Gov’t inhumane to have refused J’cans
Dear Editor,
The prime minister of Jamaica’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is neither innovative nor original. It’s downright plagiarism from the playbook of other world leaders. So let us restrain ourselves from praising him for the low infection rate.
What other world leaders are demonstrating, however, is that containing the spread of COVID-19 and taking steps to safeguard their citizens stranded in foreign countries are not mutually exclusive.
The Trinidad Government used helicopters to disembark Trinidadian crew members from a Costa ship. Also, several Asian countries have partnered with Royal Caribbean cruise lines to drop off crew members at their respective countries. In addition, as I write there are many countries, including Peru, Philippines, and Indonesia, that have secured chartered flights to take many of their citizens off cruise ships.
It would have taken a brute to equal what the Jamaican Government did recently. It is inhumane to have refused entry to those Jamaicans on that ship which stopped in Kingston. This is after the Government of Dominican Republic accepted their people.
It is this sort of brutish inhumanity which lies at the heart of our high murder rate. This sort of trickle down coarseness for fellow Jamaicans is reflected in the ease in which we destroy each other.
Next year we will look back and realise that more Jamaicans have died from murder than this virus.
Jamaica now has a master politician and a master public relations expert, but an insensitive leader.
Ricardo McKenziericardomckenzie383@yahoo.com
