As a fighter and a coach in martial arts I was blessed with the opportunity to travel the world extensively. At one point I could count 50 countries I had been to. There are many that are still on my list and many that I am unable to return to. This may sound odd, so let me explain.

I became an opinion journalist in approximately 2017. Since then I have been critical of many countries regarding their practices, both domestic and international. Needless to say, I have been very critical of organisations in my country as well.

The reason I can be barred from other countries, but nothing can be done to me at home, is because we are free. To be frank, I have never been told not to return to a country, or not to come in the first place. There are, however, countries that have laws that state if you are a journalist and write negative things about them they will arrest you if you come there. A perfect example is China.

Well, I have never run from a fight, but I have never run to a lock-up. So once they have that law and I know I have breached it, mi nah guh deh. My fear is not just that they can arrest you for something you wrote in another country, but more so once you reach there they can arrest you and not be obligated to inform anyone, nor put you before a court or allow you to contact anybody. They can, in effect, “disappear you”.

In our country, if we arrest someone, irrespective of how notorious or evil he is, you can bet your last dollar that an attorney is going to contact you and you had better cooperate with them or they will simply file a
habeas corpus petition at the parish court.

The judge will then give you a period of time to charge or release. That will be followed by a mandatory court date, which properly should be done within a week where the man is placed before the court. This process can and has resulted in criminals having to be released before a case is at the point where you can’t charge the offender in the time window that the judge has given.

Despite the fact that this has and can occur, it does not alter the fact that it must remain so “because we are free”.

The defence counsel who ensure the rights of the killers are recognised and upheld are generally good people. Many of them are my friends. Although what they do may benefit criminals, it is important that they do so to the best of their ability. Why? Because we are free.

They are there to ensure that a free society will continue to exist. They are not to be taken for granted. If you have a weak defence bar, then you have a weak legal system and we won’t be free for very long.

I have written about the genocide of the Uyghur people in China. They speak their own language and are largely Muslim. Over a million have been placed in re-education camps and reports from Amnesty International are that they are victims of genocide. The United States has criticised them, as have other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, but to no avail. They still trade with them as do we.

Often I watch holocaust movies and wonder how the world stood by and watched the build-up to the massacre that followed and did nothing. As I watch this situation in China, I understand better how easy it is for economics to trump humanity. No pun intended.

We have our differences in Jamaica. The China scenario could not exist here, no group could be treated like the Uyghurs in our country because we are free and they are not.

I have written about the practices of the Singapore Government of arresting the Opposition before every general election, with an aim to disqualify them from participating in the election. You see, in Singapore, if you are arrested you can’t run for public office. It doesn’t matter if you were not convicted, or if you were not charged. Once arrested you can’t run. I guess this subjugation of the Opposition helps to create more stability and consistency, so they prosper. But they are not free.

Now, I understand the issue with democracy and Opposition parties and I agree it creates inconsistent governance and allows for manipulation by big businesses. That being said, it is important that democracy exists because people should have a right to determine who governs them because that alone determines and guarantees that they remain free.

I have been very critical of human rights organisations in Jamaica, like Jamaicans for Justice. I recognise the imbalance that they cause with their support of people, largely criminals, who claim to be victims of State abuse, whilst showing scant regard for the victims of criminal abuses.

Despite my criticism, it is important that they exist. Why? Because they choose to exist. Once they have that desire it must be respected. Because we are free.

The recent crime reductions in 2023, 2024, and 2025 and so far in 2026 are comparable to El Salvador’s, to some degree. The difference, however, is that ours has been accomplished without the legal removal of any human rights safeguards. We could have used a similar methodology like El Salvador and we would’ve introduced it earlier and accomplished more, although I doubt the Opposition would have tolerated it.

I would have liked any method utilised to save lives. That’s because I think in a vacuum when it comes to saving lives. The leader of the Opposition, however, can’t think like me. His job is to balance our freedoms against our threats. Once you find ways to subjugate the court he is, technically, the last bastion of freedom. So he must oppose and defend our freedom.

What makes Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake, his management team and the Government’s accomplishments in crime reduction so outstanding is that freedom has been paramount in their quest to save lives.

They are forced to adopt these strategies because we are free and we demand these standards. Thankfully, despite all the hurdles our freedom put in their way they have delivered. And we are still free.

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