We Grow Up With No Fadda

Survival of the Fittest

By the year 2005  Laventille and environs after 6pm, was liken to a ghost town. The ones you see in movies.  

Even in the day time, no stranger would  dear ventured into this large area of eastern Puerto De España unannounced.

For they knew that getting caught off route going in this vast area they may not make it out alive. By off route I meant venturing off the Eastern Main Road.

As night fell over the hills, all residence were already locked away in their personal prisons. With fifteen feet concrete walls and burglar proof doors and widows, making it difficult to get in or even out.

While law abiding citizens were locked away for the night safe in their prisons,  the"barrel" children came out to work.

Some gathered in groups on street corners, which became their places of business. It is from these corners that the drugs would be sold. These groups mainly consisted of about ten to thirty   persons. A mixture of male and females.

Lets just say on block 28 there are ten person, two of those men would be the dealers, three would be look outs.

Their job is hard yet simple, they are their to keep a keen eyes out for unwanted guest(Police/competition) from surprising them(either way they and the "bossman" would loose money or their life.

Then the other five would be the security or enforcers, their job is self explanatory. They had the fire power and were not afraid to use them.

  
Sales is a job that a lot of patience is required, you see is not whole night there is a fast turnover of money. Majority of the night would be slow and the only way to pass the time was to gamble and ole talk.

As stated in an earlier chapter once those boys had money the girls were never far behind, most times the block became a small party.

One night at about 1am, when Baddi and his soldiers were on the 28's as it was nicknamed grinding.  A black b12 sunny car, grade five tint came speeding from down the hill, stopping about two meters from them.

As the car came to a halt, four masked men with AK47's came out announcing "don't move dis is a robbery" before taking from the ten men about $40,000 in money, cocaine and weed. "Pam Pam", Crimei and Coldhead were also relieved of the Beretta 9 mm revolvers that they held for protection.

This was before coldhead was shot twenty time as the car speeded off. Leaving him dead and another statistic on the roadway. As the rest of them ran off in different directions.

Only the strong of mind, heart and physical strength can survive. By the ending up of 2005 there were 117 murders in Puerto De España alone, out of 386 for the whole year.