Advisory

[John & Rae]

Very sad... I feel bad. I wonder why so many Jamaicans support a drug king pin? Is he like a Robbin Hood or something?

[charlntai]

Very sad... I feel bad. I wonder why so many Jamaicans support a drug king pin? Is he like a Robbin Hood or something?

first, i think most lovers of the island of jamaica are saddened to hear of these most recent problems in and around the city of kingston. it's hard to believe that literally just a lil more than a hundred miles away from where many of us play to our heart's content so much chaos and violence is occuring. we see it as "paradise", and yet so much "hell" is occuring just a 3 or 4 hour drive away.

don't believe for a second that "many" jamaicans support this drug lord b/c i will say most abhor what is being done. the fact is, in most cultures all over the world, poor people who feel they have little-to-no possibility of "success" in the world regarding socio-economic status rely on any and everything to get by. more often than not, this involves illegal acts/behaviour, eg drugs, robbery, sex, etc. for many of these people living such poor existences, the only ones with "money" are those acquiring it by illegal means, and for jamaicans that usually means drugs. for many people (lots on this site), marijuana and jamaica go hand in hand. and unknown to some people (ignorance), they believe jamaicans have legalised marijuana, its use and trade. nothing could be further from the truth. i wouldn't go so far to as to say it's like afghanistan and their poppy industry for heroin production, but nevertheless their number one criminal industry most likely is marijuana and most poor people are aware of it.

having said ALL THAT, in this matter, it's not that people are backing this COKE fellow b/c they aspire to be him or agree with him and his "labour". as is the case with many people in that situation, it's more out of fear of what may happen if they stand up and out against someone like him and his criminal ways. he is certainly NOT believed to be some sort of "robin hood" by any stretch, as it's highly doubtful he's giving back much of his ill-gotten wealth to the community. criminals in poor neighbourhoods are not idolised by everyone living there, rather most people live in fear, particularly in situations where the police are far more inept in protection than what MOST of us here on this site are used to.

fortunately for us visitors to ja, these scenes of violent crime and gang behavior are far away, localised to areas most tourists never see or experience. i feel sorry for those people caught in the middle of this "war" between the criminals and the police b/c it seems most dead have been bystanders for the most part. it's a matter of time before it's squelched i'm sure, as this isn't a "political" thing, like war-lords in mogadishu running everything. this is a drug thug who will be taken down sooner or later. if the situation was about a political upheavel (sp?) such as what was happening in the 70's/early 80's (rude boys), then i think as tourists we would have much more to concern ourselves over. but there are no "riots" going on, no island-wide crime waves, nothing that would seem to affect anything to do with our "paradise" experiences there. hopefully it will remain as such, will come to an end soon, and we won't have to even read about such things happening on our lovely island home.

just felt like sharing since jamaica means so much to us............ hope people don't think jamaicans are anymore accepting of THUGS than we are here in the states or those from elsewhere. more jamaicans are like SCUMBA in behaviour and thought than this COKE guy for sure.

[John & Rae]

charlntai,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments and perspective.

John

[HAPPYHAPPY1176]

WE are leaving for h2 in 2wks! Everyone in our circle of friends and family are driving us nuts about going. I think we will be okay. I have been looking forward to this trip for months!

[Jointlock]

We didn't mean to start a huge debate. We are native NY'ers, so crime is certainly something we live with all the time. We just asked that if anyone heard of the violence starting to spread to please keep all the Hedo lovers in the loop. There is certainly nothing wrong with decent people watching out for each other whenever possible.
Also wanted to point out that if you research factual news you will see that crime (some quite violent) went up dramatically in and around Negril, Dunns River Falls, and on the tourist bus route in 2007, 2008 etc. We are not being alarmists, just for everyone to be aware that anything outside of Kingston is not automatically safe. I was shocked to find a story about a a travel writer (28 y/o f) from NJ who was abducted from inside the Breezes Negril resort, and never found, not a trace. That happened in 2000. There were several tourist buses (one full of Germans/ 50 people) that were robbed en route to tourist destinations. Others who were severely beaten for not coughing up a $20 tip to someone helping them step out of canoes on the river trip. Granted we have crime in NYC, but if someone were coming to visit my city, I would gladly tell them where to avoid, where to avoid at certain times, and where was safe most anytime. Being a proud American citizen, and having travelled all over the world, sometimes it is a great advantage being an American; other times it is a great detriment.
We just want everyone (ourselves included) to have a happy, safe vacation, pump some much needed dollars into Jamaica's economy, and come back better then we left. We believe that starts with awareness.