PRESIDENT and founder of the United Independents’ Congress (UIC) Joseph Patterson, who is running as an independent candidate in the St Elizabeth North Eastern constituency for the next general election, says he is not daunted by the violence which is sometimes associated with politics in the heat of campaigns leading up to such events.

Patterson, who boasts of being a Christian who lives his life according to the teachings of Jesus Christ, says he is ready for anything that may come with the territory of making himself available to represent the people of that constituency.

“I am not afraid to face people who are rough and angry,” Patterson told reporters and editors at the weekly

Jamaica ObserversMonday Exchange held at the newspaper’s head office yesterday. “As a Christian I will face any tough person, any day, anywhere on this march to repair my country.”

According to the 44-year-old returning resident, Christ was able to deal with people of all stripes, was never afraid to associate with those who were angry and rough, and was never afraid to face challenges. While admitting that he is not Christ, Patterson said he will not shy away from doing the same.

“What I am afraid of is that Jamaican people might be tricked by those who have means into thinking we cannot change this country,” he said.

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Patterson, a chartered accountant, said already he has had to deal with some tough people.

“I met the night before with some tough men, and one of them was introduced to me as a ‘rough neck’ supporter of one of the parties who get things done. I shook his hand and I asked him to get something done for me. I asked him to focus on what he wants for his children and grandchildren and I watched his eyes and his emotions as he took a moment to think about them. And I saw a tough man take the time to shake my hand and he said ‘you are real’,” Patterson recounted.

Reinforcing the point that he is the real deal, Patterson said he is committed to ensuring Jamaica is a country where everybody feels safe, secure and committed to a country where economic independence is the order of the day.

But his wife of 21 years did not express a similar bravado as she noted that she is afraid for his safety.

“I am afraid. My Christian principles will not allow me to lie, so I am afraid but my husband is fearless so I am piggybacking on him,” she told the Monday Exchange.

Mrs Patterson said she has been thinking about her husband’s safety since she first learnt of his political ambitions in eighth grade, when he voiced his hope of wanting to be the prime minister of his country.

She noted that if he is not afraid she will have to learn from him.

“Last night he said that if there is a cause that is worth dying for then there is no need to be afraid. What he is doing right now is quite admirable. I think fighting for his country has always been his desire, and despite all my fears and everything else that comes with that I will stand by my husband. and if it means he will die for the cause then I will have to deal with that,” she said.

Meanwhile, Patterson said their three daughters ages 16, 17 and 21 are opposed to him entering representational politics and would much rather him being home enjoying the comforts that come with having accomplished much.

But Patterson, who said he grew up in downtown Kingston in a one-room house with a single mother who had braved the gunshots that day to get to the Jubilee Hospital to give birth to him, said he cannot just sit by and do nothing to help his country.

“… Now we have gotten to a place where I could sit back and relax and enjoy the strictures of having accomplished something, but I really could not live with myself if I [did] not do something to help my country to overcome what has been to me the most tragic history of our nation — to move from being the number one nation in the region to be somewhere close to the bottom. I really cannot live with myself to know that God has blessed me with skills, ability and a little means to just enjoy Canada and sit there and live in a big house and drive a nice car and enjoy what other people fought for in their country,” he said.

He explained that his mother is now a United States citizen and he could have followed in her footstep but opted not to. As for his current Canadian citizenship, Patterson said he acquired that through his wife.

“I am a Canadian citizen and so I could just stay there and enjoy the luxury of Canada because someone else fought for their freedom and created a wonderful country, but I want Jamaica to be better than Canada. I want Jamaica to be as good as the US. I want Jamaica to be the best country in the world because we have the resources, we have the people, we have the ability; all we need now is leadership and a new system of governance that will stop the corruption and allow us to be the best that we can be,” he said.