Dear Editor,

In the aftermath of any tragedy that grips the national attention, say the brutal murder and rape of a young child somewhere in St Ann, or the horrific quintuple murder of an entire family somewhere in St Catherine, we, the citizens of Jamaica, are confronted by numerous ghosts, which never seem to cease haunting us.

These ghosts — some say duppies — of our collective past, present and possibly future, serve as frightening reminders of the daily horrors which are visited, far too frequently, on many nameless citizens of this country. It goes without need for repetition that there are communities across the length and breadth of Jamaica which bleed daily.

This latest massacre in March Pen has served to not only divert the nation’s attention, if only for a flickering moment, from the inner city of Montego Bay, but it adds to the burgeoning statistics for both the categories of child and adult fatalities.

But, unfortunately still, the ugliest reflection of this latest episode is perhaps the heavy dose of venomous cynicism which it has injected into the national bloodstream. This cynicism, which is fed by serious doubts and a lack of confidence in the investigative capacity of the constabulary and further nourished by a gaping abyss existing where justice should be, is growing and its insidious effect of learnt helplessness is becoming crippling.

This cynicism, which feeds on our apathy, is only further buttressed when cases seem to drag on forever in the courts and when justice appears stillborn and out of reach of the ordinary Jamaican. Take for instance well-known cases such as the just recently concluded ‘Oaklands murder trial’, it took almost a decade for the case to be decided. Following on the heels of this case is the trial of the ‘X6’ killing of a youth. Some five years after charges were levelled, this case is yet to seriously begin. And, lest we forget, some two years have passed and Mario Deane’s family is still looking for the light at the end of a very dark tunnel in the case of his death.

Yes, the scariest ghost of them all is the one which reminds us that the scales of justice are very much askew and out of balance. In this atmosphere which is pierced by cries for “justice”, people find themselves not only frustrated but also pushed to believe the dangerous view that the only justice that one will get will be the kind one exacts themselves. This view only adds fuel to a raging inferno.

Noel Matherson

noelmatherson@gmail.com