THE MEETING

             THE MEETING 

                                      By Camille Clarke 

Characters have been changed but this was based on a true story.

Was it a rumor or was it just a simple coincidence? 

Maybe it was a coincidence but if you got your photograph taken it could be your last. 

Several participants who attended a high-profile meeting in April were killed soon after they had their photos taken by members of the Police Service and the media, claimed an anonymous gang-leader. 

The gang-leader said that after National Security held the meeting, some attendees were killed in separate incidents. However, this culling did not include members of the media and law enforcement officers. 

Bo Smith, one of the attendees, was killed two days after while working on the outskirts of town. 

Prior to his death, Smith stood on the sidewalk of a busy one-way street, idly watching a new building downtown. It was a beautiful morning. The air was considerably fresh despite the smell of garbage that was left by homeless people. They had the street filled with rubbish, mud and other debris.  

The sky was clear, and the faint breeze touched Smith’s face and blew tendrils of his hair. He had an olive complexion from days spent in the sun. He was a contractor who worked outside cleaning the streets. Today somehow, he seemed nostalgic. A lost expression was on his face. He was approached by a reporter who recognized him. They had never met before, but Smith was quick to recognize a reporter when he saw one. Plus, he was also standing in front of a media house. 

"How are you doing?” Jim asked. Shouldn't Smith be hiding somewhere instead of standing out in the open like this? In the last few days 30 men were killed. Smith was known not to be an innocent man who would be just idly admiring and standing enjoying the beauty of the sky. 

“You are not afraid being out here?”  The question was right to the point. Smith answered and said he was not afraid, and he was a changed man.  He could claim he changed his life but there are those who don't forget. He might have changed himself but there was always someone who remembered the past. 

Smith was a contractor who hired low-income earners to do outside work. No matter what, he would be outside to monitor the work done by his employees. Smith was killed after he spoke with the reporter. He had been while working in a cul-de-sac near town. He gave his employees equipment to clean up the community then he was shot dead.  When Jim saw Smith’s body he was not surprised. He believed that Smith knew he was going to be killed and had made peace with himself. 

He was shot several times and collapsed on the ground with his legs on top of a dead tree. It was just a weird coincidence.  It did not matter if Smith probably changed his ways, but somebody remembered something. The motive could be anything.  It was probably a revenge killing, territorial issues or gang related. 

Everyone had their ideas on the reason behind the slaying of these individuals. Yes, these individuals.

Prior to his death, the authority arranged a meeting with several men.It was a packed room, and they were invited to have a discussion concerning peace in various communities. Soon after the meeting, they were killed. One by one they were gone. Was it such a coincidence that after the meeting they were being picked off one by one? The majority of the men invited did not want their photographs taken. It was a packed room, and they were invited to have a discussion concerning peace in various communities. One by one they were gone. Was it such a coincidence that after the meeting they were being picked off one by one?

The majority of the men invited did not want their photographs taken. 

Although, it was not only men but there were women doing the same thing. There were women in another group who were doing the same thing.

The media was invited to attend this meeting, and this included their photographers. The Police Service and other members of National Security were also invited. Their team consisted of photographers and cameramen to take videos. 

Some of the attendees invited were angry that they were being photographed and complained about it.  Now if you were approached by any of them it would be time to quake in your shoes. 

Jim remembered that day and thought that if they did not want their photographs taken, they should have stayed at home.  

The meeting was packed with every and anyone who had a stake in what was going on.  

But there had to be a reason for all these homicides.  

One man was shot a total of 40 times. Why so much? Jim thought.  That was just plain overkill. On his phone he carried the photos of the men alive and dead. People were just willing to share their photos. 

At that meeting, he remembered one of the men who approached him and complained about anyone who took his photo. Jim thought the man was very angry, aggressive and threatened the news team. Now he was part of the photographic collection on Jim's phone, alive and dead. It was a very gory death. If any of those attendees approached you it was in a deadly way. 

It was weird that one minute they were big, bad and threatened the other reporters.

Jim thought how fragile we are. We are just flesh and blood. We were not superhumans who would live if we were shot. There was a fallout from it all and it made people wonder what was really going on.   

Was it right to take the life of the guilty and who was the one to judge who lived and who died? We are fragile despite our ability to harness the atom and going to the moon.

A lot of tears are shed every day. So many tears as the innocent and the guilty were killed. Can we determine who should live or die? Just the same as if they took life should we do the same to them? One minute we are full of life. The next thing our time has come.

Who are they to determine who can live? Blood is on their hands also if they determine who should live or die.  

We cannot control time; we cannot raise the dead. 

We cannot control who we love  

We cannot control who are our parents 

We are just flesh and blood 

Who is the one to judge who lives and who dies? 

Money cannot even buy life 

Death comes to us all