Will the real Jamaican please stand up?

Lloyd B Smith

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Juxtapose the Armadale fiasco and the Dudus affair and it becomes crystal clear that politics takes precedence over everything else in Jamaica. The responses of the Bruce Golding administration so far to both issues succinctly indicate where our priorities lie as a country. The potent question to be asked, therefore, is who is going to chase those crazy baldheads out of town?

The Rev Al Miller disappoints me. While I respect his views on the Christopher "Dudus" Coke extradition matter, a man of his influence in the public sphere, who has been given the task by Prime Minister Bruce Golding to help transform Jamaica in terms of values and attitudes, should have kept his mouth shut. Divisiveness has become the order of the day in this country and so those who are supposed to be symbols of national unity and transformation must be mindful of the bigger picture and not get carried away with headline-grabbing pronouncements.

Unfortunately, by taking the Dudus controversy to Parliament, Prime Minister Golding has, whether wittingly or unwittingly, brought into sharp focus the raison d'être for seeking political power in this country. It is not about the greatest good for the greatest number, as it ought to be. Rather, as the PNP's Maxine Henry-Wilson has been quoted as saying, it's all about who gets what, where and when (or words to that effect). And it was her fellow parliamentarian Dr Peter Phillips who declared that in this country the man who plays by the rules gets shafted.

Against this backdrop, it is safe to say that the real Jamaican among us has become an endangered species. Ironically, while we deal with one another in a most callous and cruel manner, we smile and kowtow to the tourist. Recently, Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett reinforced the point that has been made over and over again, that the main reason why so many overseas visitors make it Jamaica again and again is the friendliness and warmth of the Jamaican people. Our legendary hospitality cannot be surpassed anywhere else in the world, yet at the same time we have been dubbed one of the world's murder capitals!

What the tourists experience is what the real Jamaican has to offer. Visit especially many rural communities that have not been corrupted and spoiled by the dancehall culture and insidious partisan politics and you cannot find a more courteous, honest, God-fearing, loving and industrious set of people. Yes, there are still many real Jamaicans in our midst but they have been put to silence out of fear and intimidation, thanks to a political system that elevates dons while denigrating those who dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone.

It has been said that a country's worth can be truly assessed by the way it treats the very young and the very old. The Armadale inquiry has laid bare findings that are almost reminiscent of Hitler's treatment of the Jews: the old and infirm as well as those who have fallen through the social safety net are treated with such impunity and callousness. Just look how the nurses and their quest for a better quality of life is being treated by the government.

When this Golding administration came to power in 2007, it vowed to fight crime and corruption. If we are to go by the recently released United States State Department report, we are fast becoming a narco-democracy as well as heading towards being dubbed a rogue state in the international community. Hundreds of Jamaicans almost daily are seeing their constitutional rights trampled on in one way or another. Do they have a voice in Parliament? Who speaks for them? Who defends them even if it means losing political capital? Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!

Outside of the tardiness with respect to the crime-fighting bills that are being held up indefinitely, there are other pieces of legislation that are critical in the "context of strengthening governance and control of corruption", if I may quote from a preferably unnamed source at this time. Among these are the funding of political parties (Political Party Registration and Funding Act); the Amendment to the Libel Law, the Whistle-blower Protection Act; the repeal of the Official Secrets Act which will necessitate an Amendment to the Access to Information Act as well as the Gazetting of Regulations for the Plea Bargaining Act which must be affirmed by a parliamentary resolution. Instead of focusing on this crucially important legislative agenda, we note the alacrity with which our politicians have set about to increase the number of seats in Parliament, which means more taxpayers' money must be found in order to distribute scarce benefits and spoils.

In another two years time, 2012, Jamaica will have marked 50 years of having gained political independence. In 1969, one of our esteemed founding fathers, Norman Washington Manley, charged that it was the responsibility of the succeeding generation to ensure that the country achieve economic independence. Based on IMF projections as well as those emanating from domestic sources such as the PIOJ and the BOJ, at 50 Jamaica will still be in the throes of persistent poverty. So much for independence! If it is not to founder on the rocks of corruption, crime, indiscipline, incompetence, a lack of patriotism and a fixity of purpose, then some of us will have to be prepared to pay the ultimate price. I am sick and tired of people approaching me and saying, "Is what kind of things dem dat you writing, you don't fraid dem kill you?"

