The forgotten Spanish Town

The first thing that pops into the mind of most people when I think about Spanish Town, Jamaica is crime and violence. Majority of the times when you tell people that you are from Spanish Town they automatically assume that you are caught up in some form of illegal activities. Starting high school I was told that since I'm from Spanish Town I must have seen people being killed or I must have bad man friends. The same label followed me to university as well and the sad part of it all is I just got used to it.

I attended the St.Catherine primary school in the heart of the capital and had to deal with the crime and violence several times. It grew with me until the point where it didn't move me at all. The fact that I attended high school and university in Kingston meant that I had to travel late hours at night. The fear was always with me as I didn't have any friends who lived in the same community as I did. However, I overcame it all and grew to become accepting of the community in which I was born and raised.

Those on the outside looking in on Spanish Town need to know that there is also another side to Spanish town. There are ambitious young people here, schools that are doing very well and parents that are raising exceptional children. There is also the historical side of Spanish Town that is also very important to the overall history of the country. However, our government and people insists on only dwelling on the negative sides of the town. Despite just dwelling on the negative sides they have done little or nothing to rebuild the broken down infrastructure within the town. Perhaps if the town looked more appealing it would attract more investors and positive messages coming out of the town.

I have lived in Spanish Town for over 23 years and it wasn't until recently that I toured my town and looked at the beauty that is hidden behind the scars of years of crime and violence. These images attached with this post will show you what Spanish Town used to look like. A town fit for royalty but instead of preserving its strong heritage we have allowed the history to remain only in books. Take some time to study the history of your town and find something there to smile about.

All images are copyrighted SaccheenLaing2015 (DONOTCOPY)

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