The Editor, Sir:
On reading the article titled Bloodiest year ever: 1,680 murders in 2009, in Saturday's Gleaner, I decided to do a little research to find out how that death toll compared with the combined coalition deaths in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan during 2009.
The website iCasualties.org reports the following statistics for Iraq and Afghanistan coalition military fatalities, by year, for 2009:
| US | UK | OTHER | TOTAL | |
| IRAQ | 149 | 1 | 0 | 150 |
| AFGHANISTAN | 317 | 108 | 95 | 520 |
| TOTALS | 466 | 109 | 95 | 670 |
Thus, the total number of deaths due to murder in Jamaica in 2009, at 1,680, was more than twice the combined total of deaths suffered by the coalition forces fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It would appear that something is wrong in Jamaica. Hopefully, these sobering statistics will raise awareness of the extent of the tragedy in our homeland, and of the need to find solutions.
I am, etc.,
A. G. GUMBS
Illinois
USA