Grenada 19 October, 1983

1983 Coup D'état - Grenada

By Everton Obi Powell

Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of the New JEWEL Movement (NJM) – a party that sought to prioritorize socio-economic development, education and black liberation.  The NJM came to power during the 13 March 1979 revolution which removed Prime Minister Eric Gairy from office.  Bishop headed the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada (PRG) from 1979 to 1983.  In October 1983, he was deposed as Prime Minister and executed during a coup engineered internally by Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard.

In September 1983, simmering tensions within PRG leadership reached a boiling point.  A faction within the party, led by Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard, tried to make Bishop either step down or agree to a power-sharing arrangement.  Bishop rejected the proposal.

In response, the Coard faction in conjunction with the PRA placed Bishop under house arrest on 13 October.  Large public demonstrations gathered to demand Bishop's release and his return to power.  The protesters numbered as high as 30,000 on an island of 100,000, and even some of Bishop's guards joined the protests.  Despite the sizable support, Bishop knew the determination of the Coard faction.  He confided to a journalist: "I am a dead man."

On 19 October, a crowd of protesters managed to free Bishop from house arrest.  He made his way, first by truck, then by car, to army headquarters at Fort Rupert (known today as Fort George), which he and his supporters were able to seize control of.

At that point, Coard dispatched a military force led by Hudson Austin from Fort Frederick to retake Fort Rupert.  Bishop and seven others, including his cabinet ministers and aides, were captured.

A four-man PRA firing squad executed Bishop and the others by machine-gunning them in the Fort Rupert court yard.  After Bishop was dead, a gunman slit his throat and cut off his finger to steal his ring.  The bodies were transported to a military camp on the peninsula of Calivigny and partially burned in a pit.  The location of their remains is still unknown.

Partly as a result of Bishop's murder, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the nations of Barbados and Jamaica appealed to the United States for assistance, as did Sir Paul Scoon, Governor-General of Grenada.  Within days, President Ronald Reagan launched a U.S.-led invasion to overthrow the PRG.

US invaded within 6 days with 8000 soldiers.  Bernard Cord and Hudson Austin were captured and sentence to death but sentences were commuted to Life.

Austin was release in 2008 and died from cancer in 2022.  The final U.S. report claims 19 killed and 116 wounded; the Cubans to have had 25 killed, 59 wounded and 638 "combatants" captured; the Grenadians to have suffered 45 killed and 358 wounded.

Violence and death surrounded Bishop family.  In 1974 his father Rupert was shot in the back and killed at by Eric Gairy Mongoose Gang during a protest.  Maurice himself was shot and killed during the 1983 execution.  His son's mother and girlfriend was killed during the 1983 execution and his only son Vladimir was stabbed to death in a Toronto nightclub at only 16.

Source / Comment

Do Jamaicans support abortion in Jamaica?

Abortion ... let’s get rid of those ancient laws

By Dr Dayton Campbell:

Abortion ... let’s get rid of those ancient laws

THE World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 22,000 abortions are performed in Jamaica each year.

Complications arising from unsafe abortion are among the top 10 causes of maternal death in the island, especially among teenagers. Review of legislation governing abortion has been 30 years in the making. Efforts by various governments to address these concerns have been halted by conservative religious groups not sensitive to the reproductive rights and realities of women, girls, their families and partners.

In Jamaica, Sections 72 and 73 of the Offences Against the Persons Act (1861) reads:

* Criminalise women who chose to terminate a pregnancy, who, if convicted "shall be liable to be imprisoned for life with or without hard labour."

* Criminalise medical professionals who facilitate a woman's exercise of choice to have her pregnancy terminated, and the parents and guardians who facilitate termination of pregnancies of girls under the age of 18. If convicted, they "shall be liable to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years with or without hard labour."

Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Think! Does the illegality of abortion prevent its practice?

Is pregnancy only unwanted because the woman has been sexually reckless?

The answer to these questions is NO. The current law frustrates THOUSANDS of Jamaican women, the poor especially, who are in desperate need of abortion services. Nearly half of all pregnancies -- 41 per cent -- are unplanned (2002 Reproductive Health Survey); only 50 per cent of pregnancies were planned (2008 Reproductive Health Survey) In 2009, some 7,612 live births occurred to mothers under the age of 20 - a decrease from the 7,680 recorded at the end of 2008 (data obtained from National Family Planning Board - NFPB).

Eighty-one per cent of recent births reported by women aged 15-19 were unplanned. Nearly all of these unintentional births were mistimed (occurred earlier than desired) as opposed to unwanted (no children or no more children desired). The information is also obtained from the NFPB.

Who is affected?

According to the WHO, "abortions and complications thereof are the eighth leading cause of maternal deaths in Jamaica, affecting adolescents primarily". Between March 1 and August 31, 2005, there were 641 patients at Ward 5, which deals exclusively with abortions at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital.

All patients were from inner city communities, single, and nearly half were Christians, while a third were teenagers. About 40 per cent admitted to having had a previous termination of pregnancy and 30 per cent had two or more previous abortions.

Do Jamaicans support abortion?

YES!!!!!! Many of us support efforts to make services for the termination of pregnancy legal, safe and affordable. A 2006 public opinion survey conducted by Hope Enterprise found about "60 per cent of respondents support the legalisation of termination of pregnancy" under "special conditions" such as "incest, endangerment of the woman's physical or mental health and/or life".

