The passion surrounding the statue that has long been used to represent National Hero Paul Bogle is something that is not often seen in this country, especially in relation to national monuments.

In fact, public respect for monuments, historic buildings and artefacts, is quite limited, despite the sterling efforts of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) to ensure preservation of our history.

We are therefore surprised at the reaction of the people of Morant Bay to the JNHT’s plan to re-erect in that town what we have all become accustomed to as the statue of Paul Bogle, which was taken down for reconstruction due to degeneration by nature and damage inflicted by a mentally ill man last year.

According to yesterday’s lead story, the JNHT has decided to heed the strong advice from the town’s residents not to return the controversial statue there as, they insist, it does not represent the true facial features of Mr Bogle.

As it turns out, the artist who was commissioned to make the statue, renowned sculptor the late Mrs Edna Manley, used a model — known to people in the town only as ‘Mr Bagan’.

What the residents have demanded is a statue giving a true representation of Mr Bogle’s facial features. They also seem to have attached great symbolism to the placement of a sword on the current statue, saying that it represents the “cutting off of the power of speech” at one end and the cutting off of the hero’s regenerative capabilities at the other end.

Miss Dorette Abrahams, head of the African Heritage Development Association and public relations officer of the Parish Development Committee, also argued that the position in which the sword was being held suggested surrender. She also insisted that instead of having the back of the statue turned to the Morant Bay courthouse, the piece should be facing the building, “showing Bogle defending the rights of the common people”.

While we understand the objection raised by the residents, we share the view posited by Mr Patrick Staniger, the chairman of the JNHT, that the statue is really a symbolic representation of the ideals for which Mr Bogle fought.

“It is a very effective monument representing his fight for freedom,” Mr Staniger stressed in said yesterday’s Observer. “It is a monument to the Morant Bay Rebellion.”

Where the Government went wrong in 1965 when the statue was erected was in not saying — by way of public education to the country and particularly to the people of St Thomas — that this was a monument to Mr Bogle and the rebellion.

In addition, instead of simply placing the name Paul Bogle only on the plinth, the message of the statue’s significance should have been clearly engraved. That, we believe, would have prevented Miss Abrahams and her neighbours from feeling that they were deceived.

For given our knowledge of Mrs Manley and her works, we are convinced that she would not engage in deception. What stood in Morant Bay for decades was really her interpretation of the epic events of October 1865.

The people of Morant Bay, though, need to understand and appreciate the fact that there’s nothing wrong in monuments being used to reflect history.

The image we have of National Heroine Nanny is also based on a model and we would not be surprised if that is also true of Sam Sharpe.

Our suggestion to them is to accept the Paul Bogle monument and work with the JNHT to have a true statue of Mr Bogle mounted, maybe in a sculpture park, in the town.