Dear Editor,

On Friday, August 25, 2023, I like many Jamaicans watched several videos across various social media platforms of the latest and maybe most daring and well-executed robbery of Beryllium security company personnel.

What was concerning for me though was not just the act of the robbery in broad daylight, not just the evidence that the robbers were well armed and efficient in their exploits, what saddened and alarmed me the most was the commentary of what I assume are ‘regular’ law-abiding Jamaican citizens. This commentary was both by those in the background of one of the videos as well as those on the social media platforms. Once again, we heard and saw for ourselves that we are a nation of people who largely glorify, adore, and excuse criminal behaviour. The fanfare from the audience rivalled those in the stands cheering on our team in Budapest.

Several of those commentators and others are of the belief that those who possess much owe a debt to those with little. Now my observation is that a lot of this sentiment is grounded in the fact that these individuals are of the view that successive governments have failed the people and so it is only right for people to rise up and take what they can. They seem to have concluded that Jamaica is a failed State.

Encyclopedia Britannica has defined it as: “A State that is unable to perform the two fundamental functions of the sovereign nation-state in the modern world system: it cannot project authority over its territory and peoples…can provide only minimal public services.

“A failed State is composed of feeble and flawed institutions… Often, the executive barely functions, while the legislature, judiciary, bureaucracy, and armed forces have lost their capacity and professional independence. A failed State suffers from crumbling infrastructures, faltering utility supplies and educational and health facilities, and deteriorating basic human-development indicators, such as infant mortality and literacy rates. Failed states create an environment of flourishing corruption and negative growth rates, where honest economic activity cannot flourish.”

In my opinion, it is pellucid that several aspects of this definition are evident in Jamaica.

1) Successive governments have demonstrated an inability to “fulfil the administrative and organisational tasks required to control people and resources”. This lack of control is seen in our spiralling crime rate.

2) The Government “can provide only minimal public services”. The general public has decried the state of public hospitals, for example, for some time now: not enough beds, long wait for emergency surgeries.

3) “And armed forces have lost their capacity…” Gunmen like those in the video are seldom effectively challenged by the law enforcement. The police force is ill-equipped and sometimes demotivated because of the lack of support and insufficient physical and financial resources from the Government.

4) Jamaica “bingos” with illiteracy! We are a dunce set of people. While penning this I saw a social media post from an individual boasting with a wad of money in his hands that he is “dunce” and that “no 9 to 5” has ever given him the benefits of the cash he is showcasing.

This type of behaviour isn’t new, we have songs about it. And like all other ill-conceived behaviour in our society, it is given lots of support on social media, which usually evidences the pulse of the people.

So without flogging a dead horse, I dare say Jamaica is indeed a failed State.

As trite as it may be, fixing social ills starts with fixing our homes. As a nation we have moved so far from the times of our grandparents when we trained our children about what is right and wrong, appropriately punishing them when necessary, leading by exemplary behaviour, etcetera.

It is my belief that we have taken the concept of individualism, free speech, gentle parenting, and minding our own business too far. We need to get back to a time when children respected adults and adults in turn knew they had to conduct themselves in a manner that demanded respect. We should once again be able to see our neighbours’ children misbehaving and feel confident that if we scolded them appropriately we would receive the consent of the parents and the children would not be bold enough to frown upon the reprimand.

Most of these gunmen started out as wayward teenagers whose families couldn’t control them and the police State in which we reside simply hardened them.

We need to get back to a time when all citizens were interested in governance and ensured they were a part of the political process. This also means voting on issues not gimmicks and handouts.

It may be a pipe dream, but I believe if individually we do our part towards achieving these changes, in time, Jamaica will be redeemed.

Patrice Riley

Attorney-at-law

patricerileylaw@gmail.com