I
was not too surprised when I heard the news about the demonstration that was taking
place in Spanish Town. Judging by the reaction of the mob at the hospital I
knew that they were not going to accept what the police said about the shootout. There were too
many stories of persons dying while they were in the custody of the police. Too many stories of young men 'pulling a knife' at policemen and then being shot. It
was strange though, that Rajah
died in a shootout with the police when they
had handcuffed him before they placed him in the police car. Maud expressed the
same sentiments. We prayed that the persons who had come out to see what was going
on did not recognize Rajah when he was leaving the yard and being placed in the police car. We also prayed
that Reverend Julian would keep his mouth shut and not tell anyone, especially Rajah's mother, what I had
told him about Rajah. Maud said that she would sleep on the couch in the living room. When I
asked her why and what about Cassie and the children? She said that they were
fine and well secured where they were. I suspected that she was afraid
that the rest of the TreTre gang members might show up and she didn’t want to be with Cassie
and the children if they did. I told her that based on what Ricky told me, and
what I had overheard at the hospital, the rest of the gang had escaped and were
probably in other parishes by now. Maybe as far as St. James, I said. Maud was not budging, she said she would be
staying with me and that was the end of the matter.
We could hear the sound of sporadic
gunfire in the distance. There was a lot of running up and down on the street and when we looked through
the window it was our neighbours! For the life of me I could never understand
why Jamaicans ran towards danger instead of away from it! Maud decided, against
my wishes, to go outside to see what was the reason for so many persons on the
street. When she returned she told me that they were blocking the street with old
refrigerators and old cars. “What!” I exclaimed. She said that both ends of the
street were blocked with all manner of debris and the people were saying that they were blocking the street because they did not want anybody, persons from the surrounding areas, using our street as a shortcut to the Police
Station. I laughed, I thought I was the only one who did not like migrants! We
went to bed because there was nothing we could do about it.
When I woke up in the
morning, I telephoned Ricky and told him what was happening. I also told him
that my street was blocked to vehicular traffic so he was not to come for me.
Ricky laughed and said that even if he had wanted to he could not leave his house
because his street was also blocked and while we were speaking people were
setting car tires alight on the main road leading to my street. I told him to
keep me up-to-date and hung up. I then called the Matron at the Hospital to let
her know what was happening and why I was unable to come to work. She said she
understood and I must stay safe. She also said that there were rumors that
persons were planning to come and demonstrate at the hospital gate because they
had heard that Rajah Williams was still alive when he was taken to the hospital and
that the Doctors there must have given him a ‘bad injection’ to end his life. While we
were speaking I heard a sound like that of glass breaking. The Matron, sounding
a bit frightened, said someone had just thrown a stone through her office
window so she has to end the conversation to go and check with the security at the hospital. I told her to stay safe too and hung
up. I went to wake up Maud and told her what the Matron and Ricky said. I felt
bad because I had just returned to work and now I had to stay home because of these
unruly people! Maud said she was going to check on Cassie and the children. She came running back to the house in less than a minute.
“They are gone!” she
screamed. “They are not on the premises!”
“What do you mean they are not on the premises?” I asked. “Didn’t you
lock the gate last night?” We both looked at the gate and the padlocks were still on it! I could see
a piece of paper sticking out from the letterbox that was attached to the gate. I went and took it out. A note was
scrawled on it, which read, “I am sorry to have caused you so much trouble Miss
Cecelia. Me and the children are gone because we do not want the rest of the
TreTre gang to come looking for us here. Thanks again to you and Miss Maud for your
help. Sorry for damaging the plants around the corner by the wall. The keys for the padlocks are in the letterbox. Cassie”. I handed the note to Maud and went to
look around the corner. The sight of my prized crotons uprooted and on the ground made me furious! The ladder was in the spot
where my crotons were planted. Based on the scuff marks on the wall it was obvious that the
migrants had tried to leave by going over the wall but because the top of the wall was so high and far from the top of the ladder, they had to find another route of escape. I looked at Maud who just shook her head in disbelief. She went and
got the key for the letterbox, retrieved the gate key from it and closed the letterbox. I said nothing as I
went back inside the house. The migrants were gone! Yippee!
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