Peace football for Grange Hill

Grange Hill in Westmoreland has been plagued with high levels of crime and social unrest over the past two years.

More recently, the area saw eight murders in less than 24 hours three weeks ago. As a means to bring back normality to the community, Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Wykeham McNeill, along with the Social Development Commission (SDC), and others, have been staging a series of fun day and football competitions to initiate peace between rival communities.

The Grange Hill Bring Back The Love committee consists of the members of the Church, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), justices of the peace, SDC and the MP’s office.

Dr McNeill’s assistant, Pollyanna Brown, told WESTERN STAR Sports that the most recent fun day at Kings Valley on February 24 was a huge success, and the stakeholders are looking forward to the next outing, set for April 7 at Sterling.

BEING MARGINALISED

“We are trying to have the residents visit each other in their communities, using sports as a tool. The one in Kings Valley was the second in the series and was the biggest in the community that has suffered the most from gang violence in Grange Hill. We also wanted people to see what Kings Valley and the people are like, and that’s a beautiful farming community,” she said. “They are really being marginalised unnecessarily because of a few bad apples that are not even from there, by the way.”

Despite reports that people are fearful of moving in and around the community, Brown outlined that community support has not been a problem.

“It has not been tough at all. The level of difficulty is zero to none when we are there, which is what the MP is trying to highlight. We need strong policing so that the few bad apples who are decking the havoc and mayhem are uncomfortable and dislocated,” Brown said. “A team from the JCF also plays in one competition, which gives them an opportunity to increase their community policing by getting to know the community members.”

She also applauded the SDC, who has been in and out of Grange Hill having meetings with the different clubs and communities.

“This is just one of their many different social programmes, but we believe that sports would be one of the most effective tools to break down the barriers between communities without having hard policing. Once they get to know each other, we believe it will help,” she said.