From the public health perspective, we need to address these women who burden the public health system after botched abortion attempts. Evidence in Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, South Korea, Guyana and Barbados shows that where abortion is legal, maternal morbidity and mortality rates fall. Rates may initially seem to rise because of the previous under-reporting.

For women in the middle and upper income groups, the law can be circumvented by access to financial resources to pay for private medical services to procure a safe abortion. The law is restrictive and unjust to women in the lower income groups who cannot afford private medical services and therefore resort to the illegal informal market. In both instances, the quality of the service that the woman receives is entirely determined by the ethics and integrity of the individual practitioner. There are no minimum standards and no norms. Legal provision of abortion by qualified practitioners in both the public and private health care systems as recommended will ensure that safe abortions can be accessed by all women thus protecting their lives and health.

While debates on when life begins and ends may persist along the continuous range of religious perspectives, the realities surrounding this public health matter which affects so many women will not disappear unless addressed based on existing, objective realities. It is a woman's right to have all the options available to her, to be provided with information that allows her to make an informed decision, and not be persecuted for this decision. The State has a responsibility to ensure that the rights of all its citizens are protected.

The current illegal status of abortion in all circumstances exposes women to stigma and discrimination when they are faced with this choice. Women should not be punished for what is a difficult decision about their body, life and future. It is a misuse of Government power to take that right from them. Denying women access to medical services that enable them to regulate their fertility or terminate an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy amounts to a refusal to provide health care that only women need. Women are consequently exposed to health risks not experienced by men. Repealing the prohibitive provisions under the Offences Against the Persons Act concerning abortion, as recommended by the Policy Review Group would restore this right to women and prevent further stigmatization and gender discrimination.

Let us consider cases where:

- Contraception was used but it failed and the woman is not in a position to go through with the pregnancy and adequately support a child.

- The pregnancy resulted from rape or an abusive relationship.

- The pregnancy places them at severe mental, emotional and/or physical risk.

- The compromised development and health of the foetus.

To abort or not to abort is an extremely difficult decision for any woman.

There is not only the financial cost to consider, but risk to her mental and physical health as well. Adequate access to appropriate counselling services to help her consider all the options, strengthening of sexual and reproductive education at all levels, and the strengthening of family planning services, help women make the best choices.

Regrettably, pregnancy is often not a question of choice for women, not only in cases of rape and incest, but also in the everyday dynamic of gender relations where many women are subject to domination and/or the threat of violence from men.

We as a nation need debate this issue and lay the facts bare without shrouding them in misconceptions, prejudice and religious absolutism. It is about time such an important issue be dealt with once and for all, the women of Jamaica deserve no less.

What of the bright young 16-year-old girl in the inner city who is getting ready to do CSEC examinations and who is the only option to lift that family out of the abyss of poverty, who is sent for by the "don" in the community, then abused and subsequently takes the morning after pill but still ends up missing her period and later diagnosed as pregnant? Should she be forced to carry that child? Or to seek abortion on the black market? As a man of faith, I humbly suggest that we allow common sense to prevail.

Let me make it abundantly clear that I am not proposing abortion as a means of contraception, nor am I suggesting that mere poverty should be a reason for it, as I stand as a true example that it is possible to break the changes of poverty and rise from poverty to prosperity.

Of paramount importance is also the need to revise our adoption laws so that we can provide this service to those persons who are in need. I anxiously await a vigorous debate on this matter, as we seek to establish a new paradigm: to dispel myth and to embrace a true sense of liberty and prosperity.

Dr Dayton Campbell, a medical doctor and lawyer, is member of parliament for St Ann North West. His views do not necessarily represent those of the government.

June 01, 2014

Jamaica Observer

Jamaica Ranks 25th in Prostitution Revenue Worldwide

Jamaica ranks 25th in earnings from prostitution -- website

KINGSTON, Jamaica – A website Havoscope.com, which provides data and information on black market activities around the world, ranks Jamaica 25th in Prostitution Revenue Worldwide.

According to the ranking posted March 2014, Jamaica earned US$58 million from the industry, falling behind the Czech Republic which earned US$200m.

The number one earner according to the Havoscope.com ranking is China, which it says hauled in US$73 billion in revenue from prostitution.

Spain ranked second with US$26.5 billion and Japan third with US$24 billion.

Other countries in the list were the United States with $14.6b in earnings, the United Kingdom with US$1b and Russia with US$540m.

There were 26 countries in total.

See full ranking here:
Prostitution revenue worldwide

April 10, 2014

Jamaica Observer

Jamaica: 100 years of black consciousness advocacy

By Louis MOYSTON

JAMAICA has had a rich history of creative resistance during slavery. Similarly, during the post-slavery era, many Jamaicans have played pioneering roles in the development and the advancement of the black consciousness idea and movement. This article seizes the opportunity of black history celebration to open a window into stories of some Jamaicans who have made their mark on the idea and movement. The article focuses on those to whom very little attention has been paid, such as John Brown Russwurm, Dr T E S Scholes and Una Marson. It is important to pay special attention to the quality of their contribution in order to ask, how well have we built on what they started? It is important for us to explore how some of these ideas may awaken the "years of lethargy" among black people in Jamaica.

