Soucouyant stalking Laventille again

Dara E Healy

Vampire coming in all kinda guises

Not to mention a range of sizes

Utilising de latest devices

These days dracos full of surprises

­– from Salt by 3canal

SOMETHING twists in my stomach when I look at the photo of that foreign "You-Tuber" surrounded by young black men in masks, wielding massive guns. The 3canal song plays in my mind on repeat and all of my education – extraction for foreign gain, Rodney, Lamming, Jones, Fanon, Braithwaite, cultural imperialism, 1970 – all of it floods into my head. I look at the photo and my eyes cloud over with the familiar rage of frustration and shame.

"Victimhood capitalism." "Cash for catastrophes." "Monetising tragedy." These are some of the terms used to describe what happens when people profit from the difficult circumstances of individuals or communities.

I get it. I understand that without spectator footage of a police officer kneeling on George Floyd's neck the Black Lives Matter movement might not have been so energised across the entire world. Sometimes we need to see war, white privilege on display or police brutality in underserved communities for something else to happen.

However, when similar videos or images are shown on the news, we view them with the understanding that there has been a process of analysis and evaluation. Journalists and reputable media organisations have clear ethical rules and standards about what constitutes news and how to treat with sensitive material.

So in a story about child abuse, the face of the child will not be shown. Even in instances of war, there would not be a crude display of dead bodies. Facts have to be verified and spokespeople must be recognised as trustworthy representatives of the community.

Too often it feels like these rules do not apply to the 21st-century phenomenon of "citizen reporters": people who blog, vlog, podcast, TikTok, Snapchat or use other media to broadcast their world and the lives of others.

Apart from documentation, it seems that people love to be first with the news. This is regardless of the information being shared and with little or no consideration for context, verification or sensitivity.

I have stopped friends and colleagues from forwarding me WhatsApp about well-known artists who have passed, as most times I would have had a personal relationship with the person. Opening my phone to an image about the transitioning of someone I cared about is not how I want to find out that they are no longer in this realm.

I recently pointed out in a group chat that sharing photos of dead bodies in the neighbourhood is not news or community service, but voyeurism. Voyeurism is typically used in a sexual context, but it can also mean experiencing a kind of orgasmic pleasure from witnessing tragedy.

Where does freedom of speech end and disrespect for history and humanity begin?

I spent my formative years in those hills, so for me young black men in gangs is not simply a salacious story that will disappear when the media, politicians and pseudo-journalists move on. The fluttering in my stomach is because less and less am I able to make sense of this world.

I have no control over what people like this vlogger does, or how many likes they amass. I am also at a loss to understand why young people, young black people in school uniform, would want to take photos with this person.

But, of course, the painful truth is, I do understand.

Recognise that Laventille was never an easy place – not to live, raise children or build a life. However, beyond the headlines, this iconic space is not only filled with young black men with guns, but with ordinary people striving every day to build a better life for themselves and their families.

I would like the world to remember that in so many of our struggling communities, beyond the posturing and sensationalism, there are citizens with elderly parents, husbands, wives, children with disabilities, family members on dialysis and schoolbooks to buy. Gang life is but a small portion of their reality, something that millions of voyeurs do not care about.

“Brace yuhself fuh de ball of fire/Look dey come tuh build dey empire,” 3canal says. The law is a short-term tactic, but when the others come, it will not be enough.

We need to be ready with the salt. Gone from we country, soucouyant. Fire bun.

Dara E Healy is a performance artist and founder of the Indigenous Creative Arts Network – ICAN