THESE folks in the governing Jamaica Labour Party need a reality check. The contretemps over the general secretary position is sibling rivalry to the extreme, bickering while Mama Jamaica is lying there, broken and traumatised. Who will tell these headlinegrabbers that Jamaica needs their undivided attention? A house divided cannot unite a nation, one that needs an authoritative, compassionate hand after our devastating rains.

People are slipping and sliding on gully banks, wondering when the next part of their house will follow the parts already washed away. In Lacovia, a resident sits in her house surrounded by water, unable to travel to work in Kingston, fearing for her family’s safety in the rising waters. The road near Sheffield in Westmoreland is inundated with little drainage. That parish boasts some of the island’s biggest mosquitoes (the bane of my childhood), and they now have acres of breeding space.

Did you see that lady from the Salvation Army speaking on the news about the folks near Treasure Beach? She was beside herself with worry over the danger of disease outbreak, remarking on the stagnant waters. The elderly are being ferried in makeshift boats cobbled from old refrigerators and plastic drums.

So you would think someone would be able to quell the conflict between the warring siblings, so that ODPEM and the NGOs giving aid could benefit from a government fully focused on … governing. At the rate we are going, whoever wins this “gensec” race may have a pyrrhic victory.

Writing from Atlanta, Jamaican engineer Garrick Augustus is so passionate about fixing his country’s infrastructure, that he has launched a Facebook page, Jamaica Renaissance to raise US$3 billion for the cause. He plans to return to Jamaica and has sent a letter to Road and Works Minister Mike Henry offering to be a part of his road repair team.

Let me not be cynical (my friend Ronnie Thwaites wondered why I was not my usual optimistic self last week), but Garrick should know that a willingness to help and a passion for country (over party) may actually disqualify him in some quarters. It is happening all over Jamaica. Mediocre and dishonest people shun excellence and good character. They do not want anyone to mash up their “dolly house” of double dealing. This is why we notice that the layers of asphalt over some of our eroded roads look like they were applied with a paintbrush! The middlemen have to collect so much, that the roads have been shortchanged.

This is why, much as we may not agree with everything they say, we have to respect the monitors of law and order in our society – the political ombudsman, public defender, electoral commissioners, contractor general, commissioner of customs, rights and environmental groups. They probably seem harsh because we have been bending the rules so drastically, that now they no bear no resemblance to their original form. What a job they have!

Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar, that “men have fled to brutish beasts”. Decade after decade, generation after generation, we have watched our innocent, beautiful boy babies transformed into hardened criminals. Those who preside over this transformation are the biggest brutes of them all. Where does a gang leader get the power that makes him feel so unassailable? We have so brutalised our young men that they cannot see beyond the muzzles of their guns – they have not been given the tools to build a life, just the weapons to end it.

To our leaders both in the JLP and the PNP we say, whatever mistakes you may have made in the past, whatever sins you may have committed – today is the day you can resolve to put your suffering people first. Today is the day you will not rest until you have delivered relief and compassion to our suffering thousands. Today is the day that you can call your opposite number in your division or constituency and say, “Come! Our Jamaican people who entrusted us with their wellbeing need to see us working together to ensure that they get relief.”

Call me if you make that move today and I will give you all the PR your hearts desire. I will alert the media, beg for photo and TV coverage. I will storm the social media with the good news – that finally we have leaders who care more about their people than their own selfish ends. This column will be yours next week – and I will beg my colleague columnists to shout out your good works. Is that my phone ringing …?

For the love of our men

Dr Henry Lowe and coauthor Dr Perceval Bahado-Singh launched an excellent handbook last week, entitled, The Prostate Cancer Guide – A Resource for Jamaican Men and their Families. It is an easyto-read book that should motivate Jamaicans men, especially those over 40, to get tested regularly. The book reveals that in the past 20 years, the incidence of prostate cancer has grown by 270 per cent, and is now the leading cause of cancer death in Jamaican men.

Lyttleton “Tanny” Shirley, the event’s keynote speaker, observed that “Jamaica has one of the highest incidences of prostate cancer globally”. Shirley, chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), said “Cancer is one of the untold health crises of the developing world and prostate cancer is one of the most common of all cancers, affecting one in every six men.”

Shirley reflected on the huge disadvantage that poverty posed to the wellness of our people: “Let us be mindful that when the poor cannot afford basic health services, poverty can lead to a vicious cycle of continued deteriorating health and further increased poverty.”

The SERHA chairman revealed that “over 56 per cent of deaths in Jamaica are due to non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) of which the most prevalent are cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease, heart disease and stroke”. He pointed out that ironically, these were largely preventable by addressing such risk factors as “tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol”.

Consider these statistics quoted by Tanny Shirley for Jamaicans aged 15 to 74 years: “Hypertension – 25 per cent, obesity – 25.3 per cent, physical inactivity 29.5 per cent, fruit and vegetable consumption – more than 90 per cent are consuming less than a quarter of the recommended intake of fruits and vegetables per day.”

Surely, we can do better than this. Get the book for yourself or your partner, get tested and resolve to develop healthy habits.

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com