Bennett Land is a community that is very similar to Majestic Gardens, which we showed photos of in a previous article. They are both located in the constituency of the former Prime Minister and current leader of the opposition People’s National Party, Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller.

In 2006 I made an impromptu visit to the community along with my assistant. It was a very shocking and horrific experience as I did not yet fully understand the extent of the poverty that some Jamaicans lived in. I met a woman who became our tour guide–residents, the majority of whom were women, claimed  that she was mentally ill.

This “mentally ill” woman had no fear in showing us exactly what life was like for her–Hunger, Nakedness, and Shame. We were told that she had about 8 CXC subjects and that she was studying Nursing when she became ill, and since then it has been a downhill road. Our tour guide affirmed this story, while taking us via car throughout the community in the middle of a gun battle in September 2006, while the local NGOs S-Corner Community Development Centre and Clinic were closed. Though the environment was cold, and the streets were creeping with official and unofficial armed men, we were given the opportunity of seeing first hand what life was like for an inner-city resident while their community was in war.

Though our tour guide was the only one bearing the label of ‘insanity’, her living standard reflected accurately the extremity of poverty that was visible in all the yards that we visited. The story was, as I said before, similar to Majestic Gardens–public toilets in dilapidated conditions, houses constructed of used metal and pieces of board, lack of potable water, unemployment, inability to send children to school, and crime and violence.

Visit our Jamaican Videos page for a closer look at life and crime in Bennett Land.