03-07-2015, 09:59 AM
"Rastagirl keeps minimizing it"
I do not believe I am minimizing "it". What I am trying to put into perspective is the hysteria arising from "it".
Ladies and Gentlemen - crime is nothing new in Negril. As I've stated a hundred times before the biggest change is the amount of GUN VIOLENCE that we've all been hearing about.
How can I "minimize" the fact that my friend and neighbor was assassinated 100 yards from my gate this past summer.
I am very well aware of crimes of opportunity - and the fact that the recent gun violence was 100% NOT RELATED to tourists - unfortunately it was a combination of gang violence, retribution, witness tampering and robberies. Local upon local.
Now - since the shooting on Lime Tree lane the boards have exploded with stories about those crimes of opportunity - and I have heard of many more that were not "reported" on Facebook or other boards. These happen all over the place - beach, west end...at night, during the day...crimes of opportunity have always been a part of a tourists life especially in a tourist town like Negril. The only things that can be done is (a) pressure for more police presence and (b) do your own due diligence to make sure you are not a victim.
You know what's changed in 5 years? (Aside from the proliferation of gun violence, I will give you that) - nothing aside from the internet. These crimes - both violent and opportunistic - are being reported on Facebook etc. and getting more attention - making us believe that things are worse than they were before there even WAS a Facebook. In my view - and this is only my view - things started to change rapidly in Negril 15 years ago when the road from MoBay was finished and the town became more accessible not only to tourists (huge rise of tourism once that road was finished....) but to creeps and criminals from all over the island.
I've lost 2 friends to violent crime in Jamaica. Many other friends have been robbed, held at gunpoint, assaulted in varying degrees in the past 2 decades. I am not "minimizing" anything...its up to you whether you feel you can stay safe. I'm just trying to put a little perspective out there. To me, the sky is not falling. I might need to "up" my game, or at least fine tune it as I do every so often when I hear about or read about escalation or something hits close to home. And I'll be back next winter.
As far as defending Negril and Jamaica as a whole - that's not up to me. That on the JTB, the Negril Resort Board and the Negril Chamber of Commerce. Letter writing does have an impact. That's what we can do as visitors from foreign instead of wringing our hands.
I do not believe I am minimizing "it". What I am trying to put into perspective is the hysteria arising from "it".
Ladies and Gentlemen - crime is nothing new in Negril. As I've stated a hundred times before the biggest change is the amount of GUN VIOLENCE that we've all been hearing about.
How can I "minimize" the fact that my friend and neighbor was assassinated 100 yards from my gate this past summer.
I am very well aware of crimes of opportunity - and the fact that the recent gun violence was 100% NOT RELATED to tourists - unfortunately it was a combination of gang violence, retribution, witness tampering and robberies. Local upon local.
Now - since the shooting on Lime Tree lane the boards have exploded with stories about those crimes of opportunity - and I have heard of many more that were not "reported" on Facebook or other boards. These happen all over the place - beach, west end...at night, during the day...crimes of opportunity have always been a part of a tourists life especially in a tourist town like Negril. The only things that can be done is (a) pressure for more police presence and (b) do your own due diligence to make sure you are not a victim.
You know what's changed in 5 years? (Aside from the proliferation of gun violence, I will give you that) - nothing aside from the internet. These crimes - both violent and opportunistic - are being reported on Facebook etc. and getting more attention - making us believe that things are worse than they were before there even WAS a Facebook. In my view - and this is only my view - things started to change rapidly in Negril 15 years ago when the road from MoBay was finished and the town became more accessible not only to tourists (huge rise of tourism once that road was finished....) but to creeps and criminals from all over the island.
I've lost 2 friends to violent crime in Jamaica. Many other friends have been robbed, held at gunpoint, assaulted in varying degrees in the past 2 decades. I am not "minimizing" anything...its up to you whether you feel you can stay safe. I'm just trying to put a little perspective out there. To me, the sky is not falling. I might need to "up" my game, or at least fine tune it as I do every so often when I hear about or read about escalation or something hits close to home. And I'll be back next winter.
As far as defending Negril and Jamaica as a whole - that's not up to me. That on the JTB, the Negril Resort Board and the Negril Chamber of Commerce. Letter writing does have an impact. That's what we can do as visitors from foreign instead of wringing our hands.
"Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right..."
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