The Government is to rebuild 11 houses that were firebombed in Gregory Park, St Catherine, which has left approximately 40 persons homeless and traumatised as gangs continue to wreak havoc in the community.

This was disclosed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who, along with Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson and Member of Parliament for East Central St Catherine Alando Terrelonge, toured the area yesterday.

“I also gave the commitment that the 11 houses/structures that were destroyed will be replaced. If the objective of the terrorists is to displace the people here so that they could possibly import who they want into the area, they will not have that victory,” Holness said.

He also said the affected families will receive ongoing support.

“That will be mobilised, particularly because a large number of the residents are children, and they have to go back to school. This is inexplicable for a young child to experience this trauma. You can never tell how they would grow up and internalise it, and what we don’t want is for them to internalise this and have a vengeful heart, so we have to have the social intervention very quickly,” the prime minister said.

He further noted that the Government will provide back-to-school supplies for the families who have been displaced, so that children will be able to return to school.

Eleven homes were firebombed in the area, leaving some 40 persons homeless. One of the residents sustained burns all over her body and is in hospital, while one person was shot and killed by the gunmen.

“We will rebuild the structures that people who are here can be regularised and have a good life and living conditions. We will never allow them to win,” he added.

The prime minister informed that the affected area was already being considered under the New Social Housing Programme, adding that it was assessed as one of the tenement yards that “we would seek to upgrade some of the housing and put in proper facilities”.

“That process will be fast-tracked, so if the criminals thought they had won, they would be sadly mistaken. We would also want to engage a process of peace in the area. Obviously, this type of incident is going to percolate in the minds of residents here and you could very well have an entrenchment of the gang war that exists, meaning that the people who suffered may want to take things into their own hands, which we can’t have, so we have to engage a process,” the prime minister said.

Further, Holness said he will be working with the MP, various other government agencies and the police to ensure that “we bring the youth together in the area to show them the folly of this”.