Kingston safer than London now - says UK J'cans

A number of Jamaicans living in London have said that Kingston, which was once dubbed the murder capital of the world by foreign media, is safer than England's capital now, in light of the spate of terror attacks on the United Kingdom since the beginning of the year.

"Up to yesterday (Monday) mi hear the man dem a say that Kingston safer right now," Donavan Taylor, who has been a resident of the UK for over 10 years, told THE STAR. "Base pon what is going on now, the people dem really scared 'cause you don't know where dem going to strike from next."

Kimona Wilson, a native of Mandeville, Manchester, said that hours before terrorists mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge last Saturday, she had used the London Bridge Train Station a couple of metres away from the famous landmark.

'i was scared'

"I had a function at the O2 (arena) that day so when I was supposed to go home, I was really scared because I planned on going back on the train and I didn't know that the police had killed the men," Wilson recalled. "The tube (train station) was closed so I had to take a Uber (taxi) home. But it really coming close to us because you know a lot of Jamaicans live in south London and use London Bridge on a daily basis."

Eight persons died in the bridge attack, including a Canadian national.

A public relations representative at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Danille Gordon, told THE STAR that Jamaicans living in London and other parts of the United Kingdom should register with the nearest Jamaican mission.

"We also want to use the opportunity to remind Jamaicans who visit or who live in the diaspora to register with the nearest Jamaican mission, so that we can more readily assist in the event of an emergency," Gordon said.