Happy Earth Day!

And yes, I know.  I’m late again.  Blame it on the determined nature of the weather – fierce showers all day that left us with that exhausted feeling that rain seems to bring in tropical climes.  Now the lawn is soaking, the eaves are dripping, cars are splashing down the road, and it has just started raining again.

Meanwhile, it has been a messy weekend in the media, too.

The Ethiopian flag has the same colors as the Rastafarian one.

Let’s ponder a bit more… The “flag foul-up fiasco” (as it is now called in the Sunday Gleaner) continues to rumble on, like a thunderstorm that moves away reluctantly and threatens to return at any moment.  The Prime Minister declared earlier this week that she is not going to going to speak publicly on “every issue” and that she relies on her ministers as front men (and women).  She has her own “leadership style,” she asserts.  (What is that, exactly?  Photo-ops at the Summit of the Americas, ribbon-cuttings and launches and nice suits are the easy part.  So was stomping around on the campaign trail). But the letters to the Editor, columns and shrill complaints on radio call-in shows drip, drip, dripped all week, like today’s rain.  In case you feel you need to catch up on this issue, there is a link below to today’s Sunday Gleaner piece by Adrian Frater, which gives you a blow-by-blow account.  The decorator who was labeled the “fall guy” in the affair is not willing to play that role; there are questions about how an alleged protocol officer attached to the Prime Minister’s office was allowed to take over the event – and who allowed him; and investigations are under way.  The media have not got to the bottom of the matter, by any means.

And another flag fiasco?  Saturday’s Observer headlines blared, “Rastas livid!”  And a livid Rasta is not a pretty sight, I can tell you.  ”Now what?” you may well ask, dear reader.  Footage emerged on CVM Television’s prime time news of an indignant gentleman being cajoled, beseeched, and when that failed, eventually escorted away with some difficulty last Thursday night in Kingston’s Emancipation Park.  What was going on there?  Well, it was the much heralded (and indeed much praised) documentary film “Marley” - which was premiered free to the Jamaican public in the park.  It was, of course, a great social occasion, with politicians of different stripes rubbing shoulders with aging reggae musicians, rastas from all corners of the island, curious members of the public and – of course – the young, influential and beautiful social butterflies who appear regularly on the pages of our daily newspapers anyway, all showing their “rootsy” side.  A number of  people, Jamaicans and others, who are only famous because of their association with the “reggae icon” (to coin a cliche) were also there; and of course members of Bob Marley’s family, who approved the film.

But back to the livid rastas.  At the film premiere, the decorators had perhaps gone a little overboard with swathes of fabric.  There was rather a nice arch and pathway for “VIPs”  in red, gold and green cloth – except that the pathway (a kind of red carpet, if you will) was the colors of the Rastafarian flag – or the Ethiopian flag, which has the same colors.  So the dignitaries would be walking on the Ethiopian/Rastafarian flag, an insult to both the country and Rastafarian beliefs.

Unlike the Montego Bay flag, however, there was no (alleged) shortage of fabric here.  A large quantity of not-very-practical white material was found by artiste manager Bridgette Anderson (who appeared unfazed by the protestations of her Rastafarian brethren) which was applied to the floor.  But of course, politicians avoided the area like the plague.  When CVM’s reporter asked Culture Minister Lisa Hanna whether she would walk on the offending area, she murmured, “Um, no…” with a deprecating smile.

Director of "Marley" Kevin Macdonald and Bob Marley's eldest son Ziggy, who was closely involved in the production of the film.

Nevertheless, the film was declared to be a sensitive, absorbing personal portrait of Bob Marley – not the usual run-of-the-mill biopic.  Congratulations to director Kevin Macdonald, and all those involved in its making.

This week’s trivia question:  How many countries besides Ethiopia have red, gold and green in their national flags?

Why bother… Personally, I have had enough of media stories involving “scandals,” hate-mail and political gossip-mongering.  Don’t care.  Just simply don’t care.  These are serious times.

A couple more stories of note… There was rather an important story in the Sunday Observer on Jamaica’s birth rate.  Producing fewer children will help the Jamaican economy, but we already have a “bulge” of young people to get over before we can settle settle down a bit, it seems.  That’s according to Dr. Carl Haub of the Population Reference Bureau, based in Washington, DC.  There’s something called the Child Dependency Ratio (our birth rate has declined to 2.3 births per woman).  The only answer, says Dr. Haub, is to train and educate the three-quarter-of-a-million Jamaicans between zero and fifteen years, 27 per cent of the population – and hope the economy will improve.  Hmm.  I would like to see a more in-depth report or analysis of this subject.

Principal of the boys’ high school Jamaica College, Mr. Ruel Reid, also gave a clear-eyed assessment of the factors behind “failing schools.”  Management, and leadership, are crucial in schools, he says.  Couldn’t one go further and say these are issues in many of our key institutions, too – including governmental institutions?  Reid, who was an advisor to the former Education Minister/Prime Minister Andrew Holness, adds that a lack of well-qualified teachers is also a major problem – only twenty per cent of Jamaican teachers have first degrees.  “Accountability” was a word he used, repeated by the Principal of Shortwood Teachers’ College Elaine Foster-Allen, who added that ongoing training was inadequate and the physical conditions in schools (especially primary schools) were detrimental to learning (students can’t always hear the teacher in class because of noise and over-crowding – a pretty fundamental concern).   Mr. Reid commented, “What you see…is the profile of average teachers, average teaching and an average system.”  Perhaps he is being kind – perhaps “average” is an euphemism for “mediocre.”

