Bucks Common resident demands deed poll
Published:Friday | August 17, 2018 | 12:00 AMSyranno Baines/Gleaner Writer
With 168 murders last year and at least 86 so far this year, the south central Jamaican parish of Clarendon isn't exactly an oasis of peace.
But according to Kevin Gibbs, a long time resident of Bucks Common, May Pen, his community is as safe as it gets in the parish.
"Everybody know say Clarendon hot, but in Bucks Common, if you don't disturb the man up the lane, the man up the lane won't disturb you. That's not the case elsewhere," declared Gibbs during a Gleaner/RISE Life Management On the Corner with Unattached Youths forum in the community last Monday.
He was adamant that the community, which he has called home since 1994 is open and safe to all despite its reputation.
"We have an open road and no sleeping police because nobody from Common nah feud with anybody inside or outside of Common so, you won't find any reprisal or revenge killings taking place," said Gibbs.
"As an example, about two Sundays ago we had a bike show and it start after 4 p.m. and go till late and the amount of people that come over to have fun and them never a watch the clock and a worry about the late hours because Bucks Common have that sense of peace and security," added Gibbs.
Pleasant and Cheerful Area
The self-employed furniture maker insisted that outside of police killings and family disputes which sometimes turn violent, the area is a pleasant and cheerful one where residents look out for one another.
According to Gibbs, the only negative about Bucks Common is its last name which carries with it a stigma that all residents are uneducated and needy wrongdoers.
"I come into this community over 20 years ago when we had no road, no light and 90 per cent of the houses were made of board. That is not the case now. We have proper housing structures and all the other amenities currently so we need, absolutely need the name 'Common' to leave us now. We have police officers living over here," declared Gibbs.
"The name 'Common' is straight problem. Once you say it, the reaction almost automatic, it's a stigma. You get put in a bracket right away and that shouldn't be because we're peaceful people like anybody else who might have an address that isn't 'Common'. The name needs to go. We can call the place Bucksland Avenue or something," he added.