Sorry you feel that way about my post. But there has not been any shootings in Negril until just the past few years. Little Negril is not the same Negril I started to come to 40 years ago. Just like any shootings in Chicago or Miami, they are drug related. Does it bother me… no… I still come back and will continue to come back. Just like any large City, be careful……
To all,Originally Posted by Sunfun
Maybe what I am writing is more detailed than our current visitors need to know, but I thought I would bring in some historical background to what has been posted.
Over the past 40 years, there has been gun violence all across Jamaica. The 1980 election was probably the worst time on the island with both the Soviet Union and United States using Jamaica as a pawn, flooding the island with guns from both sides. To this day some of the 1980 guns are still in use and news reports of caches of these old guns still being uncovered during new construction projects.
In 1988, during the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Gilbert looters were being shot here in Negril. That was my first direct encounter.
In the mid 90's when crack cocaine was dominating Negril, there were homicides in which drug deals gone bad did indeed occur.
But in the last decade or so, with the lottery scamming becoming so lucrative, you would be hard pressed to hear of any drug deals going bad, it is virtually all scamming related now.
Which is rather sad and let's help end this scourge by educating the vulnerable scamming targets to simply hang up the phone. With the lure of millions of dollars without having to smuggle, store, protect and sell illegal drugs, phone scamming is quite a draw...
And Negril, not being a big city, there is little need to worry about big city problems. The gun violence in Jamaica is dominated by lottery scamming. So if you and your family members are not involved, neither will you.
Negril.com - For the vacation that never ends!
Rob...your post brings me flashbacks. Our first trip in 1983 wasn't that long after the troubles of the 1980 election. I remember the newspaper photos of Manley in his Che Guevera outfit and Seaga in his Ronald Reagan wannabe suits. Most people were talking through their differences by then. The crack onslaught was the worst thing I have ever seen there over all the years and countless trips to Negril. So many glassy-eyed zombie figures shuffling around in the shadows, it was a little spooky. Then on subsequent trips that seemed to fade away with the realization crack was a death wish. Jamaica always seems to follow a self-correcting course and none of that stuff ever stopped us from going back again and again. We were, however, about to book when Gilbert developed and our trip was delayed for nearly a year.
ROB, But why are there shootings?. unfortunately there seems to be plenty of business . what are the arguments over?
one of the boys from my red ground days whom i had known since birth was shot and killed last year and i assume it was lottery related. very sad time for me.
About 80% of all gun violence on the island is lottery scamming related. The money amounts are huge, far larger than other forms of crime.
All you need is a phone and call sheets which are provided to "legal businesses" so graciously by North American credit card companies and social media outlets.
A legal business places an order from a CC or social media company requesting everyone in their huge data mined database who is over 65, widowed, likes to travel, has been to Jamaica, has a pet with a bank account of over $1,000,000. And in a few days the list with 10,000 names and phone numbers arrives by email.
Since a business needs to order the listings, someone is now in charge of the scamming. They enlist others, give them some basic scamming instructions along with where the money is to be sent in exchange for making the calls and receiving a small percentage of the money. Everything works like clockwork until it doesn't.
When those making the calls start to feel slighted, getting hundreds of dollars as they bring in 10s of thousands of dollars, they try to scam the scammer. This never ends well.
Negril.com - For the vacation that never ends!
Very True statement!
I was in Negril during this shooting. Very sad for the driver and all that knew him. He had just dropped tourists off at their resort and drove across beach road to park. It is at that point he was shot 7 times. While tourists are not being shot (like Cancun), these crimes will can definitely affect tourism. 2 days later, police were on beach road early in the morning stopping cars checking for weapons. They will probably need to do this on a regular basis.
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