I didn’t expect so much chatter to come from my ‘incident’. My point was simply to convey a message – be aware and be vigilant.
But I’ve noted a trend in comments, in my thread and the ‘Rant’ thread, that I have to comment on. The feeling seems to be going in the direction of ‘don’t worry, be happy’ – ie; so what, robberies happen everywhere. Yes, that’s true. But do not be lulled into complacency and think that since robberies do happen everywhere that it’s no big deal that they happen in Negril too. To me it is a big deal - I won't write it off because 'it happens everywhere'. I don't think its OK at all. And it’s not just thievery. It's low-life criminality.
I had several conversations with Jamaicans on this trip that took me aback and gave me concern for the Negril that I love.
- I was warned not to walk a section of road, not far from my accommodations, or ‘I would be robbed.’ That took the air out of my buoyant mood that night. I was with Bea, so I worried until we got home.
- I was told that there is a lot of thievery (break and entry) in the area, and that thieves are often hunted by people in the neighbourhood. Vigilantism is a symptom.
- A party was going on next to a bar I was in, all young men attending, and I was told to beware of the group when I left. Beware? What should I have done? Ran away, maybe? Called for an escape vehicle?
- I was having a conversation with a nice older woman when she suddenly lamented to me that there ‘was so, so much crime in Negril now’. My heart went out to her.
- A man said he no longer walked in a section of road (a different one from above) ‘because there are strangers up there’ that he was wary of. Previously, he told me, that that area had been contested by two gangs of young men.
- My observation is that there is a greater police presence in Negril I guess this is a good thing. The reasons for the greater presence, however, are bad things.
- A new police commissioner (not sure of the rank or the correct nomenclature) recently arrived in Negril from a rough area of Kingston. At a neighbourhood meeting he said his mandate was to ‘clean up Negril and bring it back to what it was’. Good stuff, I hope he succeeds. But he also said that he felt Negril was approaching a ‘tipping point’. He compared it to an area in Kingston that turned bad when he was there. I got this fresh second-hand from a guy who is a straight talker and was at the meeting, so write it off as hearsay if you feel like it.
- Westmoreland’s most wanted criminal was shot dead by the police in a residence in Negril during my stay. Supposedly in a gun fight. I’m glad they got this guy, he was despicable, but I’m just sayin’. In Negril? WTF!
For the first time in all my visits to Negril, at times I felt uncomfortable. At times I felt unwelcome – this mostly from punks who glared at me as I walked by. I was overly aware of people walking up behind me. My spidey sense went off on several occasions. All of this was before I was robbed.
I didn’t write about any of this in my blog because at the time I just put it off to old-man paranoia. You can go with that if you want to. But having a punk attempt to get into my bedroom at 2:30am crystalized my feelings. Evry’ ting is not Irie in the island paradise.
That’s why I split.
I’m not fear mongering. It’s no secret that crime in Negril is on the rise. My impression is that it is not as safe as it once was, and it’s nowhere near as safe as some people think it is or make it out to be or ‘feel’ it is.
By all means – go to Negril. Have fun and interact with the good people. But be aware that the criminal element is very, very real