There is nothing to fear except fear itself and if we must die let it not be like hogs penned in an inglorious spot (if I may so paraphrase these two well-known quotations which became the rallying point for patriots during World War II). Lest we forget, Jamaica is indeed at war. It is time that the real Jamaicans begin to stand up. Too many of us prefer to play to the gallery or pander to the lowest common multiple. To Bruce Golding I say, "Beware the Ides of March, yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look." As for those in their ivory towers, seemingly far from the world of woe, "Fire deh a mus-mus tail, him think a cool breeze!" I am prepared to stand up; are you?

lloydbsmith@hotmail.com

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COMMENTS (12)

HJ Frater
3/16/2010

Seems like my friend from the West has been bitten by the "One Don" bug and wants a "one order' of his own. All of these self righteous leaders and writers to these various columns are often guilty of writing their own opinions and behaving as though it is reflective of all our collective opinions, or better exactly how we ought to think.
The press is just another arm of the capitalist society whole will sensationalize and do anything for material gain and wealth. From where do these people get there morale and other authority to impose their opinions and beliefs on the rest of us? Say your piece and get on with it and don't criticize others for what they believe in. How dare you tell the Rev. Al Miller to shut up!!
The weak worldwide democracies that most of unwittingly subscribe to alludes to the notion that people like me and Al Miller have guarded freedoms of expression, and what makes you the vanguard of the Jamaican society? Did you fight for our freedoms, did you ever send me to school or paid my bills, were you somehow appointed by divine intervention...where do you get your authority from!! I hope its not from a University. You all play to the tune of the pied piper as long as its what you want to hear and not necessarily the truth. You are all capitalist that like to step on each other and suck each other like leaches to survive.
We blame the political leaders because we like scapegoats and the blame game, when we should be telling the nation to subscribe to a new paradigm of personal responsibility. The business world, the press, the churches, the politicians, the human rights organizations are all involved and are to be equally blamed. We all subscribe to this weak democracy and have to all take personal responsibility for the state of affairs that Jamaica is in and answer to the Almighty at some point.
Let me explain something to Lloyd B. Smith and the rest of Jamaica...until we are unified for one purpose and serve the Almighty with all our hearts, mind and soul and love thy neighbor as thyself, things will continue to be the same. We are a selfish bunch in Jamaica that are still in a slave mode in more ways than one. On the one hand some of us still want to sell and trample our brothers for personal gain and other hand it is unfortunate that the rest of us want to still exist under and at the behest of the Chieftains, Dons and leaders that can be all things to us provide for our every earthly need, barring only a few..
Ole' time people say, " dance a yaad before you dance abroad", lets start taking care of our own neck of the woods and like the writers alluded to, although in a very divisive way, each and everyone of us need to stand up...all the stakeholders in Jamaica, whether you born ya or not, whether you are Jamaican or not, lets stand up against all the ills that are affecting Jamaica at every level!!

JAN WATTS
3/16/2010

The million dollar question i would like to ask is, why every other person is ask to be send back to they USA for trial is never an issue, JA never ask how they got the information and all so why This man now? Why ask just do the right things. either way the CIVIL WAR IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

KING DAVID
3/16/2010

I read Rev. Miller article, like many other commentators they all hav e their own apinion. You don't have to be in agreement with them, but you have to RESPECT THEM. we don't live in a monolethic society, therefore we have to learn to agree to disagree...many writers to this column is way off in their analysis of current issues or opinions, however it's within their democratic right to express themselves...I remember two Bibical Individuals who went against the powers to be, at a time when it was not popular to do, one lost his head(John the Baptist) the other had to flee for his life, because they dare to speak out against the mighty Rome and the Powers at hand....many of your writers here, apperars to be biased. can some of you take the visa out your pockets and stand straight like men and voiced your opinions honestly? I am appaled at the level of crime and mayhem taken place in Jamaica, and I will not agree with anyone who tries to compare Jamaica with anywhere else, yes we know that corruption exist else where at grandur levels, but we need the tourist dollars to sustain our economy. This does not mean surrendering our rights to anyone, this level of conversation would not be taken place if it was the other way around! so let us be astute in our thinking. I will not GET UP STAND UP FOR IMOTIONALISM, PARTISAN POLITICS, ARROGANCE, PERSONAL OBJECTIVE, EGOTISM, AND SELL-OUT.. as one who lived in jamaica in the 70's I do remember the devisiveness that led us into a state of Barbarty, If only some of us had listen to then PrimeMinister Michael Manley, our sociopolitical and economic principles and plan would be bearing fruit today..Then as many of you I did'nt support him because of what was happening at the time. But education has done a lot to realized that Jamaica problem is just a microism of the AfroAmerican problem. remember Hurricane Katrina. Please my fellow Jamaican for some of us who was around in the 70's , let us learn from the past...lets remember past leaders who fought for us...MALCOM....MICHAEL..MARTIN..MEDGAR EVERS..STOKELY..H RAP BROWN..HON. MIN. L FARAKHAAN..WALTER RODNEY..PAUL BOUGLE...SERJUNOR TRUTH..AN MANY MORE..

Omar Kenyata
3/16/2010

Al Miller has offered another bit of, not so sensible comment as he believes that it serves the cause of Justice , to have the PM circumvent the dispenser of justice in our land :i.e. The courts. However, Florizel Glasspole took the PNP govt. to task when He was GG and the chattering classes were delighted with him. I am not sure Al miller should not be free to express his views on a matter as important as this just because he heads some Tranformation taskforce. At least we know where he stands. We don't know where Omar and Portia stand.

