Jamaican Violence Project
50 images Created 17 Apr 2009
While the problem of Mexico's murderous drug cartel violence grabs more headlines, an ongoing crisis of more than twice the proportion takes place nearly unreported in another U.S. neighbor, Jamaica.
With just over 1600 murders in 2008, Jamaica is struggling with one of the highest per capita murder rate in the world (more than twice as high as Mexico). While the majority of killings in Jamaica can be traced to armed Jamaican gangs, the real roots of the problem are more complicated, including social conditions in poor urban areas of of Jamaica, lack of economic opportunities, a troubled educational system and an abundance of illegal firearms.
Since 2008 I have been trying to photograph not only the violent situation in Jamaica, but more importantly, some of the root causes behind it. These photographs are just a small part of that work.
With just over 1600 murders in 2008, Jamaica is struggling with one of the highest per capita murder rate in the world (more than twice as high as Mexico). While the majority of killings in Jamaica can be traced to armed Jamaican gangs, the real roots of the problem are more complicated, including social conditions in poor urban areas of of Jamaica, lack of economic opportunities, a troubled educational system and an abundance of illegal firearms.
Since 2008 I have been trying to photograph not only the violent situation in Jamaica, but more importantly, some of the root causes behind it. These photographs are just a small part of that work.
