Skeleton stories

This is a story of a young man who loved to be strong. His mother lived in Tivoli Gardens. During the siege she called him and told him she was alone and afraid. He was executed by the army.

This skeleton of a story is catastrophe enough, but what about with real flesh and bones? With a life, with thousands of moments and stories in his soul. Does the story hurt even more when you consider that? It is a real one. This is the tragic story of a young man we call Roofie. He is far from a gun man or a heartless killer. Roofie has been volunteering with Fusion for years. If you knew him you would have seen him on our day trips, leading crazy activities for young people. Or you would have seen him helping out at community festivals engaging in all sorts of silliness and joy. This is the story of our friend, our brother. This is the story of a young man who died.
Not for being involved in violence or drugs, but for being in Tivoli Gardens.

The burden is heavy for his family: for his parents (including his step-mom) who have tried with all their might to do what's best for their children, his many brothers, for his sister who I've gotten the pleasure of knowing these last few months. It's heavy for his friends, for the men who are feeling like things are too hard.

The burden is heavy for all of us who are mourning Roofie, but it's heavy all over this city. Roofie's story is not the only story like this. Today in Mountain View police with their lips wet for revenge set out to murder gunmen or any civilian men they came upon. A young man was standing in his mother's shop, a police man shot him in both legs. While he continued to struggle to show them his id, explaining that he was a working man not a gun man, a police man shot him in the head. This story hurts too. It hurts me that there must be many more stories like this. It hurts me that the police are profiling other black men and wiping them out.

It hurts that the pain we are carrying in our hearts for Roofie is being carried by hundreds around this city. Not only at the loss of brothers and friends, but the pain of knowing that some men high on their own sense of authority have decided they have it in their power to decide who lives and who dies, to go into people's homes and shoot before asking questions. Who disregard the pleas and evidence around them that a young man is not a gun man, and take his life. We are in pain because life in this city, in this world, is not how it should be.

There's more to say, but for now that's enough.

Two Entries in One

Lighthearted Portion
Today things have raged on, but outside of the downtown/Tivoli area has settled down considerably. Except that there was shooting in Crossroads (about a 10 minute walk downhill from our house). Anyway, Vanessa was able to leave her home for the first time in days, so she came over. Prior to this there has been shooting and violence directly next to Vanessa's house, so we decided to enjoy each other's company today. Stefon, Vanessa, and I decided to venture outside! Mostly I think this was a desire to see some of the atmosphere of the city, but also to get some food. I've had a craving for a couple very specific things since Saturday night! So we all went together to go have a look and get some food. We walked to New Kingston (about a ten minute walk). Got some pizza and headed home. It was sort of surreal, there were more people out today but Pizza Hut was virtually empty (just a few costumers, that never happens) and they only had medium pizzas. Everywhere was closing at about 4:00.




We had a lot of fun, it was a brief respite from reality. When I returned home things came crashing back down. If you are averse to unsettling details, it's probably best not to read on.

News
I bought phone credit so I was getting in touch with friends and partners in mission trapped in their home. One young friend, who's 14, sent me messages saying she was terrified and about some graphic incidents that have happened directly in front of her house. She explained to me that there's also been a struggle to remove dead bodies. In the hot Caribbean sun the stench of dead bodies increases exponentially, while dogs and crows eat away flesh to sinew and bones. Meanwhile all residents can do is watch. She explained that attempts to move many bodies were thwarted by gun fire. On the news this evening I'm hearing from the mayor of Kingston Desmond McKenzie that he's aware of the issue and steps have been made forward. Another concern is that in the areas in conflict most residents only keep a day to two days of food in their homes. When there was a lull in gunfire this morning many made a dash to purchase more food, but little was left in the shops in those areas. Most of these small shops in Tivoli/Trench Town are stocked by people who go "downtown" buy things wholesale and bring them back to the community. Since there's violence "downtown" and in the markets, and in the community, that's not happening. The concern is that the shelves in the shops will go bare, and people will have no back up provisions.
There was an announcement on the news that Red Cross is making plans about these issues, but no deliveries yet.**

I'm getting more and more reports about people I know (from the young to the old) being injured. One of the students at Operation Restoration* was shot in the road today and fell down, no one could get back to drag him out. I haven't heard yet whether or not he got out alive. I saw two people I know on the news, one helping to carry a bleeding wounded senior citizen and another who we saw live being shot in the arm and back while he tried to help someone else. He is injured but has survived. What's really sad about that particular story is that he used to be a gunman, but gave it up and became a Christian. He's been one for about four years now, staying away from guns and violence.....The official count from 1 PM is 26 civilians dead, but friends in the community estimate that it's higher.

When I spoke with friends in Majesty Gardens yesterday and things have been bad there as well. Majesty Gardens struggles with gang war between "Up the road" and "Down the road." This conflict flares on a regular basis running rampant till the intervention of police or army. The opportunistic gangs have not let the chance of occupied arms forces pass them by and are having a gory field day in Majesty. Two died yesterday, and today the community was filled with constant gun shots. One friend expressed that he feels like he's dead already.


*Operation Restoration is the first place I volunteered in Trench Town. I worked there for two summers. It's a remedial school serving people age 12-17. Fusion partners with Operation Restoration with our School's Work program or "Lunchtime with a difference" program. The students at our Trus' Camp, put on by New Generation together with Fusion, CLF and Blvd. Baptists church members, were also from Operation Restoration.

**The Red Cross and other organizations and churches later put together bags and delivered them in Tivoli. Not sure about Trench Town.