Bringing knives to Jamaica

[smith744]

my *thoughts* & experiences....

1..''yes'' ,,, you CAN take knives with you [[[ in checked luggage as mentioned, and have a *good* explanation as to WHY you bringin' 'em, if Ja-
Customs should ask WHY ]]]

2...[[ to me ]] pocket knives is a *strange* gift ~~~ 'cause it's my *understanding* that Jamaican law PROHIBITs carrying around knives ::::: at least that is was told, a few years ago, by TWO Jamaican police officers, who stopped AND searched my walk-around bag.

For some reason, I liked the then-popular 3-star ratchet SouthAfrican Okapi knife :::: at the time, all the young-guys,,, the rude-boys,,, would be carry-ing them .... it was not unusual to hear the ''.click-click.'' sound of the knife being flipped open & closed, as you walked around Negril or other parts of the island.

Residents had warned me about having and carrying the knife.

''..Sir... you DO realize that I'm suppose to LOCK YOU UP for having this blah blah blah..'' <<<<::: said the police officer(s), TO ME.

my first smart-ass stupid response was::>> ''...WHAT..!!!... EVERYbody carry this knife...''

but then i quickly came to my senses,
and
Scared to death,
I lied,,, and told 'em, i was carrying the knife to peel mangos, blah blah blah.

the officers weren't ''buying'' what I was ''selling''
but probably 'cause i was a from-foreign tourist
they let me slide, with a STRONG warning::>>> ''.. If we blah blah blah... AGAIN...blah blah...''



Guns aren't that prevelant in Jamaica, as they are here in the good 'ole-USofA ::::: the weapon of choice is some kind of blade IS ::::: cleavers, machettes of ALL types,, and every sort, lentht, and size of knife you can imagine.

I remember
the times i went to visit folks in the Ja-hopitals
and/or
when I went to various court house, for this and that ::::::: the number and variety of blades that were confiscated from visitors was mind-blowing. Sometimes, the confiscators gave 'em back to the visitors when they left,, most times they didn't.

Many moons ago,
when we went to a local wake/party
my landlord [[for some reason]]
concealed & carry-ed a looooooooooong machette
tuck-ed discrete-ly
in his waist bad & down his pant leg
[[ to this day, i don't know HOW he was able to walk & dance with that long thing stuck in his pants ]]

again::>> unless the law has changed since back-then,,, pocket knives are illegal in Jamaica.

.
.
now,
the Jamaican jails
:-(
you DON'T wanna go there..!!
:-(

in another 'life', i did photography
...took a few pictures in Jamaica, for residents :::: was asked to go-with a Lucea-country neighbor to SandyBay police station to shoot a Polaroid of her then locked-up brother,,,, so he could get out on bail.

The jail-officers took me back in the lock-up, to do my 'thing'.

* Whew *

Folks...!!!! ... AGAIN you DON'T wanna be locked-up in a Jamaican jail...[[[ period ]]]
.....''think'' and/or ''imagine'' a place from 'OliverTwist' times.

* whew *

in close-ing::>>> Knives as a gift...??? ..... ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm .... I'd consider a soccer ball or a cricket bat instead.

[captaind & Linston]

No going to the bush and carry your machete. Say what????

Cap