Jamaica Gleaner: Shoppers' fear - Fear of violence puts a dent in back-to-school activities downtown

Shoppers' fear - Fear of violence puts a dent in back-to-school activities downtown

Published: Saturday | September 5, 2009

Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer
A vendor selling back-to-school items on Orange Street takes a break on a slow day in downtown Kingston yesterday.

Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter

With less than 48 hours to go before the start of the new school year, many vendors and merchants in downtown Kingston are reporting a frightening drop in sales.

However, the occasional store or vendor told The Gleaner they were surviving, despite the trying economic situation.

"Nutt'n nah gwaan. Nobody nah buy," Tina, a vendor, said.

"Sales very slow this year. It is well below last year," Tina added, as she stood outside her stall on the busy Orange Street.

Still making a living

But metres away, in the not-as-busy Oxford Mall, one vendor argued that while sales were slower than last year, she was still able to make a living.

"It slow yes, but as long as you have what the people them want, you can survive," the vendor said.

The contrasting stories were repeated all across downtown Kingston as The Gleaner team toured the market district yesterday.

While in a building overlooking much of the shopping area, it was clear that the number of people shopping was far less than what was visible in the final hours before back-to-school last year.

Begged purchases

On the streets, business operators and vendors begged The Gleaner team to purchase school bags, socks, belts, hair clips and many other back-to-school items.

"It slow, slow bad. All now me nuh sell nutt'n to buy the school books and pay the fee for one of my children dem," a stocky woman said, as she asked the team not to include her name in the story.

However, at Joseph's, King Street, management was counting its blessings.

"It is not bad. We were hoping that it could be better, but we accept that it could be worse," Elie Besat, the general manager, told The Gleaner.

"Remember last year we had the hurricane Gustav), but we at Joseph's are different as we stock school uniforms and people have to come to get it," Besat added.

Off the beaten tracks and in the lanes which make up a big part of downtown Kingston, persons pointed to fears surrounding the United States' (US) request for the extradition of reputed west Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke as one of the reasons the usual shoppers were staying away.

"Remember seh is on a Saturday morning that the ting did go on with the police and Tivoli man dem, and many people dead," one man commented, as he pointed to the July 2001 incident which left 25 people dead.

But even as he spoke, his neighbour argued that the media were missing a major element that was causing fear in the hearts of regular visitors to the market district.

"While everybody a talk about the US want Dudus, nobody not talking about the war that is going on between Matthew's Lane and Tel Aviv, which mek people afraid to come downtown," one man explained.

That dispute between the two People's National Party-aligned communities has already left one man dead and criminals claiming that they want to kill at least 10 men in revenge.

"People who know afraid to come downtown, and even the sellers know that dem must leave Parade before it dark," added the man, who refused to give his name.