Before and after 1776, Jamaica had an active trade relationship with North America. Port Antonio was one of those active trading ports; it was the setting in which John Brown Russwurm's father, a white American businessman, lived. Winston James (2010) in The Struggles of John Brown Russwurm, 1799 to 1851, writes about his birth to a black woman and his journey to the USA, with his father, where he attended school. The writer notes that, at the time of his graduation from Bowdoin College, he may have been the earliest or one of the earliest blacks to graduate from a tertiary institution in America. James notes that it was during his years in college that he began writing on black struggles. Inspired by the Haitian Revolution and the black Republic, he made it his duty to defend the young black regime against propaganda depicting the Haitian people as savages. He moved to New York after graduation. There he developed and published his ideas instilling greatness in racial pride and the back-to-Africa message. He emerged during the earlier period before another early pan-Africanist and back-to-Africa advocate Edward Wilmot Blyden (1823-1912).

Russwurm met Samuel Cornish, a fellow African-American, in New York during the 1820s. They established Freedom's Journal, the first newspaper to be owned and operated by Africans in the USA. According to James, the editors announced in their opening statement if the Journal that "we wish to plead our own cause, for too long have others spoken for us". Russwurm saw the paper as an "organising force" among unorganised blacks in America, aiming to "awaken African-Americans from the lethargy years". His writings advocated the role of family and the cultivation and growth of industry among blacks by way of education and training. He saw education as that driving force towards higher achievements in science. He guided black people in America along the path of race consciousness through which they could become useful and responsible citizens. He became disillusioned with America and went to live in Liberia, where he was established as a governor of that new Republic. A few years after his death, in 1851, and in one of the neighbouring parishes to Portland, the Paul Bogle movement advanced the black consciousness struggles in another context at Morant Bay, St Thomas.

During the 1850s the systematic programme of land deprivation among the black masses continued; the setting in St Thomas and Jamaica was characterised by high taxation, high unemployment, high prices for basic food stuff, and severe and oppressive injustice. Thee clarion call for "skin for skin", black unity was condensed into an assault against the agents of the planter/colonial power relations in that parish. This violent insurgency of 1865 may have inspired a new thrust of black consciousness among a few emerging black intellectuals: Dr Robert Love (a Bahamian who resided in Jamaica) and Dr T E S Scholes. Both thinkers noted the role of the colonial/planter society and its systematic deprivation of the black masses' access to land. They saw this as a deliberate strategy to keep blacks and the country underdeveloped. Gordon K Lewis (1968) in The Growth of the Modern West Indies, describes Dr Love as the publisher of the old Jamaican Advocate newspaper calling for black representation in the Legislative Council, as well as, his advocacy of black consciousness. According to the writer, he lived in Haiti, where he encountered 'negritude' and black political representation. In the book, The Jamaican People 1880-1902 Race, Class and Social Control, Patrick Bryan (2000) describes Dr Love, an Anglican pastor, as a secular-pragmatist; and Dr Scholes, a Baptist, as another secular intellectual, and that they expressed their concerns about the land for the ex-slaves of Jamaica. Bryan writes that Scholes placed the question of land tenure in the broader context of the imperial system of the appropriation of "native resources", and that it was a conspiracy by the British Empire to systematically deprive the black masses access to land in Jamaica. Noting the endless sources of labourers among the black masses, Bryan writes that Scholes spoke about the high rate of taxation, land hunger, and the ignorance of scientific agriculture as hindrances to the development of the black masses and the country. Scholes was a significant Jamaican scholar; his major works are: Sugar in the West Indies and The British Empire and Alliances. This tradition, especially the role of spirituality and religion in politics, continued at the level of the role of revivalist preacher, such as Alexander Bedward, his native Baptist tradition rooted in the race thinking of Paul Bogle.

Marcus Garvey, the most popular pan-Africanist, whose movement excelled in the USA, inherited the rich legacy from Bogle to Love and Scholes, among others. After Garvey was Leonard P Howell, who showed the black masses that there was no hope in the colonial/planter Jamaican society, called for a rejection of the dominant European values and the wrong doctrine advanced by the Church. He inspired a new awareness among that black lower class that in part ushered a new era of black unity, setting the foundation for the emergence of the powerful trade union movement. Una Marson emerged during the rise of this movement. She was an early pan-Africanist and one of the earliest black feminists of international proportion during the 1930s. She lived in England where she worked with the likes of other pan-Africanist such as George Padmore, Jomo Kenyatta, and C L R James among others. She was also secretary to His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie, whom she accompanied to the League of Nations conference where the Emperor submitted his case on the Italian aggression and occupation of Ethiopia.

These persons have set the standard. It is important that we take note of their worth and refine and expand on their works. They are important sites for historical excavation by young scholars.

Louis E A Moyston
thearchives01@yahoo.com

February 12, 2014

Jamaica Observer

Colonialism and Neocolonialism in Jamaica and the Caribbean

For many years colonialism milked Jamaica and other Caribbean countries by imposing a false identity on our people

All the post-colonial unrest and instability in the Caribbean has the footprints of traditional colonial entities

By Maurice HAUGHTON


It is now 51 years since Jamaica had to its Independence, however, it is like a baby whose umbilical cord was never severed at birth.  The baby grows up, underdeveloped with limited mobility, still attached to its mother by an extended umbilical cord.

