Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief, Lawyer, Doctor and Police Chief

There's this game I used to play as a child which (we thought) would predict out future. We would choose the age at which we wanted to marry, and it would predict our partner, where we would live, our occupation and number of children. To make up a portion of the list we'd chant "rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, lawyer, doctor, indian chief" then add  a few others.

So much for the nostalgia....

In Jamaica the population can basically be divided into these groups (see title). The Rich Man, and the Poor Man are the two main categories. The Beggar Man would come with the poverty, and surprisingly the Thief would come under the jurisdiction of the wealthy man (white collar crime and such...did someone say Bernie Madoff?) . The Lawyers and Doctors are important to society and make up the middle class for their work can be easily compromised by the donations of a Rich Man; and the ever so controversial Police Chief who is a puppet to the Rich Man.




I came up with this blog title after hearing about the incident of the X6 killer.

THE taxi operator involved in the July 1 accident that resulted in Kingston College student Khajeel Mais being shot to death says the killer has no excuse for his foolish action and that he should pay the penalty. The taxi operator, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, was speaking with  the Observer Monday just hours after the police announced that a suspect in the shooting had been held at the Norman Manley International Airport. The apprehension comes a week after the man fled the island for the United States.

The suspect's lawyer Patrick Atkinson, QC, told the Observer that he had been arranging his client's return to the island and that he, too, was present at the airport when the man turned himself over to the police.
Seventeen-year-old Mais of Havendale, St Andrew was shot in the head by the driver of a BMW X6 after the taxi in which he was travelling ran into the back of the luxury vehicle along Island Drive in the community, according to the police. The youth was on his way to a fête at the Meadowbrook High School when the incident occurred. 

The taxi operator was Monday guarded about the information he gave out, saying that he was instructed by the police not to speak about the incident.
According to him, the incident occurred around 7:30. He said after running into the back of the sport utility vehicle, he stopped and heard Mais, who was in the back seat, saying, "Him coming wid a gun". The taxi operator said he tried leaving the scene when the driver of the BMW fired on his vehicle, hitting Mais in the head. He said the man fired several more rounds then gave chase in his luxury vehicle. The taxi operator said he drove to the nearby Constant Spring Police Station.

  Received from: The Jamaica Observer, published July 13, 2011

It took DAYS, almost week[s], for the suspect's name to be published. Usually the police has the suspect's name out and about and asking for assistance to find him. But, in this case it was too high profile. The family from which the deceased young man came was not exactly strapped for cash, and the suspect was pretty wealthy (as another news story suggested, and the raid of his house provided evidence). So it wasn't the usual case of rich man- poor man, where the poor man's son dies and nothing is done about it because afterall it is a poor man's son and the less of the poverty-stricken breed around the better (just being the devil's advocate here, I don't really think this). In this case, both parties had money... the police's hands were tied. They had to do something to satisfy both parties.

It's amazing how the suspect was allowed to fly to the United States amidst the investigation, however they eventually raided his house and had his lawyer tell him to come home (perhaps because the victim's family was pressing for answers and had  monetary influence). The police worked very fast on this case... Is it because of the rich people involved?  The police neglected to mention the suspect's name until he was charged... Is it because of his wealth? They instructed the taxi man not to report the incident... that must be because of the profile of the suspect.

In countries where justice is not just a word that can be found in the dictionary, that's usually how the system works: depending on the case the suspect's name isn't released until charged. In Jamaica, this is seldom practiced, from what I see at least. But to cover their bullshit, the police insisted it was their new way of doing things, a more discrete way of handling cases.  "Just now? You thought of starting this up JUST NOW, right this minute when this wealthy man is involved". 

Their bullshit may or may not be true, but the timing was off.

Now, the lawyer. I would appreciate it more if the lawyer said "no comment" when asked questions, but his statements too many times seem like he wants to make the public believe his client didn't do it.  I know you want to defend your client well so you can get your big cheque at the end of the case; But we all know this big, fat, rich man did it, why else would he refuse to give up the fire arm? If I am innocent of a charge and all I need to do is to present the fire arm to show it wasn't my bullet and my finger prints aren't on it, then why wouldn't I? Through the grapevine I heard that it was an illegal gun, so chances are he decided not to give up the gun because he may be charged more for the possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition than for obstructing the course of justice.

Now this is just my speculation, don't take my word as gospel research these events yourself and derive your own conclusion.

This is just one of the most recent examples. Years ago, an employee of a SuperPlus Supermarket was caught stealing a case of Pepsi (I believe it was) and the managers beat the man, carried him to a home where they beat him more and set dogs on him. To this day this case has not been heard of in the media again. What happened to the man? What happened to the justice?

It sickens me how much this country praises the rich man and his wealth, even in the worst situations. The corruption that is encouraged because of GREED is appalling in all sectors. When a police man, who is suppose to be our protector, can compromise his responsibilities to save a rich man's ass you know it's a lost cause.

I am really tired of the fact that rich people have these authority figures eating from the palm of their hands, while they exploit the poor people and amass wealth.

I have always been a lover of my country: A stern believer that a change will come; One who doesn't want to leave Jamaica because I want to [directly] be a part of the change... But more and more I'm not seeing the possibility of change... More and more I get used to the idea of migrating... Of leaving the heartache and turning Jamaica into my resort destination...

It may seem foolish to you that a few tears escaped as I wrote this blog post, and that my passion for the topic may have even clouded some of my thoughts, but Jamaica is my home... It's the only thing I have ever been certain of - You go abroad for holidays but you always come HOME; Never feel truly comfortable unless I am HOME - and it just hurts me that there are so many things happening, so many bad things happening that are beyond my control... things I have to just allow to happen and it hurts.