Staff Writer - Kerran Monroe
All my life, I have been living in Jamaica and my only fear about living in Jamaica was ‘duppy’ or ghosts, due to the countless numbers of duppy stories I was told by my older siblings and other relatives. I was also afraid of the dark, because I thought that’s where duppies were.
So whenever somebody from my community died, I would sleep with the lights on with my parents, and never leave their sides until I got over the death of the person.
Recently, I have become more afraid than I have ever been and duppies are no longer my problem and neither am I any longer afraid of the dark because of duppies. I am now afraid of the dark because of the living people, who take cover in the dark, seeking out their next victim. My fear these days is walking on the streets, day or night.
Let me explain my new found fear. To walk on these streets is more dangerous now more than ever because there seems to be a factory, making criminals on rapid. In communities where these thugs dominate and conquer, the risk factor is even greater.
Photo courtesy fuparknews.blogspot.com
And as if that is not enough, I also have the police to contend with. Yes not all cops are bad cops but how do I know the good cops when I see them. Within a month or less, the police went on a careless shooting spree and fatally shot two teenage girls. One of the incidents took place as recently as March.
To make matters worse, on top of feeling threatened by the police, people also feel that they are constantly being disrespected by the police.
Police or gunman, which one should I fear more? Ideally, I should fear the gunman and look to the police for protection from the gunman, but in reality I am running from them both. Where does that leave me?
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