Remember the WikiLeaks cables? When Julian Assange began releasing data from the United States Department of State in 2010, Jamaica, not surprisingly, came up for mention, particularly in relation to the Christopher Coke extradition request. Along the way, what seemed like mundane information about Jamaican public figures was transmitted by the United States Embassy in Kingston to the State Department and caused consternation when they became public because, in their very mundanity, they were embarrassing for specific individuals and for the country.

One piece of domestic information which became the focus of public discussions, I thought, represented both a culture clash as well as lack of understanding of the role of the American diplomats and how they work. Overall, the conduct of some of our public officials suggest that they did not understand that the American diplomats in Jamaica, and all over the world, are representing the US’s interest, and they are always on duty and always on task. An American diplomat will not overlook anything that might turn out to be significant down the road, or which might seem trivial to onlookers, including some of our public servants.

It came as no surprise, therefore, that what things we would think of as unimportant ended up in an electronic dispatch to the US State Department. I hope that whole episode was a learning experience and that both government and the broad mass of people understand now that whatever United States President Barack Obama needs to know about Jamaica, for example, he already knows from the media and the regular dossier from the US Embassy in Kingston that must provide current and updated information. In fact, he probably knows far more than many who live there, including some in high places.

His April 9 trip to Jamaica will be short and tightly controlled. Plus, with just about two weeks to go, it is insufficient time to transform our Jericho Road into anything other than what it is. We cannot erase the everyday violence, or the evidence and knowledge of the oppressive social and economic conditions, and the corresponding indignity in which too many people live, nor can we conceal the vulgar inequalities that are a defining feature of our existence.

President Obama has even referenced our wealth gap as one of the worst in the world and expressed concern that America is headed where we are, unless there are fundamental changes in fiscal policies, immigration reform, education, including workforce development, and removing the barriers to progress among historically marginalised communities.

While we should ensure that we pay him the courtesy of receiving him in an environment that is clean and pleasant, as it should be for our citizens, there should be no attempt to sanitise our circumstances and present it as entirely different from our everyday reality. That will simply feed into the perception of us as profilers and hypocrites. The increasingly jaded population will not take kindly to it — not even for love of a groundbreaking president with whom the majority of the population will identify.

Obama knows about homelessness, for example. There are more than 60,000 in New York City and 6,000 in Washington, DC, the capital of the United States. He knows that the problem is intractable and it is exacerbated wherever there is poverty, inequality and corruption. He knows, too, that the arguments we make about poor people causing their own poverty is about denial and a culture that is scientifically illiterate, as Louis Moyston so aptly put it in his column on the Riverton fire. Obama knows that most Jamaicans are poor in large part because of our history of slavery and colonialism, and our political leadership has been too slow to dismantle the structures which prevent many people from accessing land, capital, and, most of all, a quality and relevant education.

The discrimination and exclusion that we have practised relentlessly contribute to and perpetuate the cycle of poverty. Historically, we have barred people from opportunities because of their skin colour, gender, where they live, where they go to school, or which political party they support. And we have used the education system to reinforce social hierarchies rather than to train caring, productive and responsible citizens. Opposition Leader Andrew Holness is entirely correct in his assertion that: “At any one time, close to a third of the country is under the direct institutional control and direction of the State through the education system. This is the most powerful instrument of government to bring about, social and economic change, renew hope, and rebuild the confidence of the people.” To a good extent, therefore, a large part of our failures are effectively, the failure of our education system.

Other factors include our high debt burden — which now stands at around $2 trillion — and continues to be exacerbated by corruption and incompetence, and by the vicious cycle of being forced to borrow from international lending agencies and conforming to terms that undermine the development of local economies. Conflict or high levels of violence, like we experience in Jamaica, also perpetuate poverty because it strains public health care, adds to the cost of security for individual and businesses, and discourages local and international investors. The inability to effectively address problems, such as praedial larceny, keep poor people poor. Natural disasters, to which we are prone, also contribute to chronic poverty.

President Obama knows what we are capable of; he knows about Marcus Garvey and Michael Manley and Colin Powell, and he is a fan of Usain Bolt. Plus, when Air Force One or (Two) circles the Palisadoes strip, he, like others before, will gasp at the magnificence of the scape below. He will have no choice but to concede that Hawaii does not even come close. On the drive into Kingston, however, he will see something else – grime, neglect, poverty, and the result of poor planning.

Let him see that too. It’s a part of who we are, and it should form the impetus for growth and change.

Grace Virtue, PhD, is a social justice advocate.

PULL QUOTE

While we should ensure that we pay [Obama] the courtesy of receiving him in an environment that is clean and pleasant, as it should be for our citizens, there should be no attempt to sanitise our circumstances and present it as entirely different from our everyday reality. That will simply feed into the perception of us as profilers and hypocrites

CAP:

OBAMA…knows all he needs to about Jamaica’s real circumstances