Declaring that many Jamaicans are becoming “spiritually dead inside”, Opposition spokesman on health and wellness Dr Alfred Dawes says the country is losing its sense of compassion and empathy towards the vulnerable.

During his contribution to the sectoral debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Dawes delivered an emotional reflection on violence, inequality, and social division, saying Jamaica’s problems extend beyond physical and mental health into what he described as a deep decline in spiritual health among many Jamaicans.

“I fear that we are losing our humanity because we have ignored the existence of our spiritual health, the final component of health,” Dawes said.

The Opposition spokesman began that section of his presentation by referencing the fatal police shooting of Latoya “Buju” Bulgin in Granville, St James, on Sunday which was circulated widely and sparked public outrage.

“On Sunday I saw a woman gunned down in cold blood by one who had sworn. Then her body was pulled from the car by the feet like a carcass and thrown in the back of a van. Whereas due process must be allowed and justice must take its course, we all know what we saw, [and] what we saw was one woman losing her life and several men losing their humanity,” Dawes added.

He argued that many Jamaicans were becoming desensitised to suffering and increasingly willing to excuse exploitation, abuse, and inequality because of political loyalty or personal interest.

“We have become polarised by party politics so much that some would defend the exploitation and abuse of others because our core desire to be a part of the party collective is greater than our God-instilled desire to defend the vulnerable,” Dawes said.

He also criticised what he described as growing class divisions and social prejudice within the country.

“We have rationalised our partiality by reducing human lives to lesser beings based on their address, the shade of their skin, and the size of their bank accounts, and in doing so we are destroying our own spiritual health,” he argued.

Dawes warned that many Jamaicans who appear outwardly successful are becoming emotionally and spiritually disconnected from the suffering around them.

“Too many Jamaicans are physically fit, mentally stable, but spiritually dead inside because they choose selfishness over service, prosperity over philanthropy, and politics over the people,” he said.

He further linked the country’s spiritual decline to wider failures in the public health system and social structure, pointing to patients sleeping on hospital floors and communities still struggling after Hurricane Melissa, which hit the island last October.

“To save our spiritual health we must subordinate our self-interest to a greater purpose, and that greater purpose is to give hope to the hopeless, be a voice for the voiceless, and work together to destroy the system that sees poor people sleeping on hospital floors while billions of dollars are misallocated or missing,” Dawes declared.

Despite the grim assessment, the Opposition spokesman said he still believed Jamaicans retained the compassion and resilience needed to improve the country.

He closed that section of his presentation with a direct message to struggling patients and families across the country:

“To the patients sleeping in the emergency rooms tonight, don’t fret too much, because better will come. To the family praying for an ICU space, hold the faith, because better soon come,” Dawes said.