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Rastas release Bad Friday documentary
MONTEGO BAY, St James — THE Rastafarian community of St James has released <span style="font-weight: bold">a documentary titled Bad Friday that focuses on the severe persecution of Rastafarians during the Coral Gardens Incident in Easter of 1963.</span>
The documentary, which was filmed in Philadelphia, features testimonies from survivors of the incident including interviews from the former Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry, social anthropologist the late Barry Chevannes, as well as attorney Anthony Gifford.
Last Friday, members of the Rastafarian community gathered at Jarrett Park in Montego Bay to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the infamous incident.
In 1963, Rastafarians were targeted, beaten, tortured, and locked up by police officers after reports surfaced that a gang of Rastafarians, armed with machetes and daggers, launched a Holy Thursday attack that left eight men, including two policemen, dead.
A massive manhunt was launched to apprehend and prosecute the offenders.
Rastafarians at the time said the state's version of events was false. They claim the incident was the result of a land dispute between men who did not live at Coral Gardens.
Some members of the Rastafarian community say they were forced to cut their locks or flee to the mountains for refuge.
Walter ‘Bongorengea’ Brissett, an elder from Salt Spring in St James, told the Observer West that he was badly beaten by the police during the incident.
“The scar from the hit that I got during that time is still there 49 years later,” he said, adding that “we need a public apology for the inhumane treatment that was brought unto Rastafarians”.
Friday’s remembrance took the form of a service which involved chanting and singing.
MONTEGO BAY, St James — THE Rastafarian community of St James has released <span style="font-weight: bold">a documentary titled Bad Friday that focuses on the severe persecution of Rastafarians during the Coral Gardens Incident in Easter of 1963.</span>
The documentary, which was filmed in Philadelphia, features testimonies from survivors of the incident including interviews from the former Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry, social anthropologist the late Barry Chevannes, as well as attorney Anthony Gifford.
Last Friday, members of the Rastafarian community gathered at Jarrett Park in Montego Bay to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the infamous incident.
In 1963, Rastafarians were targeted, beaten, tortured, and locked up by police officers after reports surfaced that a gang of Rastafarians, armed with machetes and daggers, launched a Holy Thursday attack that left eight men, including two policemen, dead.
A massive manhunt was launched to apprehend and prosecute the offenders.
Rastafarians at the time said the state's version of events was false. They claim the incident was the result of a land dispute between men who did not live at Coral Gardens.
Some members of the Rastafarian community say they were forced to cut their locks or flee to the mountains for refuge.
Walter ‘Bongorengea’ Brissett, an elder from Salt Spring in St James, told the Observer West that he was badly beaten by the police during the incident.
“The scar from the hit that I got during that time is still there 49 years later,” he said, adding that “we need a public apology for the inhumane treatment that was brought unto Rastafarians”.
Friday’s remembrance took the form of a service which involved chanting and singing.
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