Dear Editor,

In Isaiah Chapter 6 and Acts 28, it is written, “They shall be hearing but never understanding, seeing but never perceiving.” I like to sum it up by saying one needs to not just look at, but one also needs to see through.

The demolition of the homes in Coopers Pen, Trelawny, was lawful. Something being lawful doesn’t necessarily mean it’s justified. However, a dig through and some basic research will reveal that after a lengthy court battle a decision was arrived at by a judge. This decision gave ownership and legal rights to the entity that owns the property. The resulting demolition was to further the cause of the property owner’s right to utilise that property however he sees fit. End of argument, end of story, but a sad reality.

The sad reality is that families have been put under severe financial and psychological strain by the events. However, that is not my responsibility, and neither is it yours. It is their responsibility, as it was their decision-making that resulted in their situation.

What are the lessons to be learnt? I will try to do justice in explaining what I think they are.

Firstly, before the story was fresh, social media accounts aligned with the People’s National Party (PNP). Especially on
TikTok, they started blaming the Andrew Holness Administration. In a particular case, a Portland Member of Parliament (MP) claimed that the prime minister must take a particular course of action or the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) will never win back the constituency. He was followed dogmatically by minions of the PNP on
TikTok who claimed that the Government is wicked, and so on.

When this proved to be untrue, not even as much as an apology was forthcoming.

Secondly, why is it that people feel entitled to what doesn’t belong to them. There is this attitude among certain segments that just because you’re poor the rules should change to benefit you. These two things should teach us that we are on a slippery slope of lies, misinformation, and an entitlement attitude that goes back to the days when former Prime Minister Michael Manley said, “…[W]e have five flights a day to Miami.”

I don’t know who the people at Coopers Pen voted for, but I do know we simply cannot continue like this. We cannot just start accusing people to grab political mileage. We cannot keep believing that because you are poor society must bend over backwards to accommodate you.

These are a recipe for poverty and division. They breed poverty, suspicion, and hatred. Therefore, what is the lesson? We need to calm down and analyse news instead of having emotional reactions. If you don’t, you’ll forever be prone to being manipulated in the games that politicians can play. Not everything is “money people fault”.

Lastly, and I can’t emphasise this enough, try to do things by the book. Get a lawyer, property is no joke. Emotional disputes can lead to death, depression, or a number of other unfortunate events. It can be expensive, but it is better than having all your sacrifice, sweat, and tears demolished right in front of you.

In the end, we aren’t entitled to other people’s property.

Damion M Heslop

damionheslopja1980@gmail.com