This attachment restricts the baby's movement while giving an uncaring mother a great degree of control; she can impose her will, put unfair demands on the child, withhold food, and take from the child if the child does not conform to her wishes.  This metaphor is a depiction of neocolonial control over Jamaica.

For many years colonialism milked Jamaica and other Caribbean countries by imposing a false identity on our people, diminishing resources that affected growth and development.  In spite of the richness of these countries, they are still referred to as Third World and underdeveloped.

All the post-colonial unrest and instability in the Caribbean has the footprints of traditional colonial entities.  They usually come into the country, attach themselves to some factions, mostly opposition parties, then supply guns and ammunition, dangle the carrots, and influence elections.

Their main objective is to prevent governments that would encourage self-reliance, equality and justice for the people.  They rather keep the masses poor and needy so they can pass their breadbasket and their offering plate in which they drop a penny and take a pound.  They come under false presence as human rights advocates, freedom fighters and stability agents, while instigating and spreading propaganda to create unrest among the people.

They create artificial shortage of basic foods like bread, milk and flour so the poor cannot eat, all to undermine the Government.  Given the circumstance, any baby would buckle under such pressure, while the mother undoubtedly grins as she gets her way, just like the old days of gestation when the baby must shuts its mouth and take whatever comes its way.

During colonialism, Jamaica had to blindly ingest the unsavory meals served up by colonial powers.  They took our harvest and gave us slaves to create more harvest.  It is true, "I and I build a cabin, I and I plant the corn.  Now you look me with a scorn then you eat up all my corn".

Marcus Garvey spoke out against it and Michael Manley tried stopping it, but overpowering forces fought back, using everything from the IMF to big businesses and capitalist tactics.  Neocolonial influence is all over the Jamaica today.

After 300 years of Emancipation, and 51 years of "Independence", people are still talking about 'God Save The Queen'.  When did the Queen ever say 'God Save Michael Manley, Portia Simpson' or any of those stuff shirts who claim to represent her.

In 2009, England suspended part of the constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands over allegations of corruption.  Like a scolding mother, she usurped the democratically elected government and replaced elected officials with her own appointees.

For those who wish Jamaica was still under British rule, is that what you want?  Why not ask your fairy godmothers for a couple of slave masters and some backra massas too.

All elected officials in Jamaica must take the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty: "I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Her heirs and successors, according to law.  I remember as a young man in Jamaica watching a parliamentary debate when Michael Manley stated that he could not mean it in his heart but he was obliged to so swear.

He said, while he respects the Monarch, he did not think the people of Jamaica should have to take such an oath.  I remember the opposition pushing back on the idea.

Manley wanted true independence on all fronts and was not willing to be anybody's puppet.  He was not afraid to associate himself with those the world hated; he had a mind of his own.  Michael Manley put up a good fight against neo-colonial forces.

It's time to chase those self-serving bald heads out a town.  It's time to stand up to neocolonial forces, throw away the wigs and gowns and pay allegiance to the people of Jamaica.

Stop licking the back of Mrs Elizabeth's head on those stamps, how many Jamaicans are on British stamps? "  Jamaica, Land We Love"  - what about Jamaica's people we love.

Stop allowing the devaluation of the Jamaican dollar, stop the slave wages when people are paying an arm and leg for food.  Trinidad recently gave a 12-14 per cent wage increase across the country, it's Jamaica's time.

God bless Jamaica, but it's time the parties come together and make it about the people and not politics.

Maurice Haughton is a freelance journalist living in Philadelphia, USA. Send comments to: haughton727@ymail.com

February 03, 2014

Jamaica Observer

Kick CARICOM to the kerb (Part 2)

Jamaica is half the market of CARICOM, without Haiti

By Ronald Mason, Jamaica Gleaner Contributor


It would be foolhardy at the commencement of any trial for attorneys to believe they will be persuasive with only an opening statement.  I dare not believe that, and as such I welcome the dialogue triggered by the response to my column on May 5.

I do not fear globalisation because this country can rival others on the world stage in the areas of our competitive advantage.  Think coffee, bauxite, ginger, cocoa, tourism, music, aggregate, track and field, and the history of sugar.  However, let me advance the argument for our withdrawal from CARICOM on the cold, hard realities.

FACT 1: There is a geographic, cultural, interpersonal relationship among people in the Eastern Caribbean.  The distance between Antigua & Barbuda in the north and Trinidad & Tobago in the south is 445 miles.

The distance between Jamaica and Trinidad is 1,151 miles.  The constant flow of commerce and people in the Eastern Caribbean is undisputed.

Farmers in Dominica help to feed Antigua.  Trinidad and Barbados have disputes born out of territorial proximity.  The Leeward and Windward Islands each present teams in Caribbean cricket.

The population in each member state of CARICOM, not counting Jamaica and Haiti, ranges from 6,000 in Montserrat to 1.34 million in Trinidad.

There is a forum of seven member states and two associated states with a total population of 636,000 persons.  Schooners and ferries bridge the islands in the east.  They have a basis for this creature called CARICOM.

