Rivalries over women ? not drugs ? are spurring young people to commit acts of violence according to the leader of a popular Hamilton social ?crew?.

Raymond Troy (Yanky) Rawlins, who runs a variety store on Court Street, spoke to yesterday to offer his insight into last weekend?s outbreak of violence at Wellington Oval. He said politicians and officials often turn to drug use, education and upbringing as explanations for the root causes of violence rather than focusing on simple issues such as jealousy over the opposite sex.

?It?s nothing to do with drugs, it?s hating on one another. If it isn?t females, it?s turf,? said Mr. Rawlins. He said women were encouraging the fighting between rival crews in town and country ? as Hamilton and the West End are referred to by crew members.

Mr. Rawlins said simple issues were behind violence which politicians tended to overlook.

Government, including Youth, Sport and Cultural Affairs Minister Dale Butler has, in the past, played down the idea of gangs, with Mr. Butler in particular dismissing the idea of ?Town? and ?Country? as a ?pack of nonsense? and saying there must be more to violence than jealousy over women.

However, Mr. Rawlins said it was now time to take a look at how this issue played a role in violence.

The issue of women was known to be a factor in the stabbing death at Ice Queen of Tekle Mallory in July, 2001 and in the shooting of Bermuda College student Shaundae Jones in Dockyard last year.

?Women jeer it, they meet one guy in town and mess with a guy in country. The girls cause it, they enjoy the fighting, they jeer it and he ends up trying to defend her because he goes with her now,? Mr. Rawlins said.

He added that rivalry can escalate from younger men to their older friends and family who act out of a desire to protect the women they are seeing.

While the legal system begins to focus on punishing the men brought before the court this week on various charges ranging from simple weapon possession to attempted murder, Mr. Rawlins said finding a long-term solution meant taking a different approach.

?Women will try to make us enemies, they?ll hate on you and spread rumours about you so what happens is that certain people try to make others enemies,? said Mr. Rawlins.

He said he would mediate between town and country if he could, but was discouraged during talks two years ago when an audience member stood up and called him a drug dealer.

?It stopped it for a little while, we were trying to do it, but that?s what happened. Government can?t do it, they just saw a sample of it, but we are seeing it every day, we see it week in and week out.?

Mr. Rawlins was given the nickname Yanky when he returned to the Island after spending most of his teenage years in New Jersey. With a full set of gold tooth rims and stylised sports gear, he is often labelled a drug dealer. While he has been arrested for drugs possession in the past, he said he had paid his dues and was now trying to make a good living. His crew, named Frontline, include a group of guys who hang out in the Hamilton area.

?The majority of guys out here are into women and making a dollar, we?re not out here to jump other people,? Mr. Rawlins said.

?We try to stay away from it and stop it as a group of people who won?t get involved.?

Mr. Rawlins was at the Wellington Oval when last week?s violence erupted but said he stayed away from the commotion.

He feels the outburst was also an expression by young men who feel they are denied opportunities because of their criminal records. ?Everyone deserves a second chance,? Mr. Rawlins said. ?What you?ve got is that a lot of these guys want to go away for an education but they?re prevented from doing so because they?ve been put on the stop list and they can?t get a waiver to go away to pursue an education because of something they?ve done in the past.?

?Everyone has to participate in this and help resolve it. I tried to mediate between two rivals, but what happens is the rivals will come and say we heard you were in the middle of it. I could be the one who ends up getting chopped.?

But his reputation as a mediator hasn?t gone unrecognised in the community. ?I?ve been around a long time and they have respect for me.?