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Jamaica Explode

Jamaica Explode
Written by Robert Cullen

"I remember bout 80 Jamaica explode." says Baby Cham as he relives a tumultuous time in Jamaica s history; The election of 1980. By far the election of 1980 was the bloodiest election Jamaica has seen.

No one seems to know where the weapons came from. Some of them might have been from former U.S. stockpiles in Vietnam. Hundreds might have been smuggled into the country by Cuba s ambassador. Many of them were probably bought through the black market. Wherever they were from, the M16 assault rifles made the 1980 elections the bloodiest in the nation s history. Violence had long been a part of Jamaican politics, but in 1980 it reached unprecedented levels, with over 800 people killed. As former Prime Minister Michael Manley explained in his memoir, Jamaica: Struggle on the Periphery, "Up to 1976, the .365 Magnum was the deadliest weapon in common use in the political battle. It certainly was deadly enough! The 1980 campaign was to be dominated by the M16 rifle... Their rapid-fire chatter became like a theme song of the campaign. The whole period was an extended nightmare from which, it seemed, we would never awaken."

The election featured Manley and his incumbent, left-leaning People s National Party (PNP) squaring off against the rightwing Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) led by Edward Seaga. For years both parties had been linked to the gangs and armed thugs fighting turf battles in Kingston s yards. During election years, each party s gangs could be counted on to deliver votes and politicians rewarded gang leaders with jobs and favors. Seaga once responded to hecklers at a political rally by saying, "If they think they are bad, I can bring the crowds of West Kingston. It will be fire for fire, and blood for blood."

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Leading up to the 1980 elections, the well-armed gangs brought those words to life. In April, five people were killed at a JLP function in central Kingston, in what became known as the Gold Street Massacre. Later in the year, five PNP supporters were murdered in a shack near the railway line out of Kingston. Days after that, five more were machine gunned to death at a PNP youth group clubhouse. The papers stopped giving labels to these tragedies, they happened so often.

As the October 30 election drew closer the violence intensified. Gunmen killed seven people on National Heroes Day in Kingston. Two children were killed in Top Hill, St. Elizabeth during a clash between PNP and JLP factions. On October 13, Roy McGann, the PNP s Junior Minister of National Security, and his bodyguard were shot to death in Gordon Town.

In addition to violence, Jamaica s economy was in terrible shape. The recession and oil crisis of the late 1970 s hit Jamaica especially hard. Prices had tripled while wages fell. First World leaders, concerned over Manley s relationship with Cuba and other leftist governments, withdrew foreign aid and investments. Strapped for cash and facing enormous debt, the government agreed to accept emergency loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which then imposed severe restrictions, causing more layoffs and shortages. In January of 1980, Manley announced that 11,000 public sector jobs would have to be cut and within days 300 workers went on strike, leaving 70% of the country without electricity.

Many people felt that the PNP government was incapable of managing the economy or maintaining order. Manley believed that the CIA had helped to create much of the instability, in an effort to bring the pro-American JLP into power. Regardless, the JLP won in a landslide with 58% of the vote.

Violence still remains a problem in Jamaica, but future elections never saw as much killing as 1980. That year was the height of what Max Romeo and Lee "Scratch" Perry called "tribal war ina Babylon".

Robert Cullen is a freelance writer from Pennsylvania

The views expressed inside this editorial aren t necessarily the views of PeppaPot.com or its employees.


Comments

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clifton ah seh:
I remember walking home from school with road blocks and burning tire ever where.
Posted: Thursday September 14th, 2006

sando2kg ah seh:
I remember not being able to even go to school and my mother could not go to work and kids could not even wear there school uniforms cause it had an opposing colour.
Posted: Friday September 15th, 2006

sher ah seh:
i remember when manley have 2 send 2 cuba for aid like milk(LECHE OR LA CREMA)red peas painted in pink and a whole lot a doctors coming here 2 assist in health centres and so on.also remembering when the cubans started making agricultural schools such as OSSAE MARTY SPN.TWN. PASSLEY GARDENS,PORTLAND.COBLA,MANCHESTER KNOCKALVA,ELIM AGRI. ST.ELIZABETH AND SO ON.
Posted: Thursday September 21st, 2006

goodboy ah seh:
I remember gunshot a bust 24 -7 the amyforce & police couldn,t even go to some place.
Posted: Monday September 25th, 2006

