PRIME Minister Andrew Holness has called on Jamaicans not to repeat the violence of the past which defined the society under slavery and colonial oppression, expressing concern over what he said is an emerging culture of the dehumanising and devaluation of persons through violence.

“Isn’t it ironic that we as a people who suffered under systematic violence and brutality inflicted by enslavers, we are now inflicting violence on ourselves and depriving our own people of freedom. I am certain that Sam Sharpe would be very disappointed at how pervasive and acceptable violence has become in society and culture,” the prime minister stated in his Emancipation Day message as Jamaicans observed 184 years of freedom from slavery.

He stressed that violence is systematic in the society, pointing to the corporal punishment of children, domestic violence, murders within families, the violence involved in disputes among persons, and the violence expressed or promoted in cultural expressions such as music.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing an emerging culture that dehumanise and objectify our people and devalue their life. There is a growing lack of respect of the inviolability and sanctity of the physical human form and the right to life. This creates a permissible attitude to wantonly use violence against each other in our society,” he stated.

Holness pointed to the organised violence of gangs and dons against their own people: “Yes…the new oppressors, denying our people their freedom, the new slavery masters who use the gun instead of the whip, to extort hard-working Jamaicans of their earnings, to demand daughters as tribute from their mothers, and recruit our sons into the murderous gangs, to drive fear into entire communities through threat of pain and the enforcement of death.”

He cautioned that the violence inflicted in Jamaican history should not be allowed to imprint itself in a patterned behaviour of self-hate. “It was the recognition of our humanity, our equality, our dignity and love for our people that led forefathers like Sam Sharpe to resist the system of enslavement. The emancipation that resulted was not merely that we are free to do as we wish, our freedom must evolve to a deeper understanding and respect for rights and responsibility, both for ourselves and others,” Holness said.

He stressed that while the nation celebrates the beginning of freedom from enslavement, it is also celebrating the end of the violent system of oppression. “We must never forget that, not as motivation to hate, but as a reminder to love and respect ourselves. The enslavers dehumanised our forefathers, as chattel, property, not entitled to love, or dignity, or the inviolability of their physical being, in order to justify the use of violence on them,” the prime minister said.

He urged Jamaicans to take lessons from the nation’s violent past to address the ongoing epidemic of violence, to emancipate communities from the criminal gangs and dons that take away people’s freedom. “Resist them (criminal gangs) by using the trustworthy channels to provide information to the authorities. Your government is working assiduously to erode the criminal gangs and dons and with your help we will bring their tyranny to an end,” he said, adding that Jamaicans must also commit to teaching children to respect life.