Rest well, Filmore Alveranga, OD
Dear Editor,
I join with the Rastafari community, as all Jamaicans should, in mourning the loss of a wise council and visionary in the person of Filmore Alveranga.
I hold deep admiration and appreciation for his dedicated work and for being at the forefront of the fight to recognise and appreciate our afro-centricity. Filmore’s whole life was marked by his commitment to repatriation and reparation. His cultural contribution, through the mystic revelation of Rastafari with whom he performed up to last month, together with his ‘freedom’ fight, epitomises his whole life; one that would never conceive of us swapping a continent for only an island.
Long will I recall his wise council, his agitation, including sharing with me his private documents and report on his mission to Africa in 1961. His historically based letters to the highest representative of the British colonial system, be they royalty or politically elected persons, was equally matched by his fight here in Jamaica for our decision-making body — Parliament — to approve our political right to claim repatriation and reparations from chattel slavery.
I will miss him dearly as I seek and hope for the fulfilment of his dreams, as I mourn with his earthly family and the remaining members of his fraternity who have carried the torch thus far.
Mike Henry, CD, MP
Central Clarendon