06 May 2006 20:51
when i got back to the island for the second time you'd think it was about time for me to buckle down and get some work done. my boss probably thought that too but boy was he ever wrong. i did actually work long enough at one point to fix the autopilot on our dispersal plane--but that was just so i didn’t have to actually work by hand fly it for six hours the next day.i flew a pupae trip or two, hung out at home or in the office, drove to ochi with friends for a church fun day, got taken out to lunch at TGIFriday's as part of my quarterly employee evaluation process (never mind that he was doing last year's final quarter and this year's first at the same time--also despite the fact that we were already well into this year's second quarter (and therefore could have done three evals at once instead of just two)).
i also attended a Regular Thursday Meeting of Jamaican's for Justice.
there were a number of items on the agenda for the evening, all things that JFJ is involved in to one degree or another. their thursday evening meetings are an opportunity for the general public and members to hear updates on JFJ's projects (not that there was a huge crowd there...seventeen by my count for this meeting, up from seven or eight at the previous one I attended).
JFJ's mission: Through the works of our action group we will bring about fundamental change in Jamaica's judicial, economic, social, and political systems in order to improve the present and future lives of all Jamaicans.
an example project would be JFJ working currently to strengthen an "Access To Information Act" (here's background info) which involves making more "official information" of the Jamaican government accessible by the people.
the biggest item on the agenda wound up being the summary of the cases soon to come up in court that JFJ is participating in. Jamaica's had a rather unfortunate history of people getting "accidentally" killed by police officers along with a number of other shady killings/shootings by the police. JFJ has a list of cases from recent years (interesting reading). from what I understand, incidents where somebody is shot by police are brought before a Coroner's Court where it will be determined if someone is "criminally responsible". if no one was, then the police were "justified" in their shooting (self-defense, defense of the public, what have you). if the coroner's court determines that someone was "criminally responsible", then a normal criminal trial begins (by this point years later).
I also have some additional interesting reading, here is Amnesty International's 2005 Annual Report, a short one pager with some more lovely stories on it. see also their list of press releases. finally, the US Department of State has released their 2005 Country Report on Jamaica from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
of particular interest on thursday at the meeting was the case of Sandra Sewell. culled from the background information of a 8 October 2004 AI Press Release.
On 19 September 2004, members of the Jamaican Defence Force allegedly killed community activist Sandra Sewell, and Gayon Alcott, a 20-year-old footballer, in August Town, St. Andrew. Eye-witnesses stated that soldiers approached Alcott because he was smoking marijuana and shot him in the stomach. As he attempted to flee the gunfire, soldiers shot him again. A soldier is alleged to have shot at Sandra Sewell as she sought protection from the gunfire.
Amnesty International remains concerned at frequent reports of killings by members of the security forces, many of which appear to constitute extra-judicial executions, and by very high reported rates of violent crime. Over 1,000 people have been murdered in Jamaica since 1 January this year. At least nine police officers have been charged with murder. In 2003 at least 113 people were killed by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
this case was discussed for some time at the JFJ meeting, generated a good deal of frustration, and unfortunately it serves as a all-to-common example of the way things go here. numerous eyewitnesses saw the shooting take place; community outrage was high; and many promises of investigation, discipline, and reform were made. a year and a half later and there are no more eyewitnesses. where'd they go? good question. this is a case of the police against the community. which side has the most guns? which side has "the power of the law"? witnesses are threatened (by who knows who), witnesses leave the country, witnesses forget to show up in court, witnesses are anywhere but in court. ah, good thing they're legally required to come (summoned, subpoenaed, whichever). but who is it that serves the summons, who is it that is required to "force" a reluctant witness to come to court? well if it ain't the police. how handy. they can take their sweet time, forget to do it, muddy the waters a little, claim they couldn't find them, the choices are quite prolific.
then comes judgment day and who shows up in court? the police. the police tell their side, the community sits quietly by, and the jury judges in favor of the police because that's the only side of the story they heard.
if you read around some of the above links you read stories of accidental killings, extrajudicial killings, and rampant corruption. children killed in the crossfire, wounded men dying on a two hour drive to a hospital that's twenty minutes away. on the other side of it, the cops aren't the only ones slinging lead around. it's a given that the harder pressed the police are, the more likely they are to make mistakes. when Stephanie was here she and I were driving through Mountain View one morning just in time to see a stream of police pouring down each side of the street towards some place behind us. you could see in their faces and body language that they knew their chances of getting shot at in the next two minutes were pretty high. it's very understandable that somebody'd be trigger happy in a situation like that (where there were an easy two dozen pedestrians within bullet range at that very moment).
so i understand if some people accidentally get killed. that's the price this society may have to pay for a little peace. but don't grant impunity. don't perform extrajudicial killings. don't tamper with the crime scene. don't leave cops that've killed someone(s) on the line of duty for years. if a cop shoots someone, take them off active duty and hold the coroner's court. but hold it within two months, not two years! if it was a "justified" killing then so be it. put him back on the line. if it wasn't hold the criminal trial. the whole thing should take less than six months.
...so after a lot of frustration was expressed, we resolved little and moved on to the next topic. if the witnesses refuse to show up there's not much anybody else can do about it.
the meeting was ended with a singing of the Jamaican National Anthem (you can listen to it there). when's the last time you were at a meeting in the states that ended with the national anthem?
Eternal Father bless our land,
Guard us with Thy Mighty Hand,
Keep us free from evil powers,
Be our light through countless hours.
To our Leaders, Great Defender,
Grant true wisdom from above.
Justice, Truth be ours forever,
Jamaica, Land we love.
Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica land we love.
Teach us true respect for all,
Stir response to duty’s call, strengthen us the weak to cherish,
Give us vision lest we perish.
Knowledge send us Heavenly Father,
Grant true wisdom from above.
Justice, Truth be ours forever,
Jamaica, land we love.
Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica land we love.
sounds suspiciously judeo-christian in viewpoint.
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