Evicted squatter bemoans effects of crime, poverty

from The Jamaica Observer

COREY ROBINSON,

ORATIO Williams, 42, is caught between a rock and a hard place.

The father of four was among several squatters in the 'Bofa Road' community in Clarendon whose houses were demolished by the police last Monday
But although Williams is faced with the burden of not having a roof over his children's head, he also has to deal with threats from gunmen, who run amok in a section of the impoverished community.

"Is years me live in Bofa Road, but the reason why I come down here, apart from the fact that me don't really have anywhere to live up there, is because me don't have any security up at there either," Williams said, as he pointed to a section of the community which he said has been targeted on a number of occasions by gunmen.

"Gunman can come in on we up there so anytime and we can't do nothing at all about it," a desperate Williams added, as he held his three-year-old daughter in his arms.

According to Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis, the police have been clamping down on the development of the illegal dwellings in the parish in an effort to stem the spiralling crime rate.

Lewis told the Observer that 90 per cent of the homicides in the parish occurred in unplanned communities and that efforts to fight crime have been hampered due to the structure of the informal settlements.

Areas such as Canaan Heights, Dampie, Havana Heights, Bucks Common and Hunts Pen are all squatter settlements deemed as hotbeds by the police. "These are the areas where most, if not all, the homicides in Clarendon are committed," Lewis said.

"In most of these areas there are no lanes or pathways, it is just dirt tracks and that makes it even harder to police," said the officer, who added that unscrupulous persons have also been renting the board dwellings to persons desperately in need of homes.

More than 50 people - including 12-year-old Kemar Brown, who was shot dead by gunmen in Bucks Common three weeks ago - have been murdered since the start of the year in the parish. Police say the youngster may have been killed because he could have identified the men who shot and killed shopkeeper Dave Morgan during the same incident.

"We don't want any new squatter houses being built in Clarendon. Those persons who have been living in areas for over two years will be dealt with by the government but we don't want any new houses being built in any area," a stern Lewis said.

Lewis said had the police and relevant authorities made efforts over the past decade to curtail the problem of squatting, the parish would not have the high level of criminality.