by Jean Lowrie-Chin | Jamaica Observer column | 27 October 2014
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Governor General David Johnston and his wife Sharon pay
their respects at the National War Memorial shortly after the honour guard take
their posts Thursday October 30, 2014 in Ottawa.
Photo - Adrian Wyld/The Canadian
Press
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Some locals are saying that this is exactly why
Minister Bunting gave a platinum farewell to Abu Bakr who was in Jamaica reportedly
to spend his birthday with family members.
Security expert Robert Finzi-Smith was supportive of the Minister’s move
and wrote on Facebook: “If he is shackled and
returned … the potential repercussions would utterly destroy our tourism
product. $4 million cheap at the price. Add to that that millions of US dollars
were spent in the hospitality industry in Kingston over the past three weeks
based on the bookings at hotels and guest houses in Kingston.”
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| Trinidad's Minster of National Security Gary Griffith (left) and Yasin Abu Bakr |
The story of Trinidadian
Shane Crawford who went to fight for ISIS is a wake-up call for leaders. Published in the Trinidad Express and in the
Jamaica Observer, the report by Asha Javeed who interviewed Crawford’s mother Joan,
with whom he lived in Enterprise Village, Chaguanas, reveals a young man who “was prompted by the
inadequacy of what his life had become in Trinidad and the need to find a greater
purpose.”
And so, in spite of multiple causes of ‘greater
purpose’ in the Caribbean region - children
to be nurtured and educated, elderly to be protected – Crawford and over forty
other Caribbean young men are now fighting in Syria. Their leadership could not
offer them any good reason to remain and work for their own countrymen.
Violence
in Jamaica
In Jamaica, our terrorists are in our garrison
communities, turning the lives of humble Jamaicans into a living hell, even as
our well-guarded politicians condemn their behaviour. My first reaction to Clovis’ cartoon of the
politician sending off Abu Bakr while embracing the Don, was one of
revulsion. However, well do we recall
that when former MP Heather Robinson declared that she would not be pursuing
representational politics because of the ‘don-man’ links, no one stood up to
show solidarity with her. Not one –
neither her own colleagues in the PNP nor members of the JLP.
If only our leaders could give us more reason to trust
and believe in them. Youth unemployment
is a problem even as the Sunday papers are filled with advertisements offering
various types of jobs. Employers find
that while there are excellent individuals applying for jobs, there are too many
others who are sadly unemployable. Until
our leaders can find it in their hearts to give more time to solving the
country’s problems and less to hunting for power, our problems will
continue.
Public
Forum on ChikV and Ebola
Having been doubling up at our office because of what
we have dubbed “musical ChikV”, I am curious to hear when we can expect the end
of this painful phase in our business. I
am glad that ChikV did not destroy Mark Wignall’s sense of humour: his
conversation with Ms Aedes Egypti in last Thursday’s column was amusing, even
as we felt his pain.
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| Dr Shane Alexis |
Further, in Jamaica’s quest to be ‘ebola ready’ Health
Minister Fenton Ferguson visited Cuba last week to gain expert assistance. He was accompanied Medical Association of
Jamaica (MAJ) President Dr Shane Alexis, who had studied medicine in Cuba and
should be of great service to the Minister with not only his language skills,
but also his brilliant approach to problem-solving.
The MAJ will be holding a public forum tomorrow at
5.30 pm at the Courtleigh Auditorium with the topic "ChikV and Ebola –
analyzing their impact on Jamaica's Health and Economy," to be addressed
by the Minister, PSOJ Executive Director Dennis Chung and visiting experts.
As unpleasant as it was, the experience of
Jamaica-based Nigerian Dr Bob Banjo, when he arrived at Mandeville Hospital
with suspicious symptoms which thankfully turned out to be food poisoning, was
a wake-up call for our regional health managers. New York City set a great example when they
responded efficiently to their first ebola case – Dr Craig Spencer, who had
been working with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea, West Africa. However,
reports on Friday are that even at that high state of preparedness, nurses are
calling in sick for fear of contracting the disease.
While we hope it will never arrive at our shores, let
us educate and prepare ourselves.
