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Trench TownPublisher: Journeyman
Length: 54mins
Location: Jamaica
Copyright: ©James Ewart
Published: 1 Apr, 2009
Last Updated: 18 May, 2011
Ref: 4354
Length: 54mins
Location: Jamaica
Copyright: ©James Ewart
Published: 1 Apr, 2009
Last Updated: 18 May, 2011
Ref: 4354
In Bob Marley’s infamous Trench Town, we meet the kids who risk their lives every day to get to school. The constant turf wars, battle for control by the local dons and the fact that police are out-gunned, make this a real life tragedy of Hollywood proportions. Through the children’s outlooks, aspirations and fears, we enter an otherwise no-go area.
‘Every morning as I rise, I hear the gunshots firing’ says Leroy. His school is on the borderline between the two warring factions of Trench Town. ‘They just fire shots indiscriminately, these guys are killing for fun’ he tells us as we follow his walk to school. Brightly coloured shacks that look ready to collapse house over 25 000, army tanks and car bombs litter the dusty streets and Bob Marley’s face smiles out from a billboard, pock-marked with bullet holes.
‘We’re living in a warzone’ says Sergeant Robert Taylor ‘yet we don’t have the tools to overpower the gangs’. It is well known that politicians armed the local dons in the 60s in return for votes- the two main political parties, the JLP and the PNP, have been at loggerheads ever since. ‘Politicians had an interest in having people fight each other for scarce benefits’ explains Blakka, who left Trench town when his house was burnt down- ‘there’s no jobs, there’s no money, I’ll kill to maintain that access to the little there is’.
Having grown up in this turmoil, the youths are now the ones with the guns in their hands. ‘The age range for the most dangerous gangs is 14-25’ explains Sergeant Taylor, ‘these kids have grown up with no hopes and nothing to live for’. Many had to leave school because of the shootings and were drawn into the only other means of survival. ‘Those kids searching for food, searching for someone to take an interest in them are the ones who end up pointing a gun at you’ says Delroy, a teacher.
Yet there’s hope amidst this almost impossible educational environment. ‘I want to study law’ says one student ‘I want to publish my novel’ says another, ‘I want to be a flight attendant’ says Shanice as she wipes away her tears. A powerful glimpse into the reality of life in Trench Town, through the eyes of the children who are gearing to change it all.
‘Every morning as I rise, I hear the gunshots firing’ says Leroy. His school is on the borderline between the two warring factions of Trench Town. ‘They just fire shots indiscriminately, these guys are killing for fun’ he tells us as we follow his walk to school. Brightly coloured shacks that look ready to collapse house over 25 000, army tanks and car bombs litter the dusty streets and Bob Marley’s face smiles out from a billboard, pock-marked with bullet holes.
‘We’re living in a warzone’ says Sergeant Robert Taylor ‘yet we don’t have the tools to overpower the gangs’. It is well known that politicians armed the local dons in the 60s in return for votes- the two main political parties, the JLP and the PNP, have been at loggerheads ever since. ‘Politicians had an interest in having people fight each other for scarce benefits’ explains Blakka, who left Trench town when his house was burnt down- ‘there’s no jobs, there’s no money, I’ll kill to maintain that access to the little there is’.
Having grown up in this turmoil, the youths are now the ones with the guns in their hands. ‘The age range for the most dangerous gangs is 14-25’ explains Sergeant Taylor, ‘these kids have grown up with no hopes and nothing to live for’. Many had to leave school because of the shootings and were drawn into the only other means of survival. ‘Those kids searching for food, searching for someone to take an interest in them are the ones who end up pointing a gun at you’ says Delroy, a teacher.
Yet there’s hope amidst this almost impossible educational environment. ‘I want to study law’ says one student ‘I want to publish my novel’ says another, ‘I want to be a flight attendant’ says Shanice as she wipes away her tears. A powerful glimpse into the reality of life in Trench Town, through the eyes of the children who are gearing to change it all.
Comments
Comment removed by poster.
Posted: Nov 02 2009, 04:21 Report AbuseNo wonder why all the positive messages, and songs of Bob Marley come from the forgotten streets of Trench Town. People who have seen violence tend to see change for the better. I wish the Gangs could see the terror they are causing and stop their pointless violence.
Posted: Nov 02 2009, 04:24 Report Abuseti is a fact that this is happening all over jamaica now not just in the cites but in the country sides i wish my poeple would stop and look at how we are brining our jamaica down
Posted: Nov 02 2009, 15:37 Report Abuseting good?
Posted: Mar 15 2010, 19:02 Report Abusethings need to change in trench town
Posted: Apr 19 2010, 06:34 Report Abusebob marley will never forgatten in trench town
Posted: Apr 19 2010, 06:36 Report Abusetime for change
Posted: May 21 2010, 12:28 Report Abusewant to watch trench town
Posted: May 22 2010, 18:05 Report Abusevery sad
Posted: May 23 2010, 04:28 Report AbuseTorn apart inside
Posted: May 25 2010, 01:10 Report Abusenice
Posted: Jul 24 2010, 00:31 Report AbuseTHANK YOU VERY MUCH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: Aug 14 2010, 14:48 Report Abusesad & so true..tivoli jungle rema action pak all a dem garrison just suffer ...mek Jah come down set dem free.
Posted: Sep 28 2010, 17:27 Report Abuseyes, it is rella thru
Posted: Jan 05 2011, 13:22 Report Abusewe need change's in jamaica
Posted: Jan 11 2011, 03:00 Report AbuseComment removed by poster.
Posted: Feb 06 2011, 20:55 Report AbuseComment removed by poster.
Posted: May 12 2011, 22:49 Report AbuseI was married to a jamican his name was norman j. i met him in the states. when we visited his home in kingston. it was dangerous and i was scared. if it wasnt for my husband, i could not have went to or seen so much that i needed to see. we have it so good in the states. god bless all jamaican. i love yall. your music is from the soul, and it has meaning. i loved my husband, and he truly loved me. he went to jamaica to visit his kids, and got killed by the jamaican cops. wow.
Posted: May 12 2011, 22:59 Report AbuseReady to learn
Posted: Jul 17 2011, 15:13 Report Abuseware is jamaica and ware thit the love go i miss the pace in jamaica
Posted: Dec 23 2011, 05:53 Report Abuse