Babylon By Bus Groundins

With Charles HE Campbell Sunday, April 15, 2007

In our Jamaican lingua, the word 'Babylon' has two meanings depending on the context in which it is used. In the case of Bob Marley's famous live album, Babylon By Bus, it refers to the dominant Eurocentric nations (including the US) and their socio-political systems. The local police are seen as the main agents perpetuating such a system and in the streets they are referred to collectively and singly as 'Babylon'.

On Thursday, March 29, Bembe, the weekly dance, was invaded by busloads of 'Babylon', or so it seemed. The dance was going along fine. Everyone was in high spirits - spliffs lit and the scantily-clad ladies were doing their thing, on and off the stage - literally. They were even dancing on the stage props and trusses.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, (or was it our worst nightmare?) and without provocation, numerous police personnel, armed to the teeth with high-powered weapons and dressed in bullet-proof regalia ("uniforms of brutality" - Bob Marley from Burnin' And Looting), entered the premises. Immediately an officer grabbed one patron, presumably with the intention only to detain and/or search but consequently sent those close-by into a stampeding panic. Even Sister Pat, who was standing more than 50 feet away, was unintentionally dragged to the ground by another lady who obviously experienced fright at what was occurring at the other end of the venue. Luckily, the experienced selector quickly and masterfully calmed down the crowd, thus preventing potentially more chaos and serious injury.

The police had arrived at 1:30 am and until the dance wrapped up at 2:15, the selectors repeatedly told the crowd that the police wanted motorists who were illegally parked on the road and sidewalks to move their vehicles.

Incredibly on leaving, the scene felt surreal, like the aftermath of a violent riot or battle zone, as we had to pass through a gauntlet of police, mostly dressed in blue denim battle fatigues. Furthermore, there were over 75 officers and 14 police vehicles including two buses parked haphazardly, even in the middle of the road, restricting the free flow of traffic. If it was intended to be a display of overwhelming force, then the tactic succeeded. In my view, it was overkill.

Certainly to most people there, it seemed totally irrational, but characteristic, given the crowd control methods employed by our police force since its formation and throughout its history. Sometimes, one still gets the feeling that since the Paul Bogle revolt of 1865, and their reactionary formation to quell the struggles of the dispossessed, there has been an unofficial ongoing war between citizens of the lower strata and the police. In the 1970s, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, aka Pipe Cock Jackson, penned the lyrics while Junior Murvin sang the refrain, "police and thieves in streets fighting the nation with their guns and ammunition". In the end, everyone left the dance in a hostile and angry mood.

Now, why I have taken so much interest in Bembe is because Weekenz on Constant Spring Road, since its inception, has traditionally been regarded as an uptown venue with an entertainment programme geared towards the middle-class youth.

They have experimented with promoting young upcoming musicians and artistes, poetry and retro parties. Bembe however, is a different cup of tea and right now, it is the hottest event for the average youth on their weekly entertainment calendar. In our contrasting local sociological landscape of uptown-downtown, many times we disregard or overlook the pockets of poverty in the heart of uptown and therefore their social space is even more severely restricted.

Politically tribal allegiances compound these conditions, hence under normal circumstances, Grants Pen youth and Cassava Piece youth "doan mix an' mingle". Miraculously however, Bembe patrons, in the main, come from these two traditionally hostile areas with a sprinkling of patrons from other parts of the city. Bembe therefore, has been able to authentically replicate the true downtown cultural art form in an uptown setting and supposedly in a safe environment - until the police actions of March 29 that is.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for law and order (the TV series too) and over the years the police force has played a constructive and critical role in the management of public events. In this vein, one of the first things that impressed me about Bembe was the fact that they abided relatively strictly to the 2:00 am lock-off stipulation. Secondly, while their front of house gate system is basically rudimentary, it flows surprisingly smoothly, as people unexpectedly line up in an orderly fashion.

Thirdly, I have been body-searched every time I have attended by someone in a police flak jacket. This factor is very important to me, given conditions in Jamaica today. Finally though, the promoters do manage their stage quite well and it stays clean until the dancers come up, on cue, to thrill us with their moves and sexy bodies. On the whole, I would say it is a fairly well-managed event.

The police actions I have described above disturbs me therefore, because while I keep hearing the Commissioner describe a strategy of intelligence-driven actions and the need for cooperation of the citizens, these actions on the ground will not engender those laudable objectives.

For instance, MC Nuffy, who in the past I have had to criticise for his histrionics at Sting 2004, got a hold of the mic to giveaway gifts on behalf of Mrs D'Angel Davis (wife of Beenie Man), who was promoting her birthday dance, and began to agitate against the cops saying "den a so much a dem haffi come fi lock up big artiste like Ghost".

Now I don't know if there is any truth to those allegations, but my point is, even if that were so, surely that was the wrong way of executing an arrest. As Jacob Miller sang many years ago, "Please Mr Officer, cool down yuh temper. be careful what you do because the people are watching you". Mr Commish, might I suggest a name change of the Jamaica Constabulary from Force to Service, so as to begin the reorientation that you speak so eloquently of.

On a different topic, I have been attending some poetry sessions recently, and wish to make the following comments and suggestions to our young poets. Firstly, I have found the quality of your lyrics in general to be excellent. From a performance standpoint however, the level of organisation of all the functions I have attended so far are below par in comparison to the rest of the industry. Moreover, many of you poets need to review and in some instances upgrade your style, the quality of your self-projection and especially stage presentation.

Finally, I have become a little weary of the repetitious references to Rastafari after every line or sentence. I humbly suggest that there is no need to further legitimise or demonstrate so forcibly to your audience the authenticity of your religion and your adherence to its tenets. Some might even think it displays a subconscious insecurity in the sheer impact of your poetic offerings. Rastafari.