A Groundswell of Patriotism

 Jamaica Observer column published 10 August 2020

by Jean Lowrie-Chin

Someone posted a message on social media on the morning of August 6, declaring that it was Jamaica’s day, and that we should come on board to celebrate our amazing country. As Kamala Harris said in her Instagram live session with Sarah Cooper, both of whom are of Jamaican heritage “Jamaica is a big country on a small island”. Throughout Independence Day, greetings in black, green and gold took over our screens with some wonderful sayings – including, “I didn't ask to be Jamaican - I just got lucky!’

And so we decided that nothing would stand in the way of our enjoyment of the 58th Anniversary of our Independence. The morning  started with the wonderful news of deserving Jamaicans who had received National Honours, among them outstanding friends and colleagues Antoinette Aiken OD, Archbishop Kenneth Richards CD,  the late Government Minister and MP Shahine Robinson CD, the late Delano Forbes Sr CD, Keith Duncan CD, Brian Jardim CD, Oliver Samuels CD, Garfield Grandison CD, Hon Patrick Hylton OJ, Hon Tom Tavares Finson OJ and Hon Brian Wynter OJ. Please visit this JIS link for the full list of honorees: https://jis.gov.jm/media/2020/08/Honours-and-Awards-listing-2020-1.pdf . 

When you hear people tearing down this great country, please refer them to the citations below the names of these members of our Jamaican family, our nation builders.  They are persons of excellence and if we emulate rather than denigrate, this country would be unstoppable.

Our Festival Songs played all day and thanks to Minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange and The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission we enjoyed an excellent Jamaica Independence Extravaganza on television and on the web so that Jamaicans all over the world could participate.

Congratulations to the phenomenal recipients of the Jamaica Reggae Music Icon Awards: Marcia Griffiths, Ken Boothe and Orville ‘Shaggy’ Burrell.

Zoom links showed some lively folks dancing away in their living rooms and waving their flags. The passion of our Diaspora for Jamaica is always moving.

National Consensus on Crime

This spirit of hope was underpinned by the long-awaited signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the National Consensus on Crime by Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips last Monday. We owe a debt of gratitude to the working committee of stakeholders led by Lloyd Distant and dynamic members including the ultimate mover and shaker, Minna Israel.

We are grateful for the responsiveness to the year-long process by Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang and Opposition Spokesperson on National Security MP Fitz Jackson.

The MOU aims at the dismantling and elimination of criminal gangs; normalising and reintegrating troubled communities; preventing corruption, collusion and money laundering; and reforming and modernising the police and justice system. It has stated agreements on a monitoring and reporting mechanism. Other signatories to the MOU include the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce; Jamaica Council of Churches; Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ); Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU); Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches.

‘Chicken Merry, Hawk deh Near’

Full of Independence joy, we were rocking away to the live show when a message appeared on PBCJ: ‘Standby for a Press Briefing with PM Most Hon Andrew Holness’.  We had a feeling of trepidation as we remembered our grandmother’s warning, “Chicken merry, hawk deh near.” The Prime Minister outlined in grim terms the fact that a Pastor in Clarendon who had recently returned to Jamaica from the US had been conducting services without following the prescribed protocols for churches. This had resulted in members of his congregation falling ill with Covid, resulting in a quarantine being declared for the district of Sandy Bay in Clarendon. Furthermore, in St. Thomas an elderly woman who had been called to a church to pray over someone who was suffering from Covid, caught the virus. A section of St. Thomas was also placed in quarantine. In that one single day, 30 persons were diagnosed with Covid and the following day, we had one more death and 29 more persons diagnosed with the virus.

The result of this careless behaviour is that the Minister of Local Government Desmond McKenzie will now have to review some of the guidelines for gatherings, especially for funerals. The government is on the horns of a dilemma: how do we keep the economy going while keeping the country safe? PSOJ President Keith Duncan has opined that the country cannot afford a total lockdown, but that there had to be consequences for companies and individuals who do not follow the protocols. Also, he called for more public health aides to be involved in the monitoring of communities.

Beirut misery

On Wednesday, our timelines lit up with a huge explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Over 2,000 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up, from a fire started by sparks from a welding job. So extensive was the damage that over 150 persons have lost their lives, 5,000 have been injured and 300,000 persons have been left homeless.  Reports are that a ship carrying the chemicals from Georgia in Eastern Europe to Mozambique, was forced to dock in the port of Beirut in 2014. The dangerous chemicals were offloaded and stored in a facility at the port. Letters had been written by concerned citizens about this hazardous material sitting dangerously close to densely populated neighborhoods. It is alleged that the letters were not answered and so the chemicals remained there for six years, becoming increasingly unstable.

The scenes from the aftermath of explosion are heartrending: family members frantically searching for relatives still buried under the rubble, hospitals overflowing with patients and business owners hopelessly surveying their damaged surroundings.

We understand that the international community had for years been criticizing the government of Lebanon for corruption and poor governance.  That spark which destroyed a city is a stark reminder to leaders everywhere. Now the world must assist this traumatized country to rebuild.

Happy 50th Archbishop Dufour

Yesterday Archbishop Emeritus Charles Dufour celebrated his 50th Anniversary of ordination as a Catholic priest. Ordained August 12, 1970, he has moved congregations throughout Jamaica with his spirited homilies and his meaningful projects. He was installed as Bishop of the Diocese of Montego Bay in 1995 and was appointed the sixth Archbishop of Kingston in Jamaica by Pope Benedict in 2011.

A dedicated Jamaican, Archbishop Dufour’s social engagement includes the Peace Management Initiative, of which he was the first chairman (March 2003 – February 2008); the Parliamentary Salaries Commission; the Police (Civilian Oversight) Authority (PCOA), of which he was appointed Chairman in 2008 by then Governor-General Sir Kenneth Hall and the Good Shepherd Foundation, of his own establishment and patronage.

Archbishop Dufour is an inspiring example of servant-leadership for God and his people. We wish him a blessed 50th Anniversary, and many more to come.