Symbolic walks won't crush garrisons

by Arthur Hall, on the campaign trail

I am surprised that Prime Minister Andrew Holness' call for the leader of the People's National Party (PNP), Portia Simpson Miller, to join him in symbolic walks through two garrison communities, or 'zones of political exclusion', is continuing to generate discussion.

Almost one month after Holness made the offer, neither politician has made the first step.

For me this is impatient of debate. There should be no symbolic walk by Simpson Miller and Holness, as this would achieve nothing except, perhaps, a photo opportunity.

It is the sharing of state resources that perpetuates the zones of political exclusion across Jamaica.

Neighbours vote for the same party because they know the party one supports determines what you get once the election is over.

If you live in a Jamaica labour Party (JLP)-controlled community such as Tivoli Gardens and you vote PNP, you will suffer if the PNP wins the general election. That is because you live in a 'Labourite' community, which will be ignored until the JLP forms the next government.

The same is true if you live in Arnett Gardens and vote Labour, and the Comrades win. 'Dog nyam yuh supper', because it is the entire community which will be deprived of state resources.

Gone are the days when zones of political exclusion were created and armed to ensure support for a party. Now we have more disputes involving gangs aligned to the same party than those attached to opposite parties.

Just ask the people of Arnett Gardens who walk past the JLP supporters in Tivoli Gardens without fear, while there are sections of their own South St Andrew community they would never dare visit.

Or ask the people in Rockfort, Drewsland, Southside, Back Bush and Goodwin Lane, and they will tell you about Labourite-on-Labourite or Comrade-on-Comrade gang killings.

As someone who has spent much of my 40-plus years living or working in these zones of political exclusion, I can give both leaders a simple plan to mash down these garrisons.

And you can call them garrisons, Mr Holness, for they have been called worse in the past by persons who believe they are the betters of the people who live there.

There have been many of these walks in the past, and they have achieved nothing, and the same would happen with the latest Holness plan.

The residents of these zones of political exclusion already know that once the television cameras are turned off, the political leaders are friends.

In these communities, people do watch the entertainment programmes, they do read the social pages, and they, like all of Jamaica, see JLP and PNP leaders attending weddings, funerals and parties together.

They know that despite the bickering inside Parliament and on the election campaign, you are mostly friends.

Areas of shared common interest

The posturing of Andrew and Portia will not change reality. That is a 1970s answer to a 2011 problem.

Zones of political exclusion, whether those created by the direct action of the politicians such as Nannyville Gardens, or those which emerged like Jacques Road, have morphed into areas of shared common interest.

What these residents have learnt is that it is in their best interest to ensure that their party of choice is in power.

They know that contracts are given out by the party in power the farm-work tickets, in the majority, go to supporters of the party in power. Even a simple thing as the quality of a community sports day will depend on the allegiance of your MP or caretaker.

MPs have money (read: state resources, including the CDF), while caretakers are broke and can only buy a beer when election is coming around.

Even those hard-working constituents who don't want anything from the politicians understand that if their party is not in power, the roads in their community will be the last ones fixed.

If somebody's house is destroyed by fire, the caretaker will have to walk to the social-security agencies to seek assistance, while the government MP will call his friend, the minister of social security, to speed up assistance.

If you want to end zones of political exclusion, Mr Holness/Mrs Simpson Miller, remove the control that politicians have over the distribution of state resources.

Fix the small things, Mr Holness, like the fact that students from a school in the section of your constituency where you have strong support were the ushers at your swearing-in ceremony. Where were the children from Balcombe Drive Primary in the PNP-controlled section of the constituency?

Fix the small things, Mrs Simpson Miller, such as expressing similar outrage against the inequitable, partisan distribution of roadworks under the PNP as you have done against JDIP.

Until then, people will always defend zones of political exclusion because they know that's their ticket to board the gravy train.

Arthur Hall is a senior staff reporter. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com.