Western Bureau

Had it not been for the heart-breaking ugliness which unfolded on the ScotiaBank piazza in downtown Montego Bay on Tuesday morning, snuffing out the life of Bernadette 'Lorraine' Mair, the city's first female football star, this week would have been perfect from a sporting perspective.

Unfortunately, at a time the city should be celebrating the unprecedented success of St James High School in schoolboy football, residents are now struggling to come to grips with the brutal murder of Mair, who was shot and killed by a gunman at the ScotiaBank location, where she had been selling newspapers for a number of years.

Mair's death, which was described by Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president, Captain Horace Burrell, as "a dark day in the life of the local sporting fraternity", has once again highlighted the criminal mayhem which has stripped Montego Bay of the friendly city status it once had.

warm and friendly

To say Mair, who represented Jamaica for a decade, was held in high esteem in Montego Bay would be an understatement. She was absolutely admired, both for her warm and friendly disposition as well as her trend-setting ways, being the first Jamaican woman to play semi-professional football overseas.

While I consider the life of every decent law-abiding citizen as being equally important, Mair's death is really tough to accept because she was one of just a few female role models here in western Jamaica. In addition, she was one of those special breed of human beings who always seemed to be striving for excellence.

As my friend Craig Oates, the vice-chairman of the JFF's Western Confederation, said on hearing the news of Mair's unfortunate death, "This is madness ... this is just not anybody ... this is Lorraine ... a woman who has been an inspiration to all aspiring female footballers."

With 212 murders since the start of the year, St James is clearly in deep trouble and, unlike former times when sports, especially football, was seen as a great unifying force, the parish is now in the football wilderness as, for the first time in its history, St James is without representation in the Digicel Premier League.

Based on my knowledge of inner-city life in both Kingston and St James, when it comes to countering violence, sports stands unchallenged as the only social intervention tool that has ever worked. If our city fathers and members of parliament are serious about reining in the lawlessness that is now plaguing St James, they must become a part of the process to rebuild sports in the parish.

inspirational power

One just needs to look at the positive impact St James High School's Ben Francis KO and daCosta Cup success has had in terms of reigniting interest in the parish's football, to realise that sports has not lost either its uniting or inspirational power. It is just for the authorities to plan proper programmes to facilitate more youngsters.

As we head to Jarrett Park this afternoon for the second leg of the 2008 Olivier Shield final between St James High and St George's College, I hope that, in cheering the Montego Bay team to what we hope will be a historic triple crown success, we pause to reflect on the joy people like Mair provided in former times.

Let us hope that the murder of Mair will be the catalyst that jolts us into the realisation that, as a society, we are steadfastly descending into ruin because unlike our sporting heroes, we have far too many of our youngsters channelling their energies into negative endeavours, sometimes destroying the good ones like Lorraine.

NB: Feel free to send your feedback to adrianfrater@hotmail.com