Cruel & Clueless – ‘Tel Aviv’ Held Hostage By Young Gangsters Who Don’t Know What They Are
Bloody gang wars are something that residents of the central Kingston community known as ‘Tel Aviv’ have lived with for decades.
Either the long-running battle between thugs from the neighbouring community of South Side or internal conflicts, violent death has stalked the community, claiming several lives.
By the residents’ check, more than 20 people have been killed by gangsters in recent years, but they say few of the killers would know the genesis of the battles they are fighting.
“This is a continued war over something the youths do not even know about. Dem no know how it start, dem not even know who started it and why,” declared a resident of the community during a
“Them just grow up and decide say the war nah done because a that man kill them fada years earlier,” added the resident.
“It is a generational curse,” quipped another young man, as he charged that the initial dispute would have happened many years ago but the older residents spread the hate of an area or a group to the children as soon as they can understand, perpetuating the hate and mistrust that is so evident in communities like Rum Lane.
According to a resident who gave his name as ‘Omi’, the hate spread by the adults has led to the segregation of children along these lines.
“Dem beating segregation into the pickney dem head. Is dat a gwaan and it is not going to stop, especially as they are not being taught to forgive. So it continues, and, trust me, all 20 years from now we still going to have this problem,” declared Omi.
He pointed to a number of contributing factors to this generational war, including too many teenage pregnancies in the community, the lack of proper parenting and the lack of government policies dealing with workable social-intervention programmes.
“Look around here; it’s a disgrace how people live, but we cannot do any better because is so the system set up against some people. Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming the system really, but it has contributed,” said Omi.
“The war thing, it’s generational. It is war over a number of generations, and is like seh de youth dem can’t even think fi dem self because they would do anything they are told. Like mindless zombies,” declared one young female resident of Rum Lane.
She argued that the minds of the people need changing before any social intervention will be successful in the community.
While asking that her name be withheld, the young woman added that even while efforts are being made to transform the minds of the people, the community needs improvements in its physical infrastructure, training workshops and evening reading classes to help bring the residents together and change lives.
Dem place de need to be demolished and the people dem scattered.
If they choose to act like savage dogs, even after resettling, then that is simply their nature and not socioeconomics or politics fault.
You can’t say something contributed to a situation and in the same breathe say you’re not blaming the something. ..irgo Politicians contributed guns to garrison yutes so how do u not blame the Politicians for the state of the system/affairs in these communities? ?
Same suh it go no forgiveness and the youth dem cant think fi Dem self..You kill my family me a kill back yours and the wars continue for decades…No ending to this..
These people can’t teach what they didn’t learn. It’s gonna take a veryyyyyy long time for change to take place. Teenage pregnancies occur because the don dem a sleep with the underage girls and dem fraid fi file reports or they (the family) receive monetary assistance.
As for the bloodshed, the politicians have the power to change things. They are responsible for the distribution in and around the community. When the people really get sick and tired, then things will change. Until then, the system will continue to win.
This war been going on from Leniments,One eye Danny,Rockeye,Chubby Dread,then comes Pugu Dami Show and it ago continue until di wul a down deh demolish.
phantom u speck with levels of ignorant. as a child who walk those street most of us don’t have nu chance.. mi get wey true forin but the ones who don’t must obey the dons or die, which they end up dead anyway. man like pepsi who is the don right now wey a tell the youth dem fi rob bank but when dem come back him tek them money. so it nu easy . like the politician mek sure them have guns and bullet but no money fi food. so until u have live there life don’t judge. Jamaican as also used the poor and uneducated to do there dirty works. how dem get guns if dem broke.
…and you write with levels of grammatical ignorance.
Stop put the same ghetto argument pon display and tell you people dem to stop let politicians sell dem broken dreams and promises; stop with the tribal behavior and CONDONING of criminal brhavior feom their youth population. At the end of the day the day they need to know the politicians wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for them and at the end of the said day a dem a pull the trigger on their family, friends and neighbors.
Not invalidating your point…BUT THAT SHIT HAS BECOME REPETITIVE AND I’M NOW DESENSITIZE BY IT. TALK ABOUT A SOLUTION AND STOP ENCOURAGING. YOU missed the main point of the article….THE PEOPLE DON’T REMEMBER WHAT THE HELL STARTED THEIR LIFE OF MISERY. I on the outside say is time to move the hell on by abandoning tribal politics and acceptance of socioeconomical “scraps” and lawlessness in their communities from their own sons and daughters.
You damn well and know a no politicians a hand out guns. That done feom the cocaine cowboy era. Is the ones, like you self, who mek dem way to “forin” that are niw the suppliers of guns.
Is unu give rise to dons because many no want work and sell dem sons and daughters to the former tear up pants boi cause him start have 2 shilling, from deso him tun unu lord and master inna de concrete plantation. Me full a ignorance 😀 😀 when we don’t see eye-to-eye. Me nah sympathize wid nuff a unun.
but PP why u wudda feel politicians stop hand out guns?
Because they no longer have that influence over the youth as much as the multimillionaires created by the drugs trade. The trend changed to the dons needing to create a power structure. The corrupt (not generalizing) politicians are craven and easy to purchase, that also empowered the don culture, but their absolute power comea from residents giving it to them without a fight.
How can they fight when they have no where to go and law enforcement is not behind them. It goes right back to the politicians who are still empowering these dons…giving them money, guns, contracts and still entertaining them. Aint nothing changed