JO - Rest in peace, Aakim
Jamaica Observer
Rest in peace, Aakim
TAMARA SCOTT-WILLIAMS
Sunday, September 21, 2008
I often comment that writing a column is easy in Jamaica because we have so much going on. There's never a dull moment on 'JamRock'. After all, where else in the world could an entire beach be stolen and the sand is relocated to known destinations and there be no-one implicated in the crime, and then the policeman in charge of investigating the crime be invited to extend his contract with the Constabulary Force. Hilarious.
TAMARA SCOTT-WILLIAMS
And where else in the world could the man who bears the weight of the country's security on his shoulder, back the suggestion of the man with the weight of the country's labour force on his shoulder, that the "dons' association" has the right to present their opinions on anti-crime bills being considered by a joint select committee of Parliament. Unbelievable!
For the uninitiated, a 'don' in local parlance is, according to the Jamaica Dictionary (Periwinkle Publishers) "a gang or posse leader, a gun man,ca drug dealer, territorial leader, also known as chief of staff". But those are very simple terms used to describe the highly evolved, modern-day don: a politically connected local leader who wields power, status, and prestige derived from multiple sources and activities, both legal and illegal.
Recall Owen 'Father Fowl' Clarke, reputed millionaire, cocaine-dealing leader of the British Link-up crew, who was described by the judge who sentenced him as one of the most dangerous men in England.
There was Vivian Blake who ran the Shower Posse in the States during the 1980s and 1990s with a three-tiered organisational structure that the Mafia would have been proud of. In fact, the name 'don' (a Spanish term denoting rank and authority) draws on the idea of the mafia don. Early dons, were Claudius 'Claudie' Massop and Aston 'Bucky' Marshall who came to prominence in the 1970s as a result of the birth of political garrisons and signalled don-man influence on the Jamaican voters.
Scott. was found in a big plastic bag buried near a tree
What is common among most dons is that they all become extremely wealthy, by international standards, and have a major influence on our culture. Remember Donald "Zekes" Phipps? Recall the millions in cash he had lying around when the police raided his home? Recall the lockdown and barricading of downtown Kingston shops and the riots that started hours after his arrest by his supporters? Riots happened after the murder of the alleged head of the One Order Gang, Andrew 'Bun Man' Hope. Common, too, is the fact that most dons die violently.
"The dons, in short, have carved out small fiefdoms for themselves where they can pretty much operate with impunity. As such, they post a more serious challenge to the sovereignty of the Jamaican state than any foreign power ever did." (Charles Price, Urban Anthropology & Studies of Cultural Systems & World Economic Development, 2003).
And while dons are known to provide social welfare for members of their community, they have, too, the reputation of being ruthless against those who act against them. Posse members are known for ritualised killings of members who "rip off" profits on drugs. The killing ritual usually involves the shooting of the individual five times; four to the chest and one to the head. Other ritual violent acts have included the use of laundry irons, chainsaws, hammer and nails and butcher's knives.
Posse members have little regard for public safety or human life. As part of their code, extreme violence is directed at anyone they feel has disrespected them or is in their way.
The last line alone makes me wonder about the vicious weekend killing of 11-year-old Aakim Scott, whose sodomised and dismembered body - arms legs and head separated from the torso, torso cut in two - was found in a big plastic bag buried near a tree. Five teenagers have been held in connection with the death after one of them produced a cellphone belonging to Aakim. I wonder if Aakim, in his childhood innocence, 'disrespected' any one of these teenaged boys.
"How we socialise our young people speaks to how they grow up," said Dr Clinton Hutton, a lecturer in political philosophy at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in a 2004 interview. "Today, our children are not trained to learn that education is liberating. A boy who takes up a book is dismissed as a gal pickney; we have to examine especially how we nurture our boys."
And then maybe we should examine why we're nurturing our dons.
Rest in peace, Aakim
TAMARA SCOTT-WILLIAMS
Sunday, September 21, 2008
I often comment that writing a column is easy in Jamaica because we have so much going on. There's never a dull moment on 'JamRock'. After all, where else in the world could an entire beach be stolen and the sand is relocated to known destinations and there be no-one implicated in the crime, and then the policeman in charge of investigating the crime be invited to extend his contract with the Constabulary Force. Hilarious.
TAMARA SCOTT-WILLIAMS
And where else in the world could the man who bears the weight of the country's security on his shoulder, back the suggestion of the man with the weight of the country's labour force on his shoulder, that the "dons' association" has the right to present their opinions on anti-crime bills being considered by a joint select committee of Parliament. Unbelievable!
For the uninitiated, a 'don' in local parlance is, according to the Jamaica Dictionary (Periwinkle Publishers) "a gang or posse leader, a gun man,ca drug dealer, territorial leader, also known as chief of staff". But those are very simple terms used to describe the highly evolved, modern-day don: a politically connected local leader who wields power, status, and prestige derived from multiple sources and activities, both legal and illegal.
Recall Owen 'Father Fowl' Clarke, reputed millionaire, cocaine-dealing leader of the British Link-up crew, who was described by the judge who sentenced him as one of the most dangerous men in England.
There was Vivian Blake who ran the Shower Posse in the States during the 1980s and 1990s with a three-tiered organisational structure that the Mafia would have been proud of. In fact, the name 'don' (a Spanish term denoting rank and authority) draws on the idea of the mafia don. Early dons, were Claudius 'Claudie' Massop and Aston 'Bucky' Marshall who came to prominence in the 1970s as a result of the birth of political garrisons and signalled don-man influence on the Jamaican voters.
Scott. was found in a big plastic bag buried near a tree
What is common among most dons is that they all become extremely wealthy, by international standards, and have a major influence on our culture. Remember Donald "Zekes" Phipps? Recall the millions in cash he had lying around when the police raided his home? Recall the lockdown and barricading of downtown Kingston shops and the riots that started hours after his arrest by his supporters? Riots happened after the murder of the alleged head of the One Order Gang, Andrew 'Bun Man' Hope. Common, too, is the fact that most dons die violently.
"The dons, in short, have carved out small fiefdoms for themselves where they can pretty much operate with impunity. As such, they post a more serious challenge to the sovereignty of the Jamaican state than any foreign power ever did." (Charles Price, Urban Anthropology & Studies of Cultural Systems & World Economic Development, 2003).
And while dons are known to provide social welfare for members of their community, they have, too, the reputation of being ruthless against those who act against them. Posse members are known for ritualised killings of members who "rip off" profits on drugs. The killing ritual usually involves the shooting of the individual five times; four to the chest and one to the head. Other ritual violent acts have included the use of laundry irons, chainsaws, hammer and nails and butcher's knives.
Posse members have little regard for public safety or human life. As part of their code, extreme violence is directed at anyone they feel has disrespected them or is in their way.
The last line alone makes me wonder about the vicious weekend killing of 11-year-old Aakim Scott, whose sodomised and dismembered body - arms legs and head separated from the torso, torso cut in two - was found in a big plastic bag buried near a tree. Five teenagers have been held in connection with the death after one of them produced a cellphone belonging to Aakim. I wonder if Aakim, in his childhood innocence, 'disrespected' any one of these teenaged boys.
"How we socialise our young people speaks to how they grow up," said Dr Clinton Hutton, a lecturer in political philosophy at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in a 2004 interview. "Today, our children are not trained to learn that education is liberating. A boy who takes up a book is dismissed as a gal pickney; we have to examine especially how we nurture our boys."
And then maybe we should examine why we're nurturing our dons.
posted by Consul-At-Arms at 12:43 AM
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