Tag Archives: Washington DC

“End patronizing, piecemeal engagement of youth”

By petchary on | 8 Comments

OK, so now our fifty years are behind us, Jamaica. What of the next fifty years? For the remainder of the year, this blog is planning to focus on a regular basis on our youth. In case the (mostly) old men currently governing our country did not realize, we must hand over the future of Jamaica to our young people. Our next fifty years belong to them. 

Listen to them. Engage them. Empower them. Let them create our future. Trust them!

I am starting with a speech by Jamaican youth advocate Jaevion Nelson, who is speaking in the context of HIV/AIDS. Jaevion is a great role model and an example of how our bright Jamaican young people can really make a difference – through their words and actions. More to come in future blog posts!

Speech by Jaevion Nelson, Executive Director of the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network, delivered at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington D.C. during a Regional Session on Sustainability and HIV.

Jaevion Nelson

Jamaican youth advocate Jaevion Nelson

 Young people are central to the success and sustainability of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support efforts.
Increased funding for programmes has ensured that as young people, we are more empowered with comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and correct knowledge about HIV–as well as resources and commodities to support and encourage us to abandon risky behaviours and seek HIV prevention, treatment and care services.
Despite many programs/interventions and remarkable success, young people, especially those of us who are among key and affected populations, continue to be at high risk and vulnerable to HIV transmission. Many of us are gay, bisexual, transgender, sex workers, lesbian, disabled, living with HIV, incarcerated, living in the care of the state, homeless, among other things, but we remain largely invisible to the general population. Even within the AIDS response we are not afforded the space to fully contribute to turning the tide and ensuring and AIDS-free generation.
As UNAIDS has said “at this pivotal moment in the response, we must courageously face up to the challenges presented by a new context and embrace wholeheartedly the opportunities to break the trajectory of the epidemic.” Sadly, in my view, which is informed by four years of working in the sector (as a volunteer), this is hardly the case when it comes to young people.
Seemingly, we are more appreciated (and sadly too many of us have bought into this practice) as articulate testifiers.
Talking about us as young people and giving us space to air our concerns is commendable BUT woefully insufficient.
If we are not mobilised to harness our energies and become more active in the regional AIDS response the successes gained over the years can be reversed.
Regional partners must do much more than use young people as an AIDS-FUNDING BINGO. We have to task ourselves to care to do more than we are currently doing.
This is already happening in some places but leadership and meaningful involvement of young people is still woefully inept. In Jamaica, my organisation, the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN), though in need of more resources to scale up our work, is treated with great respect as any other AIDS organisation. We work closely with multi and bilateral partners, the Ministry of Health, which has been supporting us with office space and overheads since 2008, and several NGO partners. We have managed to represent young people in Jamaica and the Caribbean at national, regional and international fora. Sadly, this is not the case for the vast majority of the few young people and youth organisations in the region.
There are some things that we can and must do:
1. Provide youth-led organisations with funding
2. Employ young people in your organisations; not just as peer educators and outreach officers
3. Give young people sace to be key stakeholders and partners – not merely beneficiaries of your programmes
4. Build our capacities to write funding proposals and design, implement and monitor and evaluate programmes, policies and interventions
5. Build our capacities and respect our ability to hold non-governmental organisations, United Nations agencies and governments accountable to their commitments
6. Conduct research so the programmes that target us are informed by evidence. For far too long when it comes to data in reports there is a dearth when you reach Caribbean countries. This is unacceptable.
In closing, my encouragement is that you provide us with the space, tools and resources to nurture and support our leadership in the response. We have to do this together.
We are as competent, with training and mentorship, to plan, design, monitor and evaluate and implement programmes and policies to ensure less people are becoming infected and dying. We are as competent, with training and mentorship, to ensure that more of us are on treatment and can be accorded our rights and dignity.
UNAIDS Caribbean

UNAIDS Caribbean

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Dark

By petchary on | 11 Comments

On Wednesday morning, just as the rush hour traffic was building up about five minutes away from our house, two dead bodies were found on a scruffy open lot – one of those that is fenced, but does not really keep people out. One man was lying on his back, the other face down with a huge gash in his forehead a few feet away. Someone had attacked them with a machete, and had injured a third man, who reportedly alerted the police. Out came that familiar yellow tape. A long row of curious people lined up along the median in the middle of the road, arms folded, faces glum or completely devoid of expression.

