Late last year, when YOU was experiencing funding difficulties, we received a letter out of the blue from a gentleman named Earl Witter, who is Jamaica’s Public Defender. The letter was in response to an article that ran in the Jamaica Gleaner that discussed YOU’s lack of funds and potential closure as a result. Mr. Witter offered to meet with Mrs. Scott, YOU’s Executive Director, to see what he could do to help. So we set up a meeting, arrived a little early and waited for Mr. Witter. We thought he was not going to show up, but he did eventually, in an impeccably tailored suit and carrying a stack of files. His office, which is in an old building on the downtown waterfront, is sparsely decorated and the walls are filled with legal reference books and his degrees. As we waited, people who were clearly experiencing challenges in life passed through the cramped waiting room.

During the meeting, Mr. Witter was (and still is I’m sure) charming. He expressed disbelief and some outrage that government had allowed YOU to get to this point (we were awaiting word on a new round of funding from a government program). He talked about his appreciation for the work we were doing and promised to help. Then he did. He got on the phone to the Office of the Children’s Advocate and set up a meeting for us immediately. We rushed across the street to the office, where another official promised to help us. Both gentlemen did advocate for YOU. They wrote letters on our behalf to the appropriate departments. They were passionate and supportive.

This memory returned to me yesterday and the conversation we had with this old-school gentleman ran through my mind. In addition to YOU’s difficulities, somehow we got to discussing workload and public perception of the Public Defender’s office (it is intended to be an independent, investigative voice of the Jamaican people). Mr. Witter mentioned the Tivoli Gardens report he had been working on. He did not say anything about its imminent release, only that his office is short-staffed and overworked and that is the reason for the delay.

At this point, reasons and excuses are insufficient for much of the Jamaican population. This is especially true for 200 people who marched in protest of the delay in the report by Mr. Witter’s office on what happened in May 2010, when at least 73 civilians were killed by police.

Here’s some background. Back in May 2010, police converged on Tivoli Gardens as part of a raid meant to capture convicted drug dealer Christopher “Dudus” Coke. The Jamaica Defense Force admitted using mortar fire to blast through barriers Dudus’ men had erected. Innocent civilians were killed and injured and property was destroyed. The firefighting went on for several days and while 73 bodies were officially recovered, it is estimated that up to 150 people were killed (including five police officers). Some individuals have yet to return to Tivoli as a result of their houses being damaged by the conflict. Read an excellent, extensive report by New Yorker reporter Matias Schwartz here.

Tivoli was built in the 1960s as part of then-President Edward Seaga’s decidedly utopian dream of building a successful, peaceful planned community from the ground up. Gradually, the garrison community’s governance was infiltrated by drug “don,” who earned the support of residents by taking care of them with security, even health care and sustenance. The price, however, was perpetual conflict with police, which culminated in the terrible 2010 battle.

Government promised a report on how dozens of innocent people were killed extra-judicially, but as I’ve stated, there is still no word on when it is forthcoming. In addition to the 150 dead or missing, 1,000 complaints about human rights abuses were filed. Amnesty International has condemned the delay of the report and residents continue to raise awareness and demand answers. As a result of the protest yesterday, several women were allowed to enter Jamaica House, where Prime Minister Portia Simpson works. They held a meeting at which they delivered a 2,000 signature-strong petition to the PM and promised to keep up their fight. They demanded a response from the PM within 30 days.

Having met Mr. Witter and seen the human being behind the controversy, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I still do. But it is almost three years with little to no indication of when the report, and ultimately the path to justice, is forthcoming. This is unacceptable. If the Public Defender’s Office is so understaffed, why has government not allocated more money to hire investigators? If a report is underway, why not provide an interim report? If resources are too scarce, why not find a way to bring in the international community that does not violate the country’s autonomy and sovereignty? So many questions, no answers. The silence serves to perpetuate the tension between residents and security forces, for which there is little trust due to an unacceptably high level of extra-judicial killings.

I leave you with the conclusion from a Jamaica Gleaner article:

Annette Marshall of Wilton Hill Drive in Tivoli said the residents grew tired of waiting for the Government and public defender to help them.

“So we decide to form a group to get justice for ourselves,” she said. “Knowing Portia Simpson Miller, I think she will listen when we talk ’cause we need di help.”

When asked if she thought the petition would succeed, she said: “Anything wi a go try. Nutten tried, nutten done. Wi nah stop!”

Her neighbour, Adina Darby, shows her scar where she says she was shot by a policeman.

“I don’t get nutten – not even a dollar,” she said, accusing the security forces of theft. “Dem all tek out every paper money inna mi house.”

Pat of Keith Avenue in Tivoli said it was not about politics, but justice. “We leave everything to God,” she said. “He will give us our justice and our rights.”