FACT 2: In recognition of how much the states in the Eastern Caribbean are interdependent, they created, from as far as back as 1981, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.  It is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, and protection of human and legal rights.  They are all virtually contiguous in their boundaries.

On August 13, 2008, the leaders of Trinidad & Tobago, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines announced their intention to pursue a subregional 'political union'.  A 2013 target date was set for full political union for these countries. (CANA, October 24, 2008) Notice, they did not invite Jamaica.  Note also that on June 21, 2010, they signed the treaty that established their countries as a single economic and financial space.

The promise of "joint action" and "joint policies" within areas such as the judiciary and administration of justice, external relations, including overseas representation, international trade agreements, education, telecommunications, intellectual property rights, external transportation, and connections and public administrations and management.

This is a single space without common external boundaries.  A country in every respect.  No Jamaica.

If it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, quacks like duck, it is a duck.  They only associate with Jamaica because we represent the easier trade destination that satisfies their economies of scale.  Jamaica is half the market of CARICOM, without Haiti.

A decline in trade deficit

FACT 3: Jamaica has had, for years, a large trade deficit with CARICOM, not factoring Haiti, and a trade surplus with Haiti.

Jamaica's trade deficit with CARICOM for January-November 2012 (latest figures available) is US$743.5m, a decline of US$157m recorded the previous year, largely caused by reduced spending on fuel.

Jamaica, for the same period, exported US$76.8m.  Most of the inbound trade is with Trinidad and Tobago.  The peanuts, biscuits, candy, etc.

FACT 4: Chapter 5, Part 3 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas addresses the issue of subsidies by one member of CARICOM to the detriment of the other.  Trinidad owns Caribbean Airlines.  Ask Grenada's prime minister why he recently had to comment on the impact Trinidad's full subsidy is having on LIAT, part owned by Grenada.

Remember when we were dumb enough to believe that integration included Jamaica and proposed an aluminium smelter with its demand for lots of aluminium ingots to be located in Trinidad and Tobago using Jamaican bauxite to improve value added for aluminium?  Never materialised.

FACT 5: Remember how the Dominican Republic accessed CARIFORUM for the European Union Economic Partnership Agreement?  There is your blueprint, as the Dominican Republic is not a member of CARICOM.

FACT 6: The language of Article 45 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas references the movement of nationals across the region.  Here is the direct quote: "Member states commit themselves to the GOAL [emphasis mine] of free movement of their nationals within the Community."  A goal, that's all.

Yet Jamaica allows Eastern Caribbean people to come here without reservation, while reciprocity, at the same rate and without discriminatory barbs, is often denied Jamaicans.

Last week, there was news of the dispute between Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica regarding lube oil.  This arose between private interests in Jamaica and entities that are publicly owned by T&T.

Yes, governments do not trade, but they are players in field of international commerce.  This action, by design or neglect, results in a breach of trade protocols.

Some members of the Jamaican business community have long complained about the lax CARICOM conditionalities.  I provided an airing of the oft-whispered sentiments.

I never suggested that Jamaica should go it alone.  We have multiple trade agreements, and currently Costa Rica is under consideration.  The United States is our largest trading partner.  O for the distinction and awareness of reading and comprehension!

That we should deal with the world as it is and forge our way therein as best we can has been misinterpreted as supportive of Jamaica's isolation.  Far from being isolationist, we should forge links with the larger markets of Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Republic, North America and Latin America where the business community of traders can enjoy economies of scale.

GraceKennedy and other Jamaican corporate entities are making their entry into Ghana.  They can continue to set up entities and trade with whomever, and they should.  But do not presume it can only be done by integration, commercial or political.

Ronald Mason is an immigration attorney/mediator. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and nationsagenda@gmail.com.

May 19, 2013

Kick CARICOM to the kerb (Part 1)

Jamaica Gleaner

Kick CARICOM to the kerb

We, Jamaica and Jamaicans - need to give the six-month notice and leave CARICOM

I would support the repatriation of CARICOM nationals who work in Jamaica.  Parochial, yes.  More jobs for Jamaicans

By Ronald Mason, Jamaica Gleaner Contributor

There comes a time when the only thing to do is make clear, definitive, unambiguous statements about things of importance.  Here goes.  I am a Jamaican, I am NOT a Caribbean man.

I want no part of the totally useless creation we label CARICOM.  The peoples who populate those islands 1,000 miles away from my home are not brothers and sisters.  There has been some cross-breeding, but it's statistically insignificant to warrant the familial term 'brothers'.

I do not ascribe to the notion that because we are primarily and predominantly of the same racial composition, that makes us brothers.  The same could be said of the people of Papua New Guinea.  They were also former colonies of the same empire, but I do not hear this claim for integration with those good people.

I have visited countries in this Eastern Caribbean.  On arrival, one is not imbued, as a Jamaican, with the feeling of belonging.  One is met with the quizzical, "What do you want now?"

I have had a period of enforced residence with some of them at a particular North American university and here in Jamaica.  This has not created any pleasant memories, and I would have been better off not to have had those interpersonal experiences.

NOT THE SAME

We are different.  Mauby, blood pudding, bake, monkeys unfettered, major racial divide are all daily features of life in those islands.  The fact that the West Indies cricket team is offered up as a source of bonding strikes me as overreaching.  The team, when it was great, had individuals who proved to be extraordinary.  They were immensely, individually talented.

