‘Yuh cyaan live a Jamaica and sawf’
Dear Editor,
“Yuh cyaan live a Jamaica and sawf. Yuh haffi rough!”
This was the sentiment echoed by a visibly hardened woman who was peeved with a young lady who was seemingly afraid to speak up for herself.
Jamaica is a rough place. There is no going around it. It is raw and sometimes daunting, especially for the ‘sawf’-hearted.
A fellow writer aptly describes Jamaica’s crime situation as “vastly overwhelming”, and, arguably, it is. Murders and robberies continue to frustrate the nation.
Though zones of special operations and states of emergency are in place, the prevalence of criminal activities is more alarming with reported cases of robberies throughout the island.
It is disheartening to work an honest bread only to then have it taken away by thieves, whether on foot, bikes, or by car.
The criminals aspire to live an easy life; robbing people’s “bread and butter” without remorse or conscience.
“See and blind, hear and deaf” is the order of the day with fleeting moments of outrage and heightened public discourse. And then we move on.
Hardened we have become. Rough, one might say. If only rough measures could be put in place to curtail this crime dilemma.
“Yuh really cyaan live a Jamaica and sawf. Yuh haffi rough.”
Kemmone Hall
kemmonehall@gmail.com