Lingering fear

Two years after a deadly early-morning attack at 44 Walkers Avenue left two people dead and 38 others homeless, the Government has broken ground on a $105-million housing project to resettle the victims.

The August 12, 2023 incident saw armed men firebomb several homes, killing two residents and gutting the community. Among the dead was 72-year-old community matriarch Sweeny Gocul, who succumbed to burn injuries in hospital a week later.

During a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness announced that four two-bedroom and six three-bedroom units will be built on the site within six months for the 10 affected families.

“We feel comfortable, we joyful, we thank the prime minister and MP [Alando] Terrelonge. We thank everyone because we are really getting a roof over our heads, we don’t have to pay rent and we don’t have to sleep outside. Now we can feel comfortable and safe in our house,” said Annie Gocul, Sweeny Gocul’s daughter. She noted that some of the affected residents are currently living in temporary housing in the community while others have been sharing space with relatives.

Terrelonge is the member of parliament for St Catherine East Central.

However, despite the relative calm over the past year, Gocul admitted that fear still lingers.

“We still under fear same way because we don’t know what can happen, because the violence will slow down and after a while it build up again, so we have to sleep and wake and listen. So these things still in our heads,” she said.

Holness said that the Government’s social housing programme requires clear land ownership before construction can proceed.

“In this case, the person who is thought to own the land died shortly after the attack, and the knowledge of the ownership of the land passed with her,” the prime minister said.

He noted that the National Land Agency (NLA) had to take legal action to have the property declared a project site, which allowed for an ownership structure to be established to facilitate the building of the units, which added to the delay.

This revelation distressed Gocul, who insisted her family holds legitimate claim to the property.

“We a pay we tax. It’s really my name it pay in. Further to that, my father did dead and leave the property to my mother, so now that she died, it have to pass on to one of us,” she argued.

Gocul claimed that all the beneficiaries of the housing project were leasing spots from her family when the attack occurred, and she was not aware that the land was being administered by any authority.

“The property was a source of income for my family,” she stressed, vowing to seek clarification on the matter.

After the firebombing, two men were charged with two counts of murder, 10 counts of arson, possession of prohibited weapons, unauthorised possession of ammunition and being part of a criminal gang.

During the incident, 28-year-old taxi driver Raneel Haughton, otherwise called ‘Rum Punch’, was shot and killed by the men.

The prime minister’s visit to Gregory Park shortly after the attack, alongside then Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson, included a commitment to help rebuild the devastated community.

With construction now under way, residents are hoping for a fresh start – even as memories of that August morning remain vivid.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com