They had a singular purpose - to win.  They did win, but the team was created initially out of British colonies.  The development of independent countries with their own attendant nationalism has significantly diluted this experience.  One is hard-pressed to foresee a return to glory on the field, and even if they did, what would differentiate them from other cricket entities?  Just look at the Indian T20 spectacle.  Love cricket - watch, recognising the multiple nationalities playing as a unit.

The Trinidadians have this over-bearing, suffocating attitude.  The Bajans have this bombastic self-importance.  Both of these nations waste no time in displaying these traits towards Jamaicans.  Remember Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the ATM being out of bounds?  The Bajans and Shanique Myrie?

NO LONGER SUFFER IN SILENCE

As an aside, until these most recent incidents, I was prepared to listen to Sir Ronald Sanders and suffer in silence.  No more.  We need to give the six-month notice and leave CARICOM.  Keep your oil, money, flying fish and population.  We will deal with the world as it is and forge our way therein as best we can.

We have the resourcefulness, aptitude and personnel to make our mark.  Let us use what we have and be inspired by George Headley, up to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Usain Bolt, the Nobel laureate in our midst and those high achievers in the diaspora.

Have you noticed which two countries are usually responsible for put-downs of Jamaica and Guyana?  I, for one, am no longer prepared, on the national level, to engage those who patronise my country and my countrymen.  I would support the repatriation of CARICOM nationals who work in Jamaica.  Parochial, yes.  More jobs for Jamaicans.

The matter of commerce between the countries is predicated on mutual benefit.  Is this the case with Jamaica and CARICOM?

Hell, no.  They see Jamaica as the market to be exploited, not where fair trade exists.  No to Jamaican patties.  Yes to tissue high in bacteria.

Play the fool regarding natural gas.  Pull the plug.  Get the brand name Air Jamaica, then curtail service to Jamaica.

We do not have to buy the biscuits, chocolate, peanuts, tissue and the multitude of other consumables from Trinidad.  There are Jamaican products of similar or superior quality than.  And our local purchases will boost jobs at home.  As for me and my house, we will not buy CARICOM products.

OTHER OPTION

As a member of the legal fraternity, I have given great thought to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).  I understand the need for a final appellate court.

I do have a longing to sever the ties with the colonial power.  Let me suggest that we look at another option.

There is a country in our part of the world that is developed, shares our judicial heritage and philosophy, does not have the baggage of colonial domination, and has proven itself to be a worthy ally of Jamaica.  I have no knowledge that they would be receptive to affording us assent for our final court.

However, we need to cut the ties to CARICOM.  Leaving the treaty will mean exiting the CCJ.  We would be diminished as a court of original jurisdiction for CARICOM trade matters.  Can we give thought to looking to Canada as our final court of appeal?

This may well mean a diminished court.  It may further be reduced if we could recoup the 26 per cent contribution we made to the trust which funds the court.  This totalled US$100 million.

Federation was a bad idea.  It was laid to rest.  CARICOM cannot hope to be viable without some states ceding to the whole some political power.  God forbid that Jamaica should do that.  Political decision-making, however limited?  No way!

The current experiment has to be laid to rest.  For me and my household, we will be at the vanguard of seeing to the dismantling of CARICOM.  I am a proud Jamaican.  I am not a Caribbean man.

Ronald Mason is an immigration attorney-at-law/mediator. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.

May 05, 2013

Kick CARICOM to the kerb (Part 2)

Jamaica Gleaner

Dons are criminal non-state actors that evolved out of the divisive trade union and partisan battles in Jamaica from the 1940s to 1960s... ...The term 'don' is a recent one, however, one that gained venom in the 1980s... ...before that you had 'rude bwoys', 'top rankings' and 'area leaders'

Garrisons: Empires Of The Dons

By Damion Blake, jamaica-gleaner guest columnist

The Jamaican don is a unique figure, created by a divisive and polarised partisan culture, and produced by the social and economic conditions of urban poverty and limited access to legitimate employment.

Dons emerged in a country where social status and prestige are important markers of upward mobility, and what the late Professor Rex Nettleford termed a 'smaddy'.

But who really are dons? How have they come to dominate the geopolitical spaces of garrison neighbourhoods in Jamaica? I view them as governance actors who use both fear and material rewards as tools for achieving and maintaining power inside Jamaica's garrison communities.

I write this article against the background of research I conducted in one of Jamaica's urban communities in the Kingston and Metropolitan Area last year from August to December 2011. This urban inner city, which I will refer to as 'California Villa', is in a garrison constituency and has been termed a garrison community.

I interviewed more than 40 persons who lived and/or worked in the community. I also spoke with civil-society and NGO groups that have worked in garrison and inner-city communities for decades in Jamaica.

One respondent who lives in California Villa remarked, "Don is a leader, a man who decide when the war fi start and when it fi end. Him decide who lives and who dies." I found the pronouncement of the respondent to be both instructive and scary. Like an investigator, I followed several trails trying to better understand who these community figures really are.