Onlookers at the crime scene

Onlookers at the crime scene. The expressions on their faces are usually unreadable. In this case, there are no grieving women, falling down in their horror, held up off the ground by relatives. There is just people peering at the aftermath of another act of barbarism.

At the time that I am writing this blog, the men had not been identified. They were non-people. No names except two nicknames, Avatar and Jermaine. But we soon realized that these were, in fact, two of those nameless, helpless young men who trail up and down the relatively well-heeled streets of New Kingston in small, bedraggled groups. They are commercial sex workers, they are gay, they are drug addicts, they are homeless; they are in one, two, three or all four of these categories. They may suffer from HIV/AIDS; they may suffer from mental illness.

They are human beings.

Some Jamaicans, it seems, do not see them as human. First, they dehumanize these groups; after that, it is that much easier to persecute them. Just as Hitler did with the Jews, the mentally ill, homosexuals, gypsies and black people. They are not like you and I; they are subhuman, these Jamaicans believe. They are raped, they are beaten, they are chased away. They hide in the corners of these open lots, where the grass is high, and live with the rats and scrawny street dogs, in the open air. They hide there until someone finds out where they are living, and chases them away, or calls the police, or worse. In this case, worse.

One early media report suggested that the young men may have died because of a lovers’ quarrel. This is a common way of explaining away homophobic murders in Jamaica. Once it is established that the victim is gay, it is put out there (with the media complicit in much of this) that “Oh, you know, gays get very jealous and they are very violent by nature, and this was a love affair gone bad.” They enjoy as many lurid details as they can get their hands on – whether backed up by any facts it doesn’t matter too much. I don’t really see how two men can hack and stone each other to death; these are the preferred instruments of mob killers.

Well, a man is reportedly in custody, and in this case we shall see what explanation there is. But nothing will change. This drifting population of the homeless, the helpless, the marginalized will continue on its weary way, hiding where it can, begging for help where it dares.

The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) put out a statement today, noting that there have been eight gay murders in the past three months. But listen, does anybody care? No, most Jamaicans are obsessed with politics, with the corrupt and conniving political parties, with taxes, the inflation rate (just on the rise), with the Jamaican Dollar (now slipping), with fashion shows and parties and scandals and online porn and church meetings. Defenders of the Jamaican citizen’s right to life, dignity and respect are seen as whining, or they have a political agenda, or they are trying to drag society down into the mire of a kind of “free for all,” liberal society such as that espoused by President Barack Obama (yes,it is ironic that Jamaicans all profess to support President Obama; but they would never support his policies – if U.S. political parties were . It is the opposite.

If we cannot care for the weakest among us, we are not a civilized society. I could quote some Bible verse from the New Testament for the Christians among us; but I certainly do recall that Jesus sat down by the roadside and talked to prostitutes and others who were considered beyond the pale by the “upright citizens” of society in those days. Am I correct, or not? My husband has witnessed with his own eyes people coming out of church and stepping over and around a man lying on the sidewalk; he was having a fit.  Here in “one love” Jamaica.

Meanwhile, there are other horrors, incredible grief, mourning and inconsolable loss. A teacher and the daughter of a Trinidadian Mayor is missing; two farmers found a charred body in a cane field, but it has not yet been identified. That is the high-profile crime story, but there are many others, week after week after week. For example:

