Today, Thursday May 27, was my first day back to work since all hell broke loose in down town Kingston Jamaica on Sunday May 23. It’s amazing but all the streets down town that I drove on today bore no trace of any disruption or any signs of the war zone we witnessed on the news. Most businesses were open and people were out and about.  I must admit that there did seem to be a sense of expectancy in the air as people moved briskly and with purpose. Employers were taking no chances as most workers were sent home early (about 3:00pm) so that they could be out of the down town area before dark.

But as much as people are trying to regain normalcy, the big question is, what next. The root cause of the problem still exists. Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke is still at large. Where is he? Will he cause a repeat of what happened in Tivoli Gardens over this past week to take place in another area? Already the security forces have come under gun fire in several other areas including March Pen, Spanish Town and on Red Hills Road. The residents of Tivoli Gardens had openly declared last Wednesday during their demonstration that they were prepared to die for Mr. Coke, their provider. Are there other communities that are beholden to him? Or is Mr. Coke in a position to purchase that type of protection.

Either way, people are still on hedge as no one seems to have the answer. Not to mention the mounting controversy over what took place in Tivoli Gardens. We keep getting conflicting reports on the number of persons dead. The residents of Tivoli Gardens (the same ones that were prepared to lay down their lives) are calling the media houses with cries for help. Why did they not take cover when it was offered? Where are all the guns? If they are not collected with the bodies then who removed them? The equation at this time is certainly not adding up.

One good thing we have seen happening this week is the surrender of several wanted persons. It would be a shame for us to allow the deaths of all the decent Jamaicans killed during this week’s operation to go in vain. It’s time for persons to tell what they know so that we can truly clean up our nation and rid it of the evil elements. If we continue to hide the weapons, be afraid to tell what we know then the criminals will win and we will be back at this place very soon.  

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