The late Professor Barry Chevannes once referred to dons as "folk heroes"; I think in many ways Prof was right. Dons have a kind of social power inside garrison communities that gives them perverse legitimacy, respect, social prestige but, most of all, a deep fear among residents. Residents fear dons and the gangs they lead. To cross paths with, or diss, the don is an almost sure ticket to punishment.

Dons also have network connections outside the walls of garrison communities. One respondent who runs a community-based association remarked, "There is no don without a politician, and there is no don without his own police."

Categorising criminal dons

But are all dons the same?

From the research I carried out, I realised that there are different types of dons in garrison spaces; in fact, there are some community figures that have social influence, but are not really dons.

One respondent, who works closely with inner-city and garrison communities, informed me that there are some men called 'boss man' who provide material resources to residents in these communities. They have respect among the youth in the area, but they are, technically, not dons.

Based on my research, a three-tier structure of dons emerges: there is the mega don, the powerful community don, and the lower-ranked street/corner don. Most garrisons, it seems, tend to have street-level dons, with fewer powerful dons and still fewer mega dons.

The mega don operates across garrison communities, is awash in wealth, has transnational links to organised crime (drug and gun trafficking), leads a gang, has legitimate businesses but also organises mega robberies and extortion rackets.

The don is essentially a male (I came across no female dons) who has resources in the form of money, has some political association (loose or strong), has an arsenal of weapons, usually is a leader or top-ranking gang member, has respect in the community (whether out of fear or admiration), and someone who provides some social benefits to the community.

Dons are criminal non-state actors that evolved out of the divisive trade union and partisan battles in Jamaica from the 1940s to 1960s. The term 'don' is a recent one, however, one that gained venom in the 1980s; before that you had 'rude bwoys', 'top rankings' and 'area leaders'.

Damion Blake is an instructor and PhD student at Virginia Tech State University. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and damionkblake@gmail.com.

February 27, 2012

jamaica-gleaner

Jamaica: Michael Manley, Garveyism and Matalon

Manley, Garveyism and Matalon

By MICHAEL BURKE

Forty-three years ago today Michael Manley was elected president of the People's National Party. Twenty-three years ago today, the PNP returned to power and Michael Manley once again got a chance to be prime minister. In this 50th anniversary jubilee of our political Independence, perhaps the man with the greatest impact over the last 50 years was Michael Manley. Whether he was the most effective prime minister or he did the most for Jamaica, was the greatest negotiator or was the worst thing to ever happen to Jamaica are all debatable topics. But not even Michael Manley's detractors can successfully challenge the impact that he had.

I call myself a Norman Manleyist, in that I recognise Norman Manley (Michael Manley's father) as the person as "the man with the plan". Indeed, Michael Manley, for the most part implemented his father's ideas. While I am not in favour of Michael Manley being made a national hero unless another 50 years have passed when there can be a proper evaluation of both the way he lived his life and contributed to the growth of Jamaica, it has nothing to do with the massive impact that he had on Jamaica, the Caribbean and the World.

In 1969 when he was Opposition leader, Michael Manley visited Ethiopia and returned to Jamaica with a rod purportedly from Emperor Haile Selassie. That fact alone inspired Rastafarians to participate in the Jamaican democratic process from which they had hitherto stayed aloof as they awaited a return passage to our African motherland.

From the 1960s there were Rastafarians and Pan Africanists campaigning for Garveyism to be taught in schools. During the Social Services debate in 1992, then education Minister Burchell Whiteman announced that as of September that year, Garveyism would be taught in schools. I had advocated the teaching of Garveyism in my columns in the now defunct Jamaica Record, so I celebrated. But it was not to be.

The teachers said that they were not trained to teach Garveyism and that there was no Marcus Garvey textbook. To my mind, their stance was nothing but delaying tactics and I wrote as much. Now we hear that as of September Garveyism is to be taught in schools and a textbook has been provided. Is this another announcement which will be followed by delaying tactics for another 20 years? If it is not, then it will be ironic that it took a white man (education minister, Deacon Ronnie Thwaites) to implement the teaching of Garveyism in schools.

Children who were born out of wedlock could not inherit property until Michael Manley piloted the act to abolish the illegitimacy law in 1975, so that "no bastard no deh again". There was no minimum wage in Jamaica before 1975, some 84 years after Pope Leo XIII encouraged it in his encyclical Rerum Novarum in 1891. There was the adjustment of the land tax law in such a way that the rich paid more land tax. The establishment of the National Housing Trust so that ordinary people could access housing has done a lot to empower the poor. This was done under Michael Manley's watch in the 1970s.

And this brings me to the subject of the late Mayer Matalon, former chairman of West Indies Home Contractors who recently passed away. By the way, Mayer Matalon was chairman of the Jamaica College board of directors (1967-71) while at the same time his brother, Eli Matalon, was chairman of the Kingston College board of directors. Had it not been for the Matalons, who invested heavily in housing, we would have serious housing problems today.

As an aside, no one might know that housing in Jamaica also contributed to the ecumenical movement, where churches of different denominations come together for prayer and action. The Church of Reconciliation in Bridgeport, Portmore, St Catherine, was opened in September 1977. It is a church that is jointly used by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.

