Observer, said he envisions a space that is filled with lights and a nice welcome sign. He also mentioned having a cultural side to the area with art pieces and murals on display as well as a statue of Portmore’s first mayor, George Lee.

He also intends to bring structure to the fishing villages and provide skills training for sex workers to direct them into other economic markets.

However, Shaw said that given his knowledge of Las Vegas — which has an abundance of gambling, fine dining, shopping, entertainment, and nightlife and is often referred to as ‘Sin City’ — he is concerned that creating a similar space along the strip could increase prostitution.

“One has to be very careful when trying to model a Las Vegas. I don’t think that is what I would want to use as my branding. There are other things that can be done to make the brand achievable. We can achieve all we want to achieve without using a Las Vegas branding,” said the pastor.

“I am wondering if it could get worse where prostitution is concerned, and it can, so we have to be very careful when we go about our making plans for development. I think [the development] should take care of all spheres — morally and spiritually,” he said.

In response to Miller’s plan to have sex workers trained with skills that will allow them to be employed in other areas along the strip, Shaw said it would be an uphill battle. He shared that despite popular belief, in his interactions with some of the women, he’s found that it is not a lack of earnings that causes them to choose prostitution.

“I know of individuals who are very educated. They have their nine-to-five jobs, earning more than what me and you are earning, but they want to do this. Sin is a big factor to it, and this is what I’m talking about, it’s just plain greed,” he said.

Shaw further noted that because many of the sex workers are making large sums of money nightly, they might not be too keen on being placed in jobs that offer a lower salary.

“It’s gonna take more than just training. They need some kind of reformation of their minds,” the pastor suggested.

He, however, sought to clarify that the plan is not impossible, stating that once tourists enter the space there will be better policing to ensure prostitution is erased and the hotels and other attractions will change to meet new clientèle.

Pastor Shaw further suggested a meeting with everyone currently stationed along the strip to find out what would be the best move for all parties.