Ja: Why are Jamaicans killing each other?

That's the question this writer asks. Here's an excerpt:

IN A country bedevilled by civil war, Haiti has suffered 60 deaths in just about a month. Today, in a time of peace in Jamaica, we suffer an average of 89-90 deaths per month and our population is only a third of the population of Haiti. Haiti's situation has alarmed the world and brought about a sense of horror. In Jamaica we live with the killings, no problem.

There is a sickness of soul in Jamaica. The problem is called immorality. We want what we can't get or shouldn't have and we have liberalised every law. We pretend. We lie. We hate. We kill ­ anything for money and goods.

Jamaica is an extraordinarily beautiful country made up of extraordinary people. The land is breathtakingly contoured, with unassailable mountains that ride higher and higher into the clouds and skies. Our rivers and streams are everywhere, rushing between green hills all frilled with ferns and flowers. The sky is always alight with the sun or the moon and the stars. Our weather is green and soft with breezes and warm sun.

I sound like a man in love with my island, and so it is. Not only with our natural geography but also with our people: the vivacity, the boldness, the passion, the anger and yet the kind and compassionate nature, the depth of spirit make for a Jamaican people with strong character that leads to excessiveness, if not self-destruction.

It's also a question that T&T has to ask and answer.