For its 20th anniversary in 1997, I was asked to prepare a history of the Church of Reconciliation. I approached the late Archbishop Samuel Carter (already retired from 1995), and asked him whose idea it was to have the joint church: was it his, or was it Bishop Herbert Edmondson's, then the Anglican Lord Bishop of Jamaica. "Neither," Archbishop Carter answered. "So whose idea was it then?" I asked. After a pause, the archbishop said "Matalon". However, he did not say which of the Matalon brothers.

Yes, it took a Matalon (who is of Jewish religion) who evidently wanted more space to build more houses to earn more money, when the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches applied for land within the Bridgeport Housing Scheme to build churches, to say, "Why don't you two bishops just build one church?" The truth is stranger than fiction.

I am not aware of any move by the powers that be to include in our celebrations a way of teaching our young people about the achievements of the last 50 years so that they understand that we truly have something to celebrate this year.

ekrubm765@yahoo.com


February 09, 2012

jamaicaobserver

What an end to 2011 for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Jamaica!

Let's Do More To Protect Gay Rights For Jamaica 50

By Corbin Gordon and Tyler Thomas, Contributors- Jamaica Gleaner

What an end to 2011 for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Jamaica! For the first time in Jamaica's history, on the occasion of our 50th year of Independence, there is a prime minister who has publicly stated that people should not be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

This is evidence of the strides we have made as a people in promoting respect and tolerance for the human rights of LGBT Jamaicans.  We all deserve applause.

Today, approximately seven per cent of HIV/AIDS organisations in Jamaica are working with men who have sex with men (MSM); more and more research is being done on homosexuality and homophobia in Jamaica; there are social and entertainment spaces that are friendly and for LGBT people; and there are more than five LGBT-focused organisations and many support groups islandwide.

Notwithstanding all of that, the concerns about the continued discrimination and of acts of violence being perpetrated against the LGBT community are still legitimate. In 2011, 84 incidents of human-rights abuses on the grounds of real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity were reported to J-FLAG. This included murder, home evictions, mob attacks, sexual violence, extortion, blackmail and other forms of harassment meted out mainly to young males.  Family members, friends, landlords, mobs and even the police perpetrated these.

Recently, in November 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Committee recommended that Jamaica "send a clear message that it does not tolerate any form of harassment, discrimination or violence against persons [because of] their sexual orientation, and should ensure that individuals who incite violence against homosexuals are investigated, prosecuted and properly sanctioned".

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's bold historic statement did just that. It should be seen as a step in the right direction, at the right time, as we celebrate our Jubilee year of Independence. Her statement will go down in history and there is much hope for the future of LGBT persons living in Jamaica.

Achievements

LGBT persons, their families, friends and allies have a lot to celebrate and be thankful for. Many positive things happened last year. Here is a rundown of the top seven positive statements and actions, progress, and achievements in 2011.

1. In August, Police Commissioner Owen Ellington, in the Jamaica Constabulary's Force Orders 3,351, instructed police personnel to respect the human rights of persons, inter alia, their sexual orientation.  There were also clear instructions on how to proceed with investigations and arrests to bring perpetrators to justice.  And in July, the commissioner withdrew Senior Superintendent Fitz Bailey's controversial claims suggesting links between homosexual men and organised crime.

2. Throughout the year 2011, there were many objective media outputs, both print and electronic, about the human rights of LGBT persons, the buggery law, and having gays in the Cabinet.

3. There were a number of incident-free gay-rights public stands in front of Devon House, Emancipation Park, and The Little Theatre, as well as near the Office of the Prime Minister.

4. In April, former president of the Senate, Professor Oswald Harding, spoke out against the Parliament's continued stance of ignoring discourse around the issues of repealing the buggery law and protection based on sexual orientation.

5. In June, the National Youth Survey, conducted by then Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, found that street youth are far more tolerant and accepting of gays.  Earlier in May, the first National Survey on Attitudes and Perceptions of Jamaicans towards same-sex relationship highlighted that 20 per cent of Jamaicans are tolerant.

6. Coca-Cola apologised to Jamaica for sponsoring a music event with anti-gay lyrics sung by Sizzla.

7. In October, the first legal challenge to the buggery law was launched by Jamaican gay-rights activist Maurice Tomlinson through AIDS-Free World.

These achievements were possible because more and more of us are realising that human rights belong to every one of us, without exception. More of us are promoting human rights.  However, much more needs to be done to make Jamaica a cohesive and just society where everyone can live, work and raise his or her family.

Therefore, unless we know them, unless we demand that they be respected, and unless we defend our rights to love and care for each other, without distinction, these rights will be just words in decades-old documents.

As then Health Minister Rudyard Spencer declared on December 1, 2011 at the Leaders' Breakfast on HIV and AIDS, "We should not ignore the cries of those who continue to suffer because we fail to do what is right.  It is time to be courageous and to be strong. It is time to usher our country into a new day where justice, liberty, and freedom prevail for all."

It is important that we begin recognising and respecting the rights and beliefs of others.

This jubilee year, more of us must demonstrate our respect for the rights of our friends and loved ones, as well as others we come in contact with.  We must be ready to support the Government in demonstrating its commitments to protect and promote the human rights of all Jamaicans, regardless of their socio-economic status, sexual orientation, health status, disability, work, and political and religious persuasions.

Corbin Gordon is the programme and advocacy coordinator at the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals & Gays (J-FLAG). Tyler Thomas is a young gay university student.

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