Garth Rattray | Tales from the ‘dipped’

Uncle D (not his real name) had three sons. One had migrated to the United States (US). At first, the 20-something-year-old found employment assisting a clean-up crew. He was existing on a minimum wage, the hours were long, the jobs were gruelling, the weather was either freezing or sweltering, the rent was exorbitant, friends were difficult to link, and he became extremely frustrated.

The path to the much-vaunted American dream was steep and unending. It was obviously beyond the reach of this Jamaican immigrant. Out of the shadows stepped an alternative to the hard life that he didn’t foresee and certainly never expected. When the weight of his difficult life pushed down on him like a ton of bricks, a coworker presented a proposal for an easy life. All he had to do was to take a few phone calls and relay them to several contacts. The remuneration for sitting at home, cell phone in hand, was more than 4 times his usual earnings.

Life in America was disappointing and difficult. Others were having to work two or three jobs just to survive. But his situation was nothing new. The young man quit his menial, low-paying job. He began earning big bucks just taking calls, jotting down names and transferring information. Unknown to everyone in the group, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had been silently observing them for months. When they had substantial evidence against them, the inevitable, pre-dawn banging on the door came. “FBI! Open up!”.

Uncle D’s son was arrested, charged, processed, incarcerated, schooled by hardened, American prisoners for eight years, and then deported (‘dipped’) to Jamaica. No longer the somewhat innocent twenty-something adolescent, having no useful education and no real skills, he reverted to his [American] prison acquired criminal knowledge to embark on a nefarious life here in Jamaica.

CONFLICT

As is often the case, his illegal activities led him into conflict with the police. During a confrontation, Uncle D’s son was ‘un-alived’. This had a very stressful effect on the entire family. His bigger brother began touting badness. This led to his arrest for a gun crime. Once back on the streets, he was challenged by a younger ‘shotter’. He repaid the shotter for disrespecting him, and for shooting at him and missing, by killing him in the middle of a street in the community.

He was arrested but fear kept witnesses from court. Feeling emboldened and untouchable, despite the pleas from his mortified father, he became the local gangster. Other shotters threatened revenge. It was at this juncture that, using a surrogate, I begged the Member of Parliament for that community to simply send a general message for peace. I was very disappointed when I was told that the MP said that it was a matter for the police.

Uncle D hid that son but the determined gangsters found and killed another son. This son was the only one making a living through honest work. He manufactured and sold handbags. Nevertheless, shotters kicked open his door and un-alived him as a message to the brother that they sought. Enraged that his innocent brother was killed, the shotter went on a rampage but was eventually cut down. Therefore, within a fairly short time, Uncle D lost all his sons to violence, which began with the son that was dipped after being schooled in the criminal life from behind prison walls in America. Uncle D is inconsolable and cries at the drop of a hat.

WORKS QUIETLY

Jah Bingy (not his real name) is an ex-gangster. Nowadays he works quietly and has many friends in the police force. He is estranged from the mother of his youngest son. Although she admonished the youngster never to cross the border to visit his father, the boy regularly sneaked into the busy metropolitan area to pick pockets and steal jewellery.

He was apprehended by the police and, since they all know his father, he was contacted and asked what they should do with the teenager. Foreseeing a very dark future for the hard of hearing boy, Jah Bingy did not hesitate. “Lock him up! Him fi learn!”

Jah Bingy related to me that, in his youth, he used to be an enforcer for one of our most renown dons. He used the example of his life’s mistakes to try to deter his son. But he was unsuccessful. After several days in the lock up, his son was released. Jah Bingy told his son that, since the extradition of his boss, things had changed. If one of the enforcers were nabbed, the boss made certain that the family was fully taken care of. All their needs were met.

Jah Bingy has a brother living in the US. In a last-ditch effort to protect him from himself and to give him better opportunities, he sent his wayward son overseas with the hope that he will not become a deportee one day.

Approximately 2,500 deportees were scheduled to return to the island. Some committed no serious offences, and are innocuous, others have strong support from family and/or friends, but some are career criminals requiring micromanagement to become functional citizens and to reintegrate into our society.

I am pleased that the National Reintegration and Rehabilitation Strategy has been expanded. This technical group is chaired by the Planning Institute of Jamaica, with oversight by the Ministries of National Security and Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. For the sake of our society, it is my fervent hope that deportees of all types will be ushered into productive and fulfilling lives.

Garth Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice, and author of ‘The Long and Short of Thick and Thin’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com