The wake-up call of the Palisadoes

BARBARA GLOUDON

Friday, January 27, 2012

WHILE THE storm clouds gather over the grandly titled Palisadoes Shoreline Protection and Rehabilitation Project, has anyone stopped to take a good look at what we have mortgaged the future of the next generation for? I know it as a work in progress, but according to Mike's Dream, when it all comes together, we are supposed to have a splendiferous entryway to Kingston city.

Now that story is coming to bump with the finances, it is time to ask the dreaded question: What if there is no money to complete it? What will we do with the heapa rockstone pack up on the roadside and the environment turned upside down? How will the pieces of the Chinese puzzle come together? What will it really look like when it is completed, whenever that is?

I wonder if I am the only one who has suddenly awakened to the realisation that while we're being so casual, we could end up with a disaster on or hands. Give credit to the environmentalists. They at least spoke up early but with little support. The rest of us have taken refuge in silence.

Most of us don't seem to understand enough to care. Let's exaggerate for a while. A government which has lost its mind could try to hack down the Blue Mountains, and apart from treating the issue as a nine-day wonder, we'd just leave them to get on with it. A bit much, you'll say, but I'm trying to make a point here, folks. The wake-up call of the Palisadoes project should not be just about the money. It is about how trusting/lazy we have become about knowing whatta gwaan in our country and the price we are being called on to pay.

In other places, when major changes are proposed to alter the landscape, citizens demand to see some evidence that they will get what they pay for, and just as important, what impact it will have on the land which is the only heritage a people have. Not so with us. We leave it up to "dem" to do what "dem" want and then complain when it is too late. Why is it only now that I'm asking if it is really necessary to block out the view of the harbour, the mountains and the city on the harbour side of the road.

I'm advised that it is to facilitate some part of the intended four lanes, which we will need for the Grand Entry to Kingston or whatever Mike sees in his dream. Nobody has shown us a model of the project so that we could see and form our own opinion. Instead, we've sat down and let the fantasy continue.

If the money kass-kass had never started, we might not have heard a peep out of a puss. Dare we ask - what if - what if we cannot find the money to complete the puzzle? We might have to put up a sign outside the airport "Welcome to the Land of Chacka-Chacka."

JUST ASKING: We have some of the best architects and environmental designers in this land. It would be interesting to know how many are involved in projects which are changing the face of our land so brutally.

TALKING OF sovereignty and national pride, this is as good a time as any to mention the passing of Dudley Thompson, one Jamaican who did more than many in seeking to bridge the gap between African nations and us. He was a passionate advocate of Pan Africanism which earned him the signal honour of the first passport conferring the status of Citizen of the African Union.

His knowledge was vast. His advocacy was unparalleled. He had the unique distinction of being Jamaica's ambassador at large to several African nations. Over the years, he never relented in his crusade to enshrine the teachings of Marcus Mosiah Garvey in our schools and to acknowledge the value of the African connection. Never lacking a word, he was famed for his sharp wit and his willingness to share his knowledge, especially with a new generation.

Since his passing, legal colleagues have been recalling some of his quick comebacks in courtroom encounters. As a teacher (Mico-trained), he had a word for just about everything. I like how he referred to slavery as not the end of our African heritage, but an interruption of an ongoing story which began long before the slave traders and their despicable trade in human flesh.

Last December, I was privileged to have a phone conversation with him in Florida, where he was passing his retirement years. Today, his insight would have assisted us to deal with the sad situation of the Muslim-Christian conflict now raging in Nigeria. His vast experience could have helped us to understand the reason for the awful carnage. He too would have grieved at the death toll - as much as 154 last week.

"WHA GONE BAD a mawnin cyaan come good a evening," the Ancestors say. So, it is with "scattered showers over Manchester high ground", to borrow from weather forecast terminology. The inordinate haste (some will even say "indecent") with which a new custos of the parish was chosen, and the timing of it, was bound to lead to problems. It has. As usual, people have lined up on the side of their truth. The governor general, who was to preside at the installation, has wisely, I think, set it aside for the time being to allow the situation to cool down. It is the least he can do in the situation.

After the days of chattering and battering, it seems that it is time for the government to devise a protocol on the appointment of custodes, clarifying the requirements (and there should be such) which candidates or selectees should meet and make it known to the public. This is a new Jamaica. People no longer accept things on blind trust.

In the past, custos has been regarded as one of the "good old boys" of the parish, a man of substance who, when he spoke, no dog barked. Things have changed. A new kind of citizen is emerging. The people no longer accept the status quo. Selection of custos should no longer be a private matter between the Queen and Backra. It affects the wider community. Time for reform.

gloudonb@yahoo.com

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The wake-up call of the Palisadoes