It seems like the total destruction...

I admit my blogs seem to be following a bit of a ‘Bob’ theme. Dylan yesterday, Marley today… I promise it won’t be Monkhouse tomorrow.  But in his song, ‘The Real Situation’ Bob Marley describes how many Jamaicans living in poorer inner-city areas may well be feeling.

“Well it seems like the total destruction
The only solution
And there ain't no use
No one can stop them now.”

Featured in today’s Guardian and Financial Times, Amnesty’s new report describes how people living in Jamaica’s inner-cities have been abandoned by the government and their areas are being controlled by gang leaders.  When rival gangs are fighting over territorial control, violence in the area is very high.

When that happens as Colourful Network reports, children are too scared to go to school and adults can’t go to work because transport is suspended. 

As the Financial Times writes Jamaica already has the highest murder rate in the Americas and violence is on the increase.

For many of the people living in these areas, it’s a desperate situation.  Last year Unreported World featured a really strong piece about police killings in poorer neighbourhoods too.  If you have time do watch this on YouTube.

Shocking stuff really, Amnesty’s Jamaica research team is currently in Kingston to launch the report later on today.  We’ll keep you posted on what the Jamaican authorities have to say.