It’s a new month. The bars and restaurants of Kingston were packed Saturday night with people watching the “big fight.” Certainly a good night for business, although many Jamaicans were unhappy with the outcome!
Yesterday was World Press Freedom Day and I have seen scarcely anything about it in our local media; except a mention in one newspaper that the Press Association of Jamaica held a panel discussion today at the University of the West Indies (UWI) on the use of the Access to Information Act by journalists. Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. does not seem a particularly good time (and a day late). I am not sure what audience they were aiming for – UWI students? For the record, “Let Journalism Thrive! Towards Better Reporting, Gender Equality, and Media Safety in the Digital Age” is the UNESCO theme for the day.
Perhaps a message of solidarity with all the journalists (and bloggers, cartoonists etc) who are persecuted and many of whom have lost their lives in the last year around the world might have been nice. After all, it is World Press Freedom Day. Quoting Christiane Amanpour’s introduction to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ annual Press Freedom Report: “Vigilance has never been more crucial, or more difficult, for the free press around the world…An information battle is under way worldwide, and it is evolving in extremely dangerous ways. The one constant, as always, is that reporters are on the front line.”
Are we too complacent? After all, in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, Jamaica is ranked #9 out of 180 countries! And the only “developing country” in the Index top twenty countries! Quite a bit higher than Germany, the UK, the United States etc. We need to pat ourselves on the back for this!
DNA legislation: Last week National Security Minister Peter Bunting jubilantly announced the passage of the long-awaited DNA legislation. Is all the infrastructure in place? We shall see how effective the laws will be, when put into practice; lawyers will be looking out for “technicalities.”
Ashley’s story: Last night in Emancipation Park, the creative reggae band Nomaddz performed their song and launched their video in support of Eve for Life’s “Nuh Guh Deh” campaign, supported by UNICEF Jamaica. For years Patricia Watson and Joy Crawford have been quietly working to support and empower young and teen mothers – most living with HIV/AIDS and almost all the victims of child abuse. They work on a proverbial “shoestring,” I might add. Now that the issue of child sexual abuse is firmly on the front burner (and I hope it will remain a “hot topic” until concrete steps are taken to address it) I hope Joy and Pat will get the support they deserve. The Sunday Gleaner today highlighted “Ashley’s Diary,” noting: “Over the last two years, Ashley agreed to have excerpts of her diaries published in a book titled I am Now Free, and she initiated the Ashley Fund to help fellow survivors continue their education. Contact Eve for Life to get a copy of I am Now Free or to donate to the Ashley Fund. Tel: 758-7049. Email: info@eveforlife.org.”
It was already clear that our public health system was barely limping along, despite the best efforts of doctors and medical staff. Now doctors have spoken out about the appalling conditions they work under – in disturbing detail. “We have flies in the operating theatre. We have to reuse single-use instruments that aren’t disposed of but [are] washed and placed in antibacterial solution and used on another patient,” said one. Instead of the proper disinfecting solution, they use regular household soap to scrub up before operations. Jamaica Medical Doctors Association President Dr Alfred Dawes gave the press more examples last Friday. The doctors are unhappy with the Health Ministry’s proposal to introduce a shift system. So are our public health facilities properly managed, or is it simply that they are running out of resources and supplies? What about the issue of “pilferage” (i.e., “tiefing”) of supplies from public health facilities by some doctors and nurses? UWI Hospital is a teaching hospital and conditions aren’t much better there; yet the medical school charges around US$28,000 in fees (please, correct me if I am wrong).
Service suffers accordingly. The experience of my mother-in-law a few years ago when her husband passed away at UWI Hospital was distressing (I will not go into details). A confusing report worried me at several levels. A 78-year-old visitor from Florida died after falling ill at a beach I know very well (Winnifred’s Beach in Portland) – but reportedly could have been saved if the Port Antonio Hospital had responded and sent an ambulance. She was dead on arrival at the hospital two hours later (the hospital is about fifteen minutes away from the beach, by the way). “Angry residents later converged at the hospital, accusing the staff of negligence and dereliction of duty,” reports the Star.
