The most telling part of the main story in today's WEEKEND STAR is right at the end.
After going through the fears of the current war in 'Jungle' spreading into Denham Town and Tivoli Gardens, communities on the other side of the great political divide, the history of the war and the peace, we come to the very end, which reads:
"Wi have nuff fren and some a wi have family up inna Jungle so dis ting is hurtful to us," said a resident of Denham Town.
The 'war' is not just statistics and good soundbites of gunfire for the evening news. Which community is allied to which party is not simply a matter of who gets 100 per cent of the ballots (or even more) from a particular polling division come election day.
It is a matter of families and friends being ripped apart.
We often ignore that it is people we are talking about when we speak of the war that is happening in certain communities and, subsequently, the peace that sometimes comes. The body count and the pictures of people moving out in fear often eclipse the raw human tragedy of the matter.
And, the 'wars' are portrayed as an entire community against another, which, as is indicated by what the person said at the end of today's main story, is not true. The political lines are drawn through families and friendships, with the peace giving some chance of getting back together.
Just some.
Passa Passa is, in its excitement and hype, a meeting place for those on either side of the 'border line'. Let us hope that Tribal War will be a suitable song there for some time to come.