  • Hundreds of children have been missing since last year; an advocacy group, Hear the Children’s Cry puts out weekly lists and photographs.
  • A night club owner was shot dead while playing dominoes outside his club in Montego Bay. An evening game of dominoes with friends is a dangerous occupation, these days.
  • A former Kiwanis Club president and Jamaica Defence Force Major was found murdered at his home recently.
  • Daily reports of middle-aged men molesting young family members or other young people – nine-year-old girls, a three year-old sexually abused and murdered, etc.
  • A man stabbed a woman to death during an argument in the quiet Blue Mountains, nearly decapitating her. It hardly made a headline anywhere, just a quick news item, move on…
  • The numerous deaths of young men in inner-city communities, mostly unsolved.
  • The deaths of many Jamaican citizens (mostly the above-mentioned young men in inner-city communities) at the hands of the police force, agents of the State.
J-FLAG has issued a press release this evening, in which it implores:
“We call on the Prime Minister and the Ministers of National Security and Labour & Social Security to listen to the cries and needs of members of our community who continue to be subjected to discrimination and violence, have nowhere to live and no food to eat because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.”
A link below has my full article (Rights and Wrongs), but I noted in April, 2011 in this blog:
“Meanwhile, human rights lobby group Jamaicans for Justice released a report co-authored by the International Human Rights Clinic of theGeorge Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, entitled, “The State of Human Rights in Jamaica Since the State of Emergency 2010.”  It makes for grim reading.  The report notes that ”the position of vulnerable individuals, women, children, persons from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and Lesbian, Gay and Transgender individuals (LGBTI) were of heightened concern to the member states within the UN Human Rights Council during the UPR interactive dialogue.  Through the  presentation of our matters to the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) we have sought to highlight what we have considered to be evidence of systematic abuse of human rights to citizens of Jamaica.  It is evident by reference to the matters currently before the IACHR that extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detention affect predominantly vulnerable individuals.  With that regard it is of grave concern that the government of Jamaica continues to deny the rights of citizens whom we represent who form part of the marginalized sections of society.”
Stephen King wrote a book of stories called “Full Dark, No Stars.” In fact, I wrote a review of it (among the book reviews listed at the top of this blog). The stories were unpleasant, but hardly caused me to shiver. The real-life stories we hear almost every day in Jamaica are worse.
Full dark, indeed.
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Sunday Stunner – Early Edition

By petchary on | 19 Comments

Last week, all was to be revealed in the overdue Budget, which was tabled in the Lower House on Thursday.  But before we got to that, the week opened with a stunner.

Mr. David Smith

Mr. David Smith, once the darling of the cocktail circuit.

Mr. David Smith is a Jamaican now serving a few years behind bars in the Turks & Caicos Islands, after being found guilty of cheating thousands of Jamaicans, Americans and others of their hard-earned cash (at least US$220 million) through his “unregistered financial scheme,” Olint, which offered fantastically high rates of  interest rates.  The already-rich and powerful, and others less so, initially benefited; but like all Ponzi schemes, inevitably, Olint collapsed.  After a relatively short stint in the Caribbean, Mr. Smith will move for a considerably longer period to a prison in the United States, where he was indicted on 23 charges of wire fraud and money laundering last summer.  Meanwhile, he has informed prosecutors that he donated money to both Jamaican political parties as well as some individuals.  Confiscation orders have been issued in the Turks & Caicos; these are now regarded as “tainted gifts”.  The ruling People’s National Party (US$1.3 million) has prevaricated somewhat, saying it has no record of such a payment, but will look into it.  Former People’s National Party Prime Minister PJ Patterson (US$1 million) speedily denied receiving any such thing.  The Jamaica Labour Party (US$5 million) conceded that it did receive money from Smith/Olint, but is not sure if it was that much.  Jamaica Labour Party Member of Parliament Daryl Vaz (US$50,000) said yes, he did receive money but called it a “political contribution to the constituency.”  A fellow party member, political candidate Sally Porteous (US$100,000) has also been candid.  All this was prior to the 2007 general elections, by the way, when Mr. & Mrs. Smith were welcome guests at top-class cocktail parties across the island, and appeared in the newspapers almost every day in a highly positive light.

How times have changed.  And we shall wait and see.

