CORAL SPRING, Trelawny — Against the backdrop of last week’s demolition of about 20 concrete houses in Cooper’s Pen, Trelawny president of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship (LCF) Helene Coley Nicholson is calling for a national conversation on land policy and the responsibility of political leadership to provide land for Jamaicans who remain without property and marginalised. The demolition left dozens of residents, including children, displaced.

“I agree with a compassionate minister of religion who thoughtfully recommended that the Government, in its response to the Cooper’s Pen situation, should consider providing emergency housing, relocation assistance, social support intervention, to, among other things, ensure children continue to attend school,” said the former news anchor.

She was delivering the keynote address, Monday, during the opening of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association’s (JTA) 61st annual conference at Ocean Coral Spring Hotel in Trelawny.

The three-day conference is being held under the theme, “Reformation Now: Rebuilding a Resilient Education System Buoyed by Eternal Father and Unrelenting Unionism.”

Coley Nicholson argued that the situation should prompt the country to examine the historical roots of landlessness and the circumstances that have resulted in generations of Jamaicans living in informal settlements.

“My heart goes out to the residents who lived through the trauma of the demolition,” she said.

“It is time for a conversation about the responsibility of leadership to design land policy, which delivers land to the landless and disenfranchised, which is transparent and apolitical. It necessitates examination of the current use of public lands, the more than ample legal mechanisms that exist to put people on public lands, and the design or updating of public policy to facilitate true emancipation and independence of people who only know what dependence means,” she added.

Referring to the Cooper’s Pen situation as a case in point, Coley Nicholson said the issue extends beyond the immediate question of landlessness and requires a mature national discussion about the dignity, rights and long-term welfare of people living in informal settlements.

The demolition took place in the early hours of Tuesday, August 11, involving heavy-duty equipment and a strong police presence as a court order obtained by the property owner, New Falmouth Resorts Limited, was executed against people deemed to be squatters.

According to Coley Nicholson, the disputed property covers more than 705 acres and had, over the years, become home to a sizeable community.

She also raised concern about reports that some men from the community were detained before the demolition, saying that, if confirmed, the circumstances could give rise to lawsuits against the State for alleged breaches of constitutional rights, including liberty and due process.

Coley Nicholson warned, however, that any damages awarded in such cases would ultimately be borne by taxpayers.

She also endorsed calls for the Government to provide emergency assistance to families affected by the demolition, including temporary housing, relocation assistance and social support, particularly to ensure that children are able to remain in school.

A section of the delegates in attendance at the Jamaica Teachers’ Association’s (JTA) 61st annual conference at Ocean Coral Spring Hotel in Trelawny on Monday. (Photo: Horace Hines)

But she said the immediate response must be accompanied by a broader examination of land tenure and public policy.

She argued that political leaders must move away from partisan approaches that allow people to remain in informal settlements for generations without a pathway to secure and dignified housing.

“People cannot live dignified lives without principles, law, and order,” she said, while warning against keeping vulnerable Jamaicans dependent on political actors.

Coley Nicholson said education, including activism and advocacy, has an important role to play in helping citizens understand their rights and responsibilities and participate meaningfully in national debates.

She urged Jamaicans not to allow the Cooper’s Pen controversy to become another political football.

“The problem will not be solved by pitting political party against political party, by pitting class against class, or against the court,” she said.

Instead, she called for a land policy that is transparent and “apolitical”, arguing that the country must examine how public lands are being used and make greater use of existing legal mechanisms to provide legitimate opportunities for landless Jamaicans.

She challenged those seeking to serve the country to rethink their approach.

“Politicians need to have the political will to do the hard work within five-year cycles, to act with integrity and to do the right thing,” she said.

“We, the people, have to light the path so that politicians can see the way. It requires letting go of certain levers of partisan political control, such as aiding and abetting informal housing developments where people live for generations in squalor,” she added.

Coley Nicholson said Jamaicans living on the margins must also be taught the country’s history so they can better understand the significance of Emancipation and the efforts of the early freedom fighters to establish independent communities.

She said the present crisis therefore represents an opportunity for the country to confront longstanding problems surrounding land, poverty, political dependency and education.

Whether Jamaica seizes that opportunity, she said, will depend largely on how the national conversation is framed and whether leaders are prepared to pursue solutions that promote genuine independence and dignity.