“A righteous struggle”: This is how Jamaica Teachers’ Association President Doran Dixon describes his members’ determination to obtain a better wage deal; they have asked for a 25 per cent increase over two year. The Government has offered them one-fifth of that. As I have repeatedly noted since last year, the issue of wages for public sector workers has been looming. It is now upon us, and it will not go away any time soon. The Police Federation says its wage negotiations have not even started yet and that they were supposed to start meeting with the Finance Ministry in March. The often militant nurses? Not sure we have heard from them – yet. Expect some direct action – marches and protests – in the next few weeks.
The motorbike riders: Between January 1 and April 27 this year, 118 have been killed in road crashes, compared to 108 last year. 66 deaths were either pedestrians or motorbike riders (34 bikers killed, compared to only 19 last year). I am not sure whether officials are working on a strategy for the bike riders. For a start, many don’t wear helmets, which is illegal!
Our Environment Minister seems to enjoy making announcements about developments that will actually have a negative impact on the environment he should be working to protect. Despite the protests and valid concerns of residents, plans to build a breakwater to prevent beach erosion in Negril and to change the Development Order to allow hotels to build higher are going ahead. Meanwhile, the Environment Minister seems to be leaving the actual job of protecting the environment (judging from the PR) to another Ministry altogether – Tourism. Minister Wykeham McNeill is busy “upgrading” beaches around the island, although one doesn’t know what the upgrades consist of exactly. He is also supporting the excellent anti-litter/garbage program “Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica” and is concerned about cleaning up our coasts.
The good stuff:
- I like the idea of an online portal marketing Jamaica’s rich art offerings. Osmosis Caribbean is the brainchild of Amitabh Sharma, who sees it as an extension of the “Brand Jamaica” concept (which, after all, doesn’t have to be only reggae and sprinters, does it?)
- And here’s a Jamaican current affairs (and poetry) blog to follow: https://rodneysocampbell.wordpress.com/ I actually only discovered it recently since I follow Mr. Campbell on Twitter. Well worth a read!
MOCA’s tentacles… - The Major Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) has arrested and charged over 400 policemen and other public officials for corruption since last year, National Security Minister Peter Bunting announced in Parliament last week. Impressive! However, I would love to see @MOCAJamaica tweeting more (every day)! I promise to retweet!
- The U.S. Navy Ship “Comfort,” a hospital ship, will visit from May 6 – 13 and staff will have their hands full, performing surgeries and offering a range of surgeries on board, as well as medical services at the National Arena and Maxfield Park Health Centre in Kingston. I hope this will help ease the terrible situation in our public health system (see above) – at least temporarily. And thank you.
- Raheem Sterling is one of the youngest and most promising stars in the English Premier League. He has been giving back to the community of Maverley in Kingston, where he grew up. He recently obtained boots and a full kit for the local football team. Great!
There is confusion over the deaths of two policemen over the weekend at a party in St. Ann. Media immediately reported it as a “murder/suicide” but it appears this may not be the case. Our headline writers need to do better – why are our headlines often so misleading? This morning we woke to hear news that the body of another teenager was found. As you have probably noticed if you are regular reader, this is a regular (weekly) occurrence. My sympathies to all the families of these Jamaicans who have lost their lives in the past few days…The grieving has no end.
Timothy Whittaker, 59, New Haven/Duhaney Park, Kingston
Mitchelin Grant, 22, Kingston
Martino Williams, 18, Central Village, St. Catherine
Nakino Bailey, 22, Central Village, St. Catherine
Joslyn Williams, 24, Central Village, St. Catherine
Keith Johnson, 29, Sligoville, St. Catherine
Garfield Reid, Thompson Pen, St. Catherine
Oraine Malcolm, 29, Thompson Pen, St. Catherine
Brandon Page, 46, Hellshire Beach, Portmore, St. Catherine
Andrew Robinson, 26, Jobs Lane, St. Catherine
Deshawn Taylor, 17, Dumfries, St. James
Roderick Green, 40, Barrett Hall, St. James
Unidentified man, Welcome District, Westmoreland (mob killing)
Petchary's Blog 
Medical tuition is round about that figure, but not everyone pays that much (based on govt sponsorship, grants etc). I’m not sure what amount of our tuition goes to the hospital (if any) because the faculty spends that money on paying lecturers/building monoliths.
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Ah, OK. “Building monoliths” – I like that and I think I know what you mean. I got that figure from UWI’s website but it did mention sponsorship, etc. Thanks for clarifying, Robyn!
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