Yesterday STAR's main story, about gunmen ordering people in the Waltham Park area of St Andrew to leave their homes and others leaving simply because the violence has got unbearable, is very sad.

What makes it especially grim, though, is the fact that included in the number of refugees are the elderly, who have absolutely no chance of starting over. As one resident told The STAR, "mi fraid, rite ya now mi a plan fi leave soon even though mi nuh kno weh me ago go yet ... Mi prefer go live inna one cave."

He has been living in the area for 40 years.

Unfortunately, this latest tale of terror, instigated by the 'Rat Bat Gang', is not an unfamiliar one. The area may change, along with the name of the gang, but it is a pattern which we have seen before in political as well as straight-out gang conflicts. And there is simply not enough policing to protect the residents of any area from the depraved 'shottas' whose entire world is a few streets.

We are certain that the Rat Bat outfit did not appear out of thin air; there must have been bad signs of worse things to come prior to these firearm- backed eviction notices.

It should not be this way, but the reality is that it is the individual whom will suffer in the end, so looking ahead and getting out ahead of a really bad situation is key to not only comfort and happiness, but often also simply survival.