Living Life in Jamaica Under a State of Emergency

The following blog post provides an insider view of life under a State of Emergency in Mountain View, Kingston.

The morning of January 26, 2020 seemed just like  the start of a normal day. Most persons woke early to either help their children off to school or to prepare for work, but that would not be the case.

It was the roaring sounds of heavy equipment that signaled the reality that the Mountain View community was being cordoned and barricaded. Residents peered through their windows in the early morning light trying to get a glimpse and to figure out the cause of the thumping rubbery sounds hitting the pavement. Soldiers with rifles dressed in camouflage suits jumped from trucks, their boots pounding the asphalt. Promptly, they set up barriers and sentry posts. Persons who were already on their way to either school or work were stopped and searched. No one was exempted from the trauma of feeling like their right to freedom was being curtailed. All motor vehicles and occupants entering and leaving the community were also searched, even when there were children in the midst. 

The Mountain View community is situated in the eastern region of Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. It has a population of just over 30,000 persons, and over several years has had high incidences of crime and violence occurring in intervals. In recent times the community has enjoyed relative peace, but only to be interrupted with a sharp increase in gang-related killings which left ten persons dead. With such a history and the current state of affairs, many people thought that a declared state of emergency was inevitable and deserving. The government had declared a state of emergency (SOE) in the community at midnight on 26 January, 2020 to continue until April 25, 2020.

As the days wore on, the residents began experiencing more pressure under the SOE. Homes were now being searched for illegal weapons and persons of interest. Several young men were detained, placed in trucks and taken away to be ‘processed’. Under the SOE, the security forces are given temporary and additional powers to search, detain and arrest persons without a warrant and there is a limited suspension of individual rights. During these searches a few young men complained about being abused by the security forces. One youth said, “A group a soldiers come a mi yaad an while the rest a dem a search outside one a dem come a di grill to mi verandah and ask mi weh mi hide di gun. Mi tell him seh mi nuh know what him a talk bout”. Looking traumatized from the encounter the youth continued telling his story, “Di soldier get angry an threaten mi seh mi fi stop tell lie and that him a look somebody to kill so I muss mind myself”. The youth was taken into detention and placed in a truck to be sent for processing, but, fortunately for him, one of his relatives spoke with security personnel she knew and he was released. Other young men were not that fortunate. Many of them were herded in vehicles and sent away.

The presence of the security forces brings mixed reactions within the community. There are some residents who welcome the initiative and think that it has helped to stabilize the peace, while there are others who think that it is no more effective operating under a SOE rather than just doing regular patrols. The impact of a SOE includes a lot of inconveniences to the residents such as nightly curfews, no events permit, restricted movements, bottlenecks at checkpoints, the perpetual appearances of military personnels and the constant monitoring within certain districts.

Living life under a state of emergency is not easy. The degree to which one’s sense of safety is affected, whether negatively or positively, depends on the level of professionalism of the security team stationed in the community. It is fair to say that, in general, most of the encounters are of a professional nature. There are inconveniences suffered, but then, those are to be expected due to the purpose and objectives of the measures.

I believe that in the meantime, the residents and stakeholders of the Mountain View community should use the opportunities stemming from a SOE for introspection, atonement and for planning the improvement of social relations in the community.

-A Resident of Mountain View, Kingston, Jamaica