(Jamaica Gleaner): The state of emergency declared by Prime Minister Andrew Holness in several parishes has been met with disquiet among residents of some communities in St Catherine, where the measure has been imposed.
Some residents in the Homestead community in Spanish Town, where two murders took place between Thursday night and Sunday morning, were in a defiant mood as security forces patrolled sections of the community.
“We nuh need no SOE right now. It is too near to Christmas and now a time fi we hustle and dem want come restrict we movement,” said one resident who refused to be identified.
“SOE nah go stop people from get shot, a joke business that. All dem want do is lock up ghetto youth fi di holiday,” declared another resident who goes by the name Tony.
Michelle, a small business operator on St Johns Road, feels that the government is void of a plan to fight crime and the SOE is a response to that.
“Coming out of a situation where the country was locked down for a period of time, some of us have not recovered as yet and what the state of emergency will do is slow down business for us.”
She continued: “What they should do is develop a crime plan to tackle the problem, SOE won’t change what is happening at 31 [St John’s Road] and Homestead.”
The joint security presence was visible in several hotspots from as early as 6 a.m. Numerous checkpoints have also been established at various strategic locations.
