It's an age old tradition, men gather, beer is bought and the party begins... wherever - whether yard, bar-room or street-side. But, yesterday when two men received court fines for drinking in the street, it sent that beer tradition flying through the door. So on a fine Friday afternoon - when weekend sprees often begin at corner stores and on street corners, our news team went cruising for beer lovers already "eena dey ting". We wanted to find out how they feel about the sudden crackdown for a law that's been on the books for some time. Not surprisingly, they say they have reason to be worried:
Man #1
We have been doing this for years and right about now, the police have different things to do. Instead of chasing us, or ticketing us for drinking on the streets, they should be chasing the criminals. They have a lot of murders unsolved, and they have bigger things to do than di ticket, give wah man twenty five dollars ticket fi drinking pan di street. This is un-called for. Dende have to go.
Man #2
This place I limited to, that's it, because if I confined to spend my hard earned money, only inna wa possibly Chinese bar or wherever, then what else I got, tell me.
Man #3
Nothing wrong 'bout it because we di do it from we small. We grow up and we do it and the children deh wa do it to, just that we no get inna trouble. The law pass we and deh no seh anything to we, as long as deh got it inna dey bag.
Man #4
I feel real bad. If they gave me a warning before, it's okay. Say if they give you a time inna radio, television and everything, they give you a month to get your act together, no more talking and drinking, no more street. Then you can look into it because deh give you a warning. But you can't just come and pick we up like that.
Man #5
I think that e wrong. You have right fu drink weh you want as long as you no tolerate crime. That da weh I think. Pan wa serious note, right, weh deh shoulda try deal with da the people dem weh the sell it after hours. No who di buy it and drink it out ya.
Man #6
If you di drink out ya and you no really di have, or you no di abuse nothing or do anybody anything, I no think you have wa right fu charge anybody wa fine fu di drink out ya.
Man #7
It's good. The law wa stop wa lot of throwing of pint 'bout the place and things.
The two men picked up separately by police earlier this week were fined 25 dollars each or in default a week in prison. The charge is prohibition of public drinking.