The Dreads

"Not many people consider that Dominica fought a small, undeclared and semi-secret internal war between 1975 and 1980, which continued somewhat into the 1980's. That conflict was to continue into the reign of Ms. Charles' government because the root causes which gave it birth were not resolved. The war pitted the machinery of the state against Dominican dreads who had resorted to guerrilla methods to secure their rights and/or autonomy from traditional society."(Christian)

Essentially, the Dominican dread of the 1970's was a youthful (primarily male) adherent of black power thought. Rastafarianism in Jamaica had lower class origins, however in Dominica, Rastafarianism was originated mostly from the upper class students who studied abroad and were a part of the Black Power movement. These educated men returned to Dominica well aware of the social inequalities, ready to address them, and were also unemployed(Wessinger). Dread notables, in the mold of Tumba, Peter Alleyne (or Pokosion) were more like modern day variants of the escaped slaves who had earlier founded guerilla camps in Dominica's mountain fastness in the 1700's and early 1800's (Christian).

Gabriel Christian stated, "Unemployed, mostly literate, youth for whom the social reforms of Labor had fostered greater expectations those who became dread, had opted out of established society when those expectations for jobs, higher education, a respected and meaningful role in contemporary Dominican society, went unmet." Many of the dreads had attended M.N.D meetings and felt a need to go beyond mere "mouth talk". They felt that society had failed them and a need was felt to go back to the land i.e to nature, to create an entirely new and pure social alternative to babylon. They were not an organized set, according to Christian; they were not adequate to push their agenda. Rather the group of young men congregated and when they did, Rastafarian ideas filtered down to mainstream Dominican youth (Wessinger). It was in this way, as opposed to Jamaica, that Rastafarianism developed and spread through Dominica.

"In rejecting babylon's dress codes (to the degree of using loin clothes, or grass skirts on occasions), its iron implements (sometimes fashioning knives out of coconut shell) and Western values, dreads placed themselves outside the societal mainstream, and as such prone to attacks from the establishment, without any base of support which would mitigate such attacks . Dreads, for their sustenance, relied on "itals" or natural foods; those who touched pork were deemed "swine" or "swine-ish". They, would also engaged in craft making, or small-time subsistence agriculture where possible. Mostly though, for cash income necessary to maintain contact with the money economy, they traded in marijuana. In so doing they came into conflict with many small farmers with whom they competed (for increasingly scarce land) upon the difficult-to-farm foothills of Dominica's mountainous government lands. Most fatally, the dreads came up against anti-drug legislation and a local security conscious regime swift to enforce it."(Christian).

“What little tourist activity that existed fell rapidly as journalists and guidebook writers advised their readers to avoid Dominica” (Honychurch 245).  

You make the tunnel of experience that the tourist moves through. Make his experience a happy one. -The New Chronicle, 1975

The tourists arriving at Dominica were supposedly abused by the dreads, and Deputy Premier at the time, Patrick John, commented, “we [Dominicans] have never known ourselves as a violent people and the new trend in our society is without a doubt the handiwork of a few degenerate leaders who see themselves as the architects a new society projecting new standards, cultures unacceptable to majority of Dominican people...”. John also stated that, later, more effective measures would be put in place to wipe out the dreads that were back then, a menace to society. Not long after, the situation was being handled by the police, defence force, and special constables. Their methods of law enforcement were excessive, but the general society was stirring with fear at the time, and therefore turned a blind eye to it.

Society now felt protected and the Deputy Premier used this to his advantage to gain popularity. In July 1974, Oliver Leblance resigned and his successor was no other than the brave Patrick Roland John, also known as “P.J”.