Born Fi Dead

Spawned in the ghettos of Kingston as mercenary street-fighters for the island's politicians, the posses began migrating to the United States in the early 1980's, just in time to catch and ride the crack wave as it engulfed the country. This title examines the issues from a British and Jamaican perspective. "Laurie Gunst's reportage brilliantly traces the tangled nexus of Hollywood gangster movies, corrupt party politics, archaic class structures and transglobal cocaine routes that feed into Jamaica's nomadic criminal posses." ID MagazineAmong the ethnic gangs that ruled America's inner cities during the late 80s and early 90s, none had the impact of the Jamaican posses. Spawned in the ghettos of Kingston as mercenary street fighters for the island's politicians, the posses began migrating to the United States just in time to catch and ride the crack cocaine wave as it engulfed the country."In the superbly gripping Born Fi' Dead, journalist-scholar Gunst finally lifts the veil from Jamaica's quasi-ideological street strife during the Manley-Seaga years to reveal the only lasting legacy of these rival politicians - the drug posses." Timothy White, author of Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley"Brilliant." Linton Kwesi Johnson"A fearless expose of the connection between politicians and gunmen in those fateful years when PLP and JNP, Manley and Seaga battled for national power." The Kingston Gleaner Among the ethnic gangs that rule America's inner cities, none has had the impact of the Jamaican posses. Spawned in the ghettos of Kingston as mercenary street-fighters for the island's politicians, the posses began migrating to the United States in the early 1980's, just in time to catch and ride the crack wave as it engulfed the country.Laurie Gunst's provocative exposé of the Jamaican politicians' role in creating this problem is also a moving and compelling tale of suffering and exploitation. Leone Ross' substantial afterword examines further the issues raised by the book from a British and Jamaican perspective