Jermaine Barnaby - One of the many dislocated men sits on his belongings after a shack in which he and others lived, was destroyed by the police.
The banks of the Shoemaker Gully in New Kingston were filled with chaos yesterday, as men carrying tools such as crowbars and hammers dismantled several structures that made up an informal settlement that was being occupied by over 30 homeless men, some of whom are crossdressers.
Deputy Superintendent Christopher Murdock, head of the New Kingston Police Post stated that the operation was being conducted due to the fact that these men have been creating havoc by carrying out several robberies within the area.
"We have received a lot of reports from people going about their business along Trafalgar Road or Knutsford Boulevard at nights," he said.
"These civilians are generally attacked by a group of 10 to 20 persons and are robbed, most of these men are persons that live in the Shoemaker Gully while others come here at night and carry out their devious acts."
removed his clothes
Nine wanted men had already been arrested when THE WEEKEND STAR reached the scene at 3:15 p.m. yesterday. There was also one more wanted man who had removed his clothes and was hiding in a hole in the gully.
DSP Murdock said the operation began at 11:15 a.m. and was carried out by the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, National Works Agency and the National Solid Waste Management Agency.
Rachel 'Trendsetter' Baines, one of the homeless men who refused to give his real name, stated that not all of them were criminals and that they should not suffer for the actions of others. Baines, 28, has been living in the gully for several months.
"I don't steal. However, I cannot do any thing about it. If I say something to them or report it to the police, then whenever I am sleeping they will gas me and light me, so I choose to keep my life than to make someone go on their merry way with a cell phone," he said.
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