As for the budget itself, which increased by fourteen per cent, debt repayments took the lion’s share as expected.  Finance Minister Peter Phillips, who returned from an important trip to Washington, DC recently, had already warned us to make “sacrifices.”  Is this the “bitter medicine” of which former Prime Minister Andrew Holness spoke just a few months ago?  Sounds like it to me.  Painfully, justice, education, national security and health all took cuts.  What could be more important than these?

Another piece of news, this time from overseas stunned the Jamaican public last week: President Obama’s quiet declaration in an interview that his views on same-sex marriage have evolved to the point that he can now affirm his support for it.  The reaction in Jamaica was largely negative, judging from comments on radio talk shows and letters to the Editor; although I think some quietly applauded his courage in breaking new ground.  On radio, Ms. Gloudon had to fend off one or two bullying fundamentalists, one of whom accused her of being “sympathetic” to the gay rights cause because she had the absolute nerve to say that we should at least listen to others’ point of view on such matters.  For those in religious straitjackets, I would suggest they consider phrases from the New Testament such as “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”  Or, perhaps, “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye.”  I am more than ever convinced that if Jamaicans were to vote on issues (which of course they don’t) and had to choose between George W. Bush and Barack Obama, they would choose the former, despite their declared love for “America’s first black President” as the local media call him.  I like the way Canada-based columnist Keeble McFarlane describes President Obama’s declaration: “A declaration of simple humanity.”  Or as a Jamaican mother would say, “‘Im is somebody pickney too!”

Sir Patrick Allen reads the Throne Speech in Parliament

The Throne Speech outlines the Government’s priorities for the new fiscal year. The gentleman on the left is called an Aide-de-Camp (a sort of PA).

By the way, I wonder how the Queen’s representative and Governor General felt while reading out the 2012/13 Throne Speech in Parliament on Budget Day?  He calmly announced that a priority of the Jamaican Government is to basically abolish him, and to establish Jamaica as a Republic within the Commonwealth of Nations.  No more Queenie, whom our Prime Minister has already described as a “wonderful lady,” but… The other priority is to establish the Caribbean Court of Justice as Jamaica’s final Court of Appeal. One expects these two issues to be up there in flashing neon lights for the remainder of this year, and perhaps beyond, generating much political heat and noise.  Will either of these developments, which the politicians appear quite excited about, impact the quality of life for Jamaicans in any way?  I can’t answer that question.  Let us see.

The third Friday of May – starting next week – will be National Children’s Day.  Our Queen’s representative (for now), Governor General Sir Patrick Allen made this proclamation last week.  The National Child Month Committee’s Dr. Pauline Mullings would like to see the day treated like Mother’s and Father’s Day.  Any day for children is welcome – so balloons, sugar cakes and melting ice-cream treats are in order on May 18.

One hundred and sixty-seven years ago (on May 12, 1845) the first group of East Indian indentured laborers arrived at Old Harbour Bay in St. Catherine.  Their descendants, whom you can often meet in rural and sugar-growing areas of the island, celebrated Indian Arrival Day in the pouring rain last Sunday at Chedwin Park.  A great deal of roti was consumed and delegations from Trinidad and Tobago, the United States and United Kingdom mingled with the locals.  Well done, Dr. Winston Tolan of the National Council for Indian Culture for keeping this important part of Jamaican heritage alive.  As he noted, ”We are Jamaicans first and foremost.”

 

Dr. Winston Tolan and visitors

Dr. Winston Tolan and visitors at Indian Arrival Day.

Concerns:  The third murder trial of Milton “Tony” Welsh, a known People’s National Party activist, was rescheduled last Monday and postponed until November 19 – for another six months! – just because the courtroom where it was scheduled to be held was being used.  His $3.5 million bail was extended.  His previous two trials ended in a “hung” jury.  Charges will be dismissed if this happens again.  Welsh is charged with the murder of 21-year-old Damion Hussey following a PNP rally in Golden Spring in January 2006.  Will Mr. Welsh or the family of Mr. Hussey ever see justice done?  Is this justice?

