Dear Editor,

On November 16, 2014, the Anthony Bourdain Parts unknown, Episode 8: An unvisited side of Jamaica finally aired. Bourdain, with his off-the-cuff humour, authentic commentary, and his absolute love for food, offered a perspective of our country’s north-east coast.

Of course, his coverage of the blatant inequalities in our society should come as no surprise, since many contend with these issues on a daily basis. Indeed, it brings to the fore again, the need for us to solve these problems.

Still, it was his trip to Oracabessa, beside Christopher Blackwell’s Golden Eye that was the scene of a display of unparalleled ugliness. A fisherman recounted his perception of the imminent developments in the area, much to the consternation of Bourdain’s escort, famed local actor Carl Bradshaw. Apparently, Bradshaw mistakenly exchanged his scripts, since for at least two full minutes, the menacing aggression and violent language he showcased was reminiscent of The Harder they Come or Third World Cop. He was visibly upset at the turn of the discussion, which was not complimentary of the proposed development of the beach and the surrounding area. The venom with which he asked the bold-speaking fisherman to stop speaking, with a few familiar Jamaican expletives, added to the sad scene.

Faced with our mammoth crime problem, is this the image we wanted to plaster in the international arena, while inviting visitors to our fair isle? Is the rude boy culture and tourism an appropriate match?

This fearful display, while unfortunate, should jolt us into addressing the monster which has received its citizenship by naturalisation. Perhaps, the time is meet for our leaders to begin the difficult task of removing the aggression which is almost seared into our national consciousness. So imprinted, that we have unwittingly marred ourselves.

Janene A Laing

janene_laing@hotmail.com