“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
– Edmund Burke
As recent as 20 years ago, it was the custom for many persons to rush through their Sunday morning chores to be on time for the start of whatever cricket matches were being played at venues such as the Allan Rae Oval (Westmoreland), Elgin Town Sports Ground (Hanover), Barnett Oval (St James) and the Bounty Hall Sports Complex (Trelawny).
For the lovers of multiple sports, it was usually cricket for them until mid-afternoon, and then they would be faced with the dilemma of either staying for the entire day or breaking prematurely in the mid-afternoon to watch a National Premier League football match, or whatever other football competition would be on at venues such as the Frome Sports Ground (Westmoreland), Watson Taylor Park (Hanover), Jarrett Park (St James) and the Elliston Wakeland Youth Centre (Trelawny).
Back in those days, it was not only about watching an entertaining game of cricket or football but it was also about socialising, meeting new people, and establishing lifelong friendships. Scores of established families in western Jamaica had their genesis at sporting venues, where the constant intermingling between men and women gradually blossomed into friendship, love and, in some cases, matrimony.
I met my oldest daughter’s mother at the Frome Sports Ground where, in my then capacity as a sportswriter for The Western Mirror, I had gone to cover a football game involving Reno FC, the team she supported. Today, my daughter Diana is 25 years old, and every time she smiles, I can’t help but remember those Sundays when her mother’s warm smiles from the spectator stand laid the foundation for the union that produced her.
Another admirable feature from those Sunday sporting excursions was the paternal bond evident, as many fathers took great pride in taking their boys to watch football and cricket matches. Then, one would rarely hear an expletive coming from the spectator stands because, at the first sign of inappropriate behaviour, one would usually hear someone sternly saying, “Hey, boss man, unnu nuh se de pickney dem”.
In those days, fracas between communities were a rarity, and in the few instances where they were skirmishes, they were usually short-lived. Everyone knew that come the weekend, residents from all the various communities would be converging at the same sporting venue, possibly supporting the same team, so they basically had an incentive to act with civility, which was a key factor in de-escalating tension.
Two years ago, Everton Tomlinson, president of the Westmoreland FA, called The Gleaner almost in tears, lamenting the fact that one of the parish’s promising young footballers had been murdered in one of the many gang feuds that were rocking the parish at the time. He also went on to bemoan the fact that, unlike in former times, many of the talented young footballers in the parish were walking away from the game to become lottery scammers.
These days, when I happen to pass any of the old venues that were abuzz with activity 20 years ago, all that is there to experience is eerie silence. With no meaningful cricket being played in western Jamaica, and with no teams from the region participating in the nation’s top football league, the Red Stripe Premier League, youngsters are distracted and misdirected, often becoming victim to the proverbial devil who finds work for idle hands.
With crime and violence now the pastime of so many youngsters in the west, I have noticed that stakeholders, including political leaders, have turned to the security forces to implement measures such as the zone of special operations in Mt Salem, Operation Restore Paradise (ORP) in downtown Montego Bay, and the tri-parish state of public emergency (SOE) in St James, Westmoreland, and Hanover, in search of a solution. Interestingly, sport, which was such a viable mechanism to keep communities engaged and violence-free, is no longer substantially in the mix.
Based on the positive impact sport has had on many of the communities that are now steeped in crime and violence, I believe those who are guilty of allowing the region’s sporting structures to deteriorate are guilty of creating the current environment, which has allowed antisocial activities to flourish and triggered the almost 150 murders across Trelawny, Westmoreland, Hanover, and St James since the start of the year.
I wish those with the capacity to reverse the situation would wise up and pay attention to the words of Edmund Burke, who was clearly on solid ground when he was quoted as saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
If we really want to have safe communities, we must begin to rebuild the structures that will allow sports to flourish once again.
Adrian Frater is a senior sports journalist and news editor based in western Jamaica.
