Overcoming The Odds:
JSH Supports St. Anne's Youth
By Marisa Kaczmarczyk
Executive Director
Many of us in Canada, and indeed around the world, heard with dismay of the
violent outbreaks in Kingston in July of this year. Twenty-eight people were killed and many
others injured, and an inner-city neighbourhood was left in turmoil.
St. Anne's Community of Concern is a Jamaican Self-Help sponsored programme
located right in the midst of this neighbourhood. Percy Street, where St. Anne's church and
the local high school are situated, has become the line drawn between two factions fighting
for control over the area. While the upsurge in violence in July was reported in the international
media, lower levels of violence and conflict have been ongoing in this section of Kingston.
The fall-out from the July violence, in which police and neighbourhood gangs clashed,
is still very much present in the area this fall. Many homes in the area have been abandoned, and
some were destroyed in the violence. Many sidestreets have road blocks erected by the residents to
keep out outsiders. Shouting matches between rival gangs, and gunfire are a daily occurrence, particularly
beginning in the mid-afternoon. Many people are afraid to leave their homes, as some individuals
have been injured or killed by random drive-by shootings in the area. Curfews are common.
The high school, with a normal enrollment of about 500 students, now has an attendance
of about 50 students, and teachers have requested that the Ministry of Education officially close the
school. Many of the individuals who are involved in the violence are young men, aged 16-25, so the
closing of the school is quite significant, as youths will be more available to join a gang or group if
they are not in school during the day.
The causes of this violence are both complicated and ongoing. A combination of elements
create a deadly mixture: political parties vying for power in the area; youth gangs seeking new territory,
drug lords protecting their caches, and a general feeling of futility and disempowerment among residents due
to long-term poverty and lack of opportunity.
Many point to the murder of William Moore in April of this year as the spark that ignited the
disintegration of a shaky peace between rival gangs in the area. Moore, a powerful "don" or gang leader,
was known on the street as "Willy Haggart" or "hog-heart" because he was so violent. It is believed that Moore,
associated with the People's National Party (PNP) (a minority in this area of Kingston) was shot and killed
by local Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) related gang members. The violence quickly escalated with more revenge
killings and ultimately the deadly clash in July between police and local residents. A special inquiry chaired by
Canadian Judge Julius Isaac is now underway to investigate exactly what happened on that July weekend.