Verna Kitson
3/16/2010

@ D Ranks - In theory, I agree with the critique you are making. However, I chose not to get lost in that splitting of hairs & to focus on the main argument/proposal that is being made. Lloyd could have said "concerned Jamaicans" or that other rather odd phrase "well-thinking Jamaicans" & you (and probably myself as well) would have had similar critiques about the ways in which such terms are both exclusionary & unnecessarily limited/limiting. I think they are also class-laden terms, but that's another conversation. Here's the problem, at the same time that the term has some drawbacks (nationalisms always do), all of our thieving, malicious, lying, misinformed, shortsighted politicians have been speaking & acting in the name of us "Jamaicans" for a long time. They certainly consider themselves to be "real Jamaicans." So do all those who work really hard to wreak mayhem on the society for personal gain. They are Jamaican by accident of birth, dishonest and evil by choice. The effects of their decisions inter alia are to undermine our collective abilities to improve our the current circumstances & to mortgage our children's future. To me, that is decidedly unpatriotic behaviour, and thus un-Jamaican. What are you working for is what distinguishes the "real" vs. the insincere/selfish/destructive etc. Indeed, need to consider what a useful opposite would be. I agree with Lloyd in the sense that we need to take back the notion of what it means to be "Jamaican" & to define it in a more progressive way, that allows people to start to think about "being Jamaican" as synonymous with becoming politically engaged as citizens & taking on the responsibility of making a better society for all of us. It's about a group of people being willing to stand up & declare their allegiances & to ask the rest of us, do you want to be part of the solution or part of the problem? Are you with us or against us? You don't have to take the same side I'm (or Lloyd, or whoever) is on, but know that you are on a side, whether or not you choose. It's better to choose. I think that's what all Jamaicans want - to be able to choose how our lives unfold, rather than be treated like stupid children by our politicians.

josh davis
3/16/2010

I am standing up..I am bringing a case against the gov.

Verna Kitson
3/16/2010

Absolutely!! I am completely sick and tired of us living in this nightmare.
How can this be a democracy if you are expected to be afraid of dying, should you say what is unpopular and critiques the powers that be?
How can this be a democracy if you want to stand outside or march and protest in the streets, and people feel they have the right to come at you with machetes and guns?
How can this be a democracy when all the information that we need to make and hold our politicians accountable are willfully hidden and kept from us, divulged only by "unnamed" and "preferential" sources?
These are just some of the realities that tell us that we are living in a sham-democracy. It's full time that we get off our behinds and stand up and speak out on the matters that we are concerned about. How can we expect better or different when we are always doing the same thing i.e. saying nothing?

Leo Anderson
3/16/2010

Ready to stand....

C. Brown
3/16/2010

Well put Mr. Smith. I agree with you 100%. Like Bob said "Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights and don't give up the fight"...Jamaica needs a new beginning... These politicians are the root of our problems; it's about time we stand up to them and their dons, or we continue to live in fear and poverty.

D Ranks
3/16/2010

Good Piece, and I applaud it. What I object to, however, is the term "real Jamaican." Who is a real Jamaican? Is it one who believes as the author does, or is it one who hold an opinion of his or her own? Is a real Jamaican one who is born into wealth or born into poverty? Or is a real Jamaican a Jamaican who does not commit crimes, get involved in corrupted practices? One who can run really fast, or run really slow? Am I a real Jamaican, how about you? and so on and so forth.
I would like to think that each Jamaican, regardless of where they are form, their social status, their beliefs, their crimes or none, in fact evey jackman of us, are real Jamaicans. We are real to the core, but still we are all unique. "Are you a real Jamaica", sounds like separating the sheep from sheep and saying this sheep is not a real sheep, but it looks like a sheep and sound like a sheep. We are disowning our collective-selves, that is what it is.
I would have preferrd the phrase, "concerned Jamaicans." Yet even with that there would be critical views on it, becasue we would have define "concerned". Such is life. But we live in societies of diversity and everyone of us is real, concerned for our welfare or not, we are real to the bone.
No doubt about it, Loyd B. Smith is a real Jamaican, and he expresses it eloquently, much to our benefit. But so is Andem, a convicted criminal, and he is in prison , much to our delight and safety. We are real, but the question we should ask, maybe, is: Just how concerned we are for this nation of ours?

Hope Alive
3/16/2010

I am prepared to stand up!

3/16/2010

Honour Mr. Smith. This is the TRUTH. Not the kind of partisan B.S. that is prevalent. I agree with you basically word for word and I am glad that you put both PNP and JLP politicians in the crosshairs.
I personally consider Rev. Miller a poppyshow especially after his letter. I agree that the rights of all Jamaicans must be protected but in this dudus situation it is vivid to the blind man that there is a serious conflict of interest when a influential government senator is Mr. Coke's lawyer and Mr Coke is one of the PMs most important supporters.
The well thinking Jamaicans I believe realize that this is a war for our country, which has been hijacked by people only concerned about self.

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Will the real Jamaican please stand up?