IN two short years Jamaica will celebrate 50 years of independence, and I am sure that we will mark that historic occasion with all the pomp and circumstance that it deserves. However, apart from being an important milestone as a sovereign nation, what have we really achieved? Have we as a nation attained a status of which we can be proud?

Despite our lush natural resources, arable land, bananas, bauxite, cocoa, coconuts, coffee, herbs and spices, a tropical climate, white sand beaches, diverse marine life, natural harbours, the island’s strategic placement in the ocean that can unite four continents (Asia, North and South America and Europe), we are the fourth poorest country in the region. Despite having an intelligent people, famed in their ability to attain heights in every field – industry, commerce, medicine, sports, the arts and music – many of our people (more than 70 per cent of the population) are functionally illiterate and unskilled, as well as unemployed. In essence, instead of being an asset to their country, their inability to contribute to the country’s productivity burdens the working classes more than 2:1. In addition, their idle existence threatens and breeds destruction for those who do contribute.

Unlike many of our counterparts in Caricom (who are all now achieving a better infrastructure, economy, GDP for their people in the last 20 years), and whose current economic landmarks that we say we will achieve in 2013. Or is it now 2030? Jamaica had a 30-year headstart. In 1962, when the British ceded their colonial rights, Jamaica had a world-renowned university that taught medicine, engineering, law, sciences, social sciences and the language arts. We had a nationwide railroad and an integrated roadway system. We had two international airports and two cargo ports. And the list goes on. So how does a country with so great a headstart become the fourth poorest in the region? How do we stem the tide and revert to national development and 5-8 per cent growth?

We have been satisfied (for too long) to live our lives based on parameters outlined by others, rather than to forge our own collective destiny. As our factories closed and our entrepreneurs were “Finsaced”, those who know better have remained silent. Our leaders and captains have abdicated their responsibilities to us all, by not highlighting, exposing and investigating these crimes against Jamaican life. But the simple men and women on the street have also reneged on their responsibility to themselves and their country: by not remaining informed; by not getting outraged and demanding accountability; firings and even jail time when warranted when irregularities are uncovered; by not acting responsibly in intimate situations to prevent unwanted children that they can ill afford to care for; by not getting the skills and training needed to carve a viable future. And it is time for all of us, captains, leaders, professionals and “sufferers”, to step up to the plate and do the necessary. Jamaica is our home and it is time that we respected it as such. I have had the opportunity to travel to other countries of the world and for all their bells and whistles, there is no place like Jamaica and therefore we should not be content to soil our home. We need to work — and work hard — to restore prosperity and peace to all of Jamaica.

Permeating all the areas in which we are disappointingly deficient (pardon the alliteration), is the lack of national self-esteem. Here I illustrate my point. A Jewish friend who lives in Israel explained why many of her countrymen would never share land with the Palestinians, even though it would spare the 60+ year-long bloodshed: “Israel was a gift from God to the landless but blessed (sic Jewish) people and no man can go against God’s wishes”. Well, Jamaica is a gift from God to those privileged to land here, so Jamaicans should be as zealous about it and its destiny as any other nationality. Another illustration of my point is that during my teaching days, I met a bright adolescent that consistently underachieved with no personal direction. He had loving parents and many material rewards. As I probed the reasons for his poor performance, it became apparent that he suffered from very low self-esteem. So for all his advantages, he was unable to tap into them to find himself and his capabilities. Jamaica is in the same boat as that young man. For all the blessings that God has given our land, we do not value it. For many, I am not even sure they can see them anymore.

But in order to forge a new path forward, we must achieve a new consciousness, a new belief system. We must learn again that we are a special and unique people, with a great capacity to love, laugh and share. We are an intelligent people, who have unfortunately lost our way, distracted by baser values and short-term gratification. Despite our incredible debt burden that impoverishes us minutely, we have the strength and mental fortitude to rise above our current circumstances and retake our place as the Jewel of the Caribbean. And like the mythical story of the phoenix, we shall rise from the ashes and fulfil our potential and our Maker’s demand.

andee_gc@yahoo.com