published in Jamaica Observer column 9 Jan 2017
It is only January 9, and already the
headlines here and abroad are challenging our resolutions for a peaceful and
happy New Year. Let us not be distracted
from the work we must do, the part each and every Jamaican is called upon to
play.
The issue of crime is occupying our
minds. Betty Ann Blaine has pointed out
that the monument to remember slain children has run out of space for the
names! We keep saying that Jamaica is 99 percent good people, so here’s a reminder
from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: “When good men remain silent, evil flourishes.”
We know there are credible representatives
on both sides of the House. Would they
be courageous enough to join forces and be of one voice in promoting
zero-tolerance for any association of their respective parties with so-called
‘dons’?
Would our JLP and PNP leaders have a
different approach to crime if they were not surrounded by security officers
who drive them everywhere in the cocoon of their high-end vehicles? Government
Ministers in countries similar to ours walk, drive themselves around and go
shopping with no security detail. Why
should the tax payers of Jamaica to pay so dearly for politicians’ safety when
ours is compromised?
Our police officers are understandably
under the microscope of oversight agencies, the media and the public, and
several have been sanctioned for corrupt or unprofessional behaviour. However,
we should commend Dr Carl Williams, who has retired as Commissioner of Police
after thirty-three years of impeccable service, and welcome the appointment of
the widely respected Novelette Grant as Acting Commissioner. We cannot expect her
to work miracles if our leaders are not committed to building a more peaceful
society. Most of the 1350 murders
committed last year were gang-related and many others resulted from domestic
violence. Clearly, programmes for
unattached youth and wholesome family life require urgent attention.
As we continue to bombard the police with
criticism, let us be reminded that the Police Youth Club, started over 90 years
ago by a humble police officer, is the largest youth club in Jamaica. Let us
also remember that the Torch Run for Special Olympics is a decades-old JCF
initiative. Let us hear more about similar initiatives from our MPs and
Councillors.
Last week, I called the ever-courteous
Supt Daley at Kingston West for assistance to visit my parents’ graves at the Calvary
Cemetery in downtown Kingston. When Constables McPherson and Stewart arrived, I
was so struck by their youthfulness that I became protective of them, remembering
how one of their colleagues was ambushed and killed just a few weeks before in
the same neighbourhood.
“Please stay in your vehicle and keep an
eye on us,” I suggested, but they insisted on walking through the very
challenging terrain, staying with us as we prayed. (Our mother had insisted on
being beside our father who had passed away in 1977, when Calvary cemetery was
a much better place.) The young
constables were on a 12-hour shift, and said that depending on the demands,
this can stretch to 14 hours. While we
sit in our comfortable couches raining accusations on police, let us spare a
thought for these young officers who are creating a courageous barrier between
us and the gunmen. Respect is due.
Some
gripe, others grow
The happenings of 2016 challenge us to
step up. The brilliant scientist, English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author Professor Stephen Hawking,
wrote an article published in the UK Guardian, headlined “This is the most
dangerous time for our planet”.
“Whatever we might
think about the decision by the British electorate to reject
membership of the European Union and by the American public to embrace Donald
Trump as their next president,” he wrote, “there is no doubt in
the minds of commentators that this was a cry of anger by people who felt they
had been abandoned by their leaders.”
He described these
disaffected voters as “the forgotten … a reminder that we are at the most
dangerous moment in the development of humanity.” He called on world leaders
“to acknowledge that they have failed and are failing the many.”
“With not only jobs but
entire industries disappearing, we must help people to retrain for a new world
and support them financially while they do so,” he urged. “If communities and
economies cannot cope with current levels of migration, we must do more to
encourage global development, as that is the only way that the migratory
millions will be persuaded to seek their future at home.”
This brings to mind
Jamaica’s nurses who must migrate in order to earn a decent living. We have been bandying about the phrase,
“health tourism” for years, but doing little to make this a reality, one that
could provide higher salaries for Jamaica’s internationally respected nurses.
Professor Hawking believes we can create this better outcome:
“We can do this, I am an enormous optimist for my species; but it will require
the elites, from London to Harvard, from Cambridge to Hollywood, to learn the
lessons of the past year. To learn above all a measure of humility.”
Humility. The
‘know-it-alls’ know little if the world is in such a terrible state. How was that Fort Lauderdale shooter bearing
arms legally, after his troubling confession to the authorities a few weeks
before, that he was hearing the voice of Isis in his head? And here in Jamaica
… why are we still selling so many foreign made souvenirs to tourists when
talented lives are going to waste? Why
is solar energy still so expensive when tax incentives could ease our need for
oil? Why does the justice system seem to
‘remember’ certain criminals and ‘forget’ others? We all need to humble ourselves to learn from
the best practices of others.
How
will our little country weather the vagaries of world politics? A letter from
our newspaper Chairman, Hon. Butch Stewart, speaks of his warm relationship
with US President Elect Donald Trump and his expectation that Jamaica will
continue to enjoy the friendship of the new US Administration. This is encouraging, but we should not be
over-expectant of anyone’s munificence when we are indeed very blessed in our own
natural assets.
It is encouraging that there are three organizations focused on
Jamaica’s economic recovery, which benefit from the voluntary work of
exceptional business, union and civic leaders. They are the Economic Growth
Council (EGC) chaired by Michael Lee-Chin, the Public Sector Transformation
Oversight Committee (PSTOC) chaired by Danny Roberts and The Economic Policy
Oversight Committee (EPOC) co-chaired by Keith Duncan. Duncan succeeds
Richard Byles to whom we are indebted for his dedicated co-chairmanship
with BOJ Governor Brian Wynter, for oversight of the four-year IMF
economic support programme which came to an end in November.
Jamaica can rise, not because of any
single political entity, but because of the collective resolve of our dedicated
patriots. Join them by being resolute
about your own personal commitments – together we can make this our best year
ever.
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