AIDONIA_21 ah seh:
it get worse n worse afta dat
Posted: Sunday October 1st, 2006

jahbless101 ah seh:
all de remembering all you doing aint helping the youts of today cause every day more innocent people a dead still leh we try to learn from the past and stop the war on ourself now 2006
Posted: Tuesday October 3rd, 2006

ray-za ah seh:
http://www.myspace.com/1rayza

I am an upcomming reggae artist...thats currently on a mini- tour in Japan.
Posted: Saturday October 14th, 2006

crosses18 ah seh:
Funny, I´m doing my master´s thesis on this same topic. Hey Jamaicans, lets remember better times..98 world cup was the best year of my life and i hope the up coming cricket tournament will bring back those same patriotic sentiments.
Posted: Monday October 16th, 2006

nadiaavril ah seh:
i dont know much bout jamaica but im learning i love jamaica, the culture, the music, the dancing, the people,the heritage...i was there in september..and it was great
Posted: Monday November 20th, 2006

STEPHON ah seh:
this is how i see it,the police and the JDF must go in all (GHETTO) make a rade and search every month once aman is found with a gun he should get 30 years in jail, for murder he should be put to death , pass a law that all fence in all jamaica must not be more than 5ft tall so gun men after doing there act have nowere to run or hide , sen all dutty police and all dutty member a parliment to jail , put dem in a ---- man cell to , and to all ppl in the ghetto , be wise if you dont stop killing off each other and show some love and let buisness ppl come in and up lift you so called garrison you all will stay on that level all of your lifes, gun only make you feel safe, but god gives you life use it in a wise way , and to you assholes DJ bunty beenie and di rest of fools , to show how dunb you all are , all of your songs are about guns , and not about love no peace noting for di kids no happy songs, if you all love gun so much , why not go kill each other and stop prompte voilence in jamaica, kids look up to you guys , so show them a better way of life sing happy songs, and to di gun fools aka gun man, all of you must look in a you self , cause when fi unu time come fi get gun shot unu cry like baby , but MR Adams is di one just fi fuc unu up , kill unu like dog, peace i am out.
Posted: Wednesday November 22nd, 2006

baybeexox ah seh:
we should all remember our past and work toward making a better future.
Posted: Tuesday December 12th, 2006

Sunshinebabe ah seh:
Mih a teel yuh seh dem time deh did madd!!!
Posted: Wednesday December 20th, 2006

yardboy007 ah seh:
Jamaica! Jamaica! land that I love. Jah Rastafari! Bob Marley once said One good ting about music. When it hits you, you feel no pain. In the midst of all the blood shed, the music of Jamaica bring us through. DJs, bring more postive music to heal our troubled country. Teach the Youths to love life. jamaica is too beutiful fi wi a distroy it so. One love.
Posted: Sunday December 24th, 2006

madeeks ah seh:
i dont rememba nuttin i was not even born
Posted: Wednesday December 27th, 2006

Chupsy ah seh:
mi nuh knoe nuttin mi just barn wahday wah!
Posted: Wednesday December 27th, 2006

troy0219 ah seh:
I WASNT BORN THEN BUT TODAY WE ARE FACE WITH A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM MORE DEADLIER WE ALL NEED TO PITCH IN TO HELP THE SPILLING OF PRECIOUS BLOOD SO REMEMBER BOB WORD ( 1 BLOOD 1 HEART) LET GET TOGETHER TO MAKE A CHANGE IN OUR COUNTRY JAH BLESS
Posted: Thursday January 25th, 2007

KOLIK ah seh:
MI LEF DEH COM A FORIEGN AN A WORK MI ALSO GONE BACK A SCHOOL FI GET MI 1ST DEGREE THEN LAW SCHOOL FULL TYME WE STAN UP AN STOP TEK DI CRAP AN TEK BAK WE COUNTRY 4rm POLITRICTIONS WAIT TILL MI COME BAK DUNG DEH
Posted: Saturday January 27th, 2007

goddah ah seh:
mi di inna sperms mom and dad jus ah f---
Posted: Sunday February 11th, 2007

faddad ah seh:
I agree with stephon big up to you for that,them asshole artist need to cut out the bull s--- if people stop pay attention to the s--- they be sayin i bet they would start makin good songs again
Posted: Saturday February 17th, 2007

sargon ah seh:
myspace.com/crown_me_king

mi nuh remember deh one yah. i was only three. Mi hear bout it though.
Posted: Monday February 26th, 2007

nicole02 ah seh:
mi no know nuttin but di killing a get worse inna jamaica now a days. mi fraid fi go school a day time mi even fraid fi go inna mi front yard. Sometimes mi tink seh a di songs weh some a di artist sing mek di getto youths a gawn soo.
Posted: Wednesday June 20th, 2007

Wuk[pon]dem ah seh:
but we rich now..so dey cant tell man nuttin...[rah..rah...!]---dis our survival story--ghetto story
Posted: Friday August 17th, 2007

pelpa yute ah seh:
mi neva born but mi uncle and mi big bredda tel mi seh spngliaz (pnp)tek it to dem!!!!
Posted: Wednesday February 20th, 2008


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