(left-right) Christine Staple-Ebanks, founder of the Nathan Ebanks Foundation; Faith Innerarity, Ministry of Labour & Social Security; and Christine Hendricks, Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities, officially open the Special Needs Expo.

President Desi Bouterse then (in 1985)...

Concerns:  A technical team is girding up its loins for a trip to Washington, DC for the annual International Monetary Fund/World Bank meeting.  There has been talk of “sacrifice” and “austerity” in editorials and columns; but do the politicians really believe it’s necessary now – like, right now?  Or do they think they can just get by with talking about “tough times ahead” (or “bitter medicine” as the former Prime Minister called it) without having to implement any unpopular measures?  And will they be able to set an example of said “sacrifice”?

Mr. Rickey Singh turned the focus on the Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and President of Suriname Desi Bouterse.  Now, Jamaicans tend not to pay too much attention to Suriname, which although a CARICOM member speaks Dutch and is not an island.  President Bouterse made a come-back when he was democratically elected in August 2010.  He led the country under military rule from 1982 – 1992, a period with a very poor record of human rights.  But the “democratic” President/Chairman has just passed new legislation, granting amnesty for himself and a number of his cronies from prosecution for the massacre of fifteen Surinamese, among other crimes.  Meanwhile, ironically, Suriname submitted a request for assistance for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to the Organization of American States at the recent Summit of the Americas.  So much for the weird construction that is called democracy in the Caribbean.  I wonder if fellow CARICOM states are going to have anything to say about this?  I won’t hold my breath. 

Commendations:

To the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (C-CAM) headed by the industrious Ms. Ingrid Parchment.  C-CAM celebrated its thirteenth anniversary of the Portland Bight Protected Area that they manage along with various partners, on April 19.  On the same day, they opened their new field office in Salt River to manage the three fish sanctuaries in the protected area.  Kudos also to WINDALCO for their sponsorship of an artificial reef project and to Seacology, the California-based organization that has provided much support on the project.  I wrote a post on this after attending last week – see link below…

…To our esteemed and beloved poet Kwame Dawes, who was recently awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.  The genial Mr. Dawes is a prolific Jamaican/Ghanaian by birth poet and novelist and co-founder of Jamaica’s own native literary jamboree, the Calabash International Literary Festival (renamed for this year Jubilation! 50) which will take place from May 25-27 in Treasure Beach.  On his website he calls himself”the busiest man in literature today.”  He is an absolute gem.  Congratulations, Kwame!

... and now.

…Another cultural gem, Ms. Barbara Blake Hannah, whose Reggae Film Festival is now in its fifth year.  It takes a lot of belief to get a project like this off the ground.  Ms. Blake Hannah is a lady of depth and substance.  In the Sunday Observer lifestyle pages she noted that her favorite film is Akira Kurosawa’s “Kagemusha.”   Kurosawa’s extraordinary, epic works are close to my heart and remain masterpieces of film-making.  Great choice.

Who else do I love this week?  The Nathan Ebanks Foundation should receive a big pat on the back for their Sixth Annual Special Needs Conference Expo – a four-day event aimed at helping caregivers, educators and medical professionals improve the lives of physically and mentally challenged people.  The focus was on a remarkable program started by Californian Ms. Linda Bidabe called MOVE (Mobility Opportunities Via Education/Experience, great acronym).  Congratulations to Ms. Christine Staple-Ebanks and her partners and sponsors for their dedication to special education, a meaningful cause.

Well, dear readers – blue skies perhaps tomorrow?  As always, I welcome your comments and feedback on any of these stories.  And please – I hope I have been accurate in my comments.  If not, please correct me!

Related articles

• 8 Gorgeous Nature Blogs for Earth Day (breedheenorilleykeefer.com)
• Sunday Steam (petchary.wordpress.com)
• http://www.worldflags101.com/e/ethiopia-flag.aspx History of the Ethiopian flag
• http://www.bobmarley.com/marley_the_movie.php  Movie website

Ms. Barbara Blake Hannah, a woman with depth.

• Jamaicans pack a city park to watch documentary about the life of reggae icon Bob Marley (repeatingislands.com)
• Bob Marley: So much things to say… (repeatingislands.com)
• HW Pick: Marley (video) (harlemworldmag.com)
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Rastas-livid-_11299691: Rastas livid!
• http://repeatingislands.com/2012/03/29/love-jamaica-at-jubilation-50/: Jubilation! 50/Calabash
• http://www.prb.org/  Population Reference Bureau
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Failing-principals—failing-schools_11284317
• http://www.expatica.com/nl/news/dutch-news/rights-council-spurns-suriname-amnesty-law_221757.html
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Brewing-political-storm-in-Suriname_11294934
• http://petchary.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/protecting-our-fish-earth-day-part-1/  My blog post on C-CAM fish sanctuaries
• http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120422/arts/arts5.html  Kwame Dawes awarded Guggenheim Fellowship
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/Cocktails-WIth–Barbara-Blake-Hanna_11294726
• http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120422/news/news6.html  Nathan Ebanks Foundation

The disarming Mr. Dawes