100 Lane’s night of terror

Doreen James was on her knees at home praying. Her two children, six year-old Shakera and 12 year-old Tanisha, had been put to bed. No one will ever know just how earnestly she prayed or what her specific concerns were. For James was brutally gunned down by a group of criminal gunmen who further demonstrated their barbarian nature by spraying her children with bullets and burning James’ house to cinders.

The cowardly marauding rampage against defenceless residents of 100 Lane off Red Hills Road, robbed the small inner-city community of five women and two men.

When All Woman walked the Lane last Wednesday, exactly two weeks after the massacre, the residents, mostly women, to whom we spoke, were feebly trying to attend to their daily domestic chores of washing, house cleaning and caring for their children — so many and so young.

Most were reluctant to share their thoughts with “strangers”, but the sequence of the night of terror that left them hurting could not be hushed, so they reluctantly opened up.

We met Edella Montgomery sitting with two friends on the sidewalk near the entrance to the lane. They are discussing the dates for the autopsies and subsequent funeral arrangements for her niece, Adella Montgomery and nephew, Oneil Samuels. The pain of losing her teenage relatives in such a violent attack is obvious and is even harder for her to bear. They were killed at her doorsteps, a few metres from where she was hiding and sheltering two young children.

She shares the story.

“They were shot and then burnt,” she says, her eyes downcast and fatigued. “I was in the house, but I was underneath the bed with my 11 year-old-daughter and seven year-old son. When I head the first round of shots, I grabbed the children and lay down on the floor.

“Little after that, when everything seemed quiet, I heard like somebody coming over the fence and the dogs started barking. That was about 11:15. I heard a knock on the door and somebody called out for Oniel. Adella got up and opened the door and as soon as she did that, I heard the explosions and I heard when she said ‘Lord God’. They (the gunmen) shot her and Oniel, who they had with them.

“The men left and I got out from under the bed and saw that I was not really dead. Is only God why them never look under the bed or all of us would be dead. I looked at Adella’s body. Oniel fell on the outside and I couldn’t see him in the darkness. Then I smelt something burning and realised that they had set the house on fire, so I came out and ran next door.”

At age 43, Edella is a mother of four children, is unemployed and has been living in 100 Lane for over 16 years. She has not worked in many years, too many for her to remember, and her last job as a cigar roller did not offer much by way of a pension.

Her plight is grave, as she is not only homeless, but has lost everything she possessed, including the goats that belonged to her children’s father. She is sad, stressed and angry, but there is one glimmer of hope.

“I have a big daughter in Miami who is planning to help me get a house. But I do not feel safe here, and would not mind moving to another community,” she tells All Woman. However, for now she is “kotching” with friends, occupying her mind with more pressing issues — arrangements for a double funeral. She will try to pick up the pieces later.

Further down the lane, in a big yard with several houses, a group of nine women are ‘conferencing’ under a large almond tree. The mid day sun is blazing hot, but a strong breeze keeps them cool.

Fifty-two year-old “Nooks” is the oldest woman in the group. Two younger women nurse their less than four months-old infants, while the others are basically lounging. The topic of the day: The upcoming funerals and the relative safety of the community when the security forces command post is removed.

Nooks lost her baby sister, 33 year-old Doreen James, who she says was a “devoted Christian (who) was always praying”.

“Me feel it for Doreen, although me sorry for everybody, but all she used to do is go to church. But all the same, them did send a message to us that ‘any goose a goose’ so it could be anybody,” one of the ladies offers.

In a matter-of-fact tone, Nooks, who is busy doing laundry, relates how her sister’s life was taken.

“From early in the evening, we did not like how the Lane look, it was like something was going to happen so we send to call Doreen over here (to the big yard just a few metres from Doreen’s house) seeing that she is a Christian. We wanted some protection. But she didn’t come, she just send over three pillows and she said she was praying.

“While she was still on her knees, they kicked off her door and shot her in the head, and they didn’t even spare Shakera and Tenisha.

“We were over here in the darkness, because there was no light and we lock up and hear the boy dem up and down the lane. Then they started to fire shots and the whole episode lasted from about 11:00 pm to 1:00 am. It was terrifying, the worse experience for me, and I born and grow here.

“When everything stop and we hear police siren and fire truck, we go outside. I notice that Doreen and the children were missing. Same time, the firemen pull out two bodies to the sidewalk and when I look, it was Doreen and Tanisha,” Nooks says, showing no emotion.

She is now concerned about the upcoming funeral, which is being planned by the children’s father. They are still not certain whether they will have one big vault for the three, or if they will be separate.

Kimeshe Stewart, Brown’s niece, is very shaken, too emotionally involved to talk about the deaths and funeral plans. Her main concern is that she in unemployed and cannot get a job, despite submitting resumés to many businesses.

“I have my NIS, TRN, ID card, and still can’t get any work,” interjects a friend and neighbour.

“I feel like running without stopping, but I have nowhere to go. I was born here and this is my home. But as soon as the police leave, I must find somewhere to go, because violence is bound to flare up again,” Stewart tells All Woman.

The other members of the group agree. They obviously spend long, idle hours under the almond tree everyday.

Up the lane and around a corner, another group of women sit talking. They are reminiscing about the good times they shared with their friend, 33 year-old Andrea Simmonds, who was also slaughtered.

“Just like the others, they kicked down her door, and it never so strong, and shoot her in the head. It look like she kneel down and was begging for her life, because the shot left a big hole in her temple. You could push piece a stick in it. Then all the skin strip off of her hand, you can see that she hold it up to shield her face,” says a close friend.

“I am going to miss her because we grow up together and she was my best friend and we used to dance together and enjoy ourselves and sit down and talk in the days,” another friend says.

The women of 100 Lane are still mourning. They are anticipating the funerals scheduled for this weekend, which, they hope, will bring some closure.