Sometimes we should sweat the small stuff
Dear Editor,
I am a Jamaican by birth. I have no intention of migrating. I am a proud Jamaican. Sometimes.
There are many others like me here. They are proud Jamaicans. Sometimes.
Jamaicans living in the Diaspora are proud of their country. Sometimes.
We have naturalized Jamaicans here. We have visitors here. We have legal migrants here. We have illegal immigrants here. We have persons all over the world who are aware of Jamaica and Jamaicans. They are proud of our country. Sometimes.
Today is one of those days when I’m not a proud citizen. Another incident has occurred in my country that has left me sad. This latest incident has strengthened my resolve that we need to care more, be more professional in the dispensation of our duties, be more respectful of self, others and the laws of the land. It tells me we need to be more proactive. It tells me we need to find more meaningful ways of dealing with conflicts. It has left me thinking we sometimes need to sweat the small stuff as, if not, through delay attributable to ignorance, inaction, ineptitude, inaccuracies, or insouciance, some small occurrences can lead to devastating ends.
I make direct reference to the incident where 31-year-old Mario “Todd” Deane of St James has succumbed to injuries inflicted on his body while he was under State care. I do not know the details of this story, except for what is being aired in the media. It is reported that he was apprehended and placed in jail for the possession of a “spliff”. How did this lead up to his death? Was the small stuff of this action sweated? Were proper procedures followed when he was apprehended or when his family friend went to bail him?
A similar catastrophe occurred in October 2013 when Kamoza Clarke of Trelawny, also 31 years old, was beaten allegedly by police while in custody. The extent of Clarke’s injuries remain a discussion. The police report said that Clarke ‘had fallen and had hit his head against a wooden bench’. It is also reported that he and other inmates had an altercation. This explanation has a sickening similarity to the one being proffered in Deane’s case as it has been said that he not only had a fight with inmates, he “fell off a bunk bed and hit his head”. Clarke, like Dean, died while in hospital.
We may need to launch an investigation into police “benches and bunks” as they seem to possess the ability to deliver fatal blows to (31-year- old) inmates’ heads.
As citizens of Jamaica, land we love, we need to take immediate steps to protect our rights – both as civilians and as members of the security forces. This protection and preservation of our basic human rights may seem insignificant but, as a people, it becomes incumbent on us to take steps to halt these dastardly acts. We need to stop the unending cries of “We want justice” because we have justice. What we need, instead, is to deal expeditiously with the bigger picture of professional and personal malpractice.
Alcia Morgan Bromfield
amorganbromfield@yahoo.com