I don’t understand the people who write newspaper headlines.  Why are they so often off the mark?  Do they actually read the article itself?  A small but irritating example came up in the entertainment pages of Monday’s “Gleaner.”  The article, about an American band called The Dubplates, was headlined “Converting California” to their sound system-type music.  The article described the band as “California-based,” then proceeded to quote a band member, who spoke at length about the challenges of being a dancehall/reggae band in South Carolina, the city of Charleston, etc.  Is this sheer carelessness on the part of the writer, the headline writer, or both?  I don’t know why these things annoy me so much.  But they just do.

A couple of days after Teachers Day, a female high school student attacked a guidance counselor at Yallahs High School in St. Thomas, because she claimed he “didn’t like her.”  Teachers work so hard in difficult conditions, and the children who come through the school gates in the morning bring with them a multitude of unknown grievances, psychological hurt and sadness.  I heard Ms. Barbara Gloudon talking to a representative of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) Ms. Ena Barclay, a marvelous primary school teacher, on her “Hot Line” program this week.  Ms. Barclay reminded us that these deprived and needy children need love – at home and in the society.  Many of them are getting precious little of that – why is it in such short supply?  Anyway, kudos to the JTA for organizing a professional development seminar – and for Read Across Jamaica Day, an annual event which brings much happiness and pleasure.  And talking about teachers…

A huge pat on the back to Ms. Jean Porter, Principal of Denbigh High School, for her sterling work since 2008, when she took over from Ms. Joan Wint who had served there for 23 years.  I remember visiting Denbigh High a few years ago, and being very impressed by Ms. Wint’s stern focus on academic achievement, and by the atmosphere of concentration at the school.  Ms. Porter credits the school’s success (it is one of the top ten high schools in Jamaica based on Caribbean Examinations Council results) to team work.

Other bouquets to be handed out to…

Jamaica’s lanky female hurdlers, Ms. Melaine Walker and Ms. Brigitte Foster-Hylton on their gold medals; to Mr. Asafa Powell, Ms. Kaliese Spencer and Ms. Veronica Campbell-Brown for their Silver medals; and to Mr. Lerone Clarke and Ms. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce for their Bronze medals, at the high-profile Diamond League athletics meet on Friday.  I hope I haven’t missed anyone out.  Congratulations also to U.S. athletes Justin Gatlin and Alyson Felix.  It is only 75 days until the London Olympics begin, and Jamaican athletes are flexing their muscles and feeling the pressure.  I wrote about this in my blog earlier this week; they are doing their best, working hard.  Let us support them, even if they “lose” some races (by “lose” I mean winning a Silver or Bronze medal).

I loved the Gleaner’s special supplement this week – Trailblazers in Medical Sciences.  This included a special feature on the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre, founded by a British doctor of the same name in 1954 to deal with a terrible outbreak of poliomyelitis.  It now helps children with cerebral palsy, adults with spinal cord injuries, and others.  Brave and unrelenting work.

May I express my simple support for Ms. Deika Morrison of Crayons Count, who has energetically taken up the bat for the education and stimulation of our young children; and for Ms. Maia Chung, mother of an autistic son, who set up the Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation four years ago to lobby for and support Jamaica’s autistic children.  The Foundation is now struggling and Maia has had to curtail outreach activities.  She needs help and financial support!  I am in awe of these two women – both of them an “army of one.”  I wish for them every success in the world.

Maia Chung

The infectiously lively and motivated Ms. Chung, a young woman on a mission.

Another Jamaican, Philip Liu, founded Angels of Love about two and a half years ago.  He works with the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, having adopted one of its wards.  Kingstonians, next time you are at the Brick Oven buying cakes, at Cafe Blue indulging in your favorite cuppa, or at Little Tokyo for some sushi…remember to drop some change in their collection box.  And they would welcome volunteers, too!

And Mr. Ricardo Williams, one unemployed youth who sought a solution in adversity.  He has opened an Internet cafe in the troubled area of March Pen, Spanish Town.  Ricardo graduated high school six years ago with one subject – Information Technology.  He has one computer, the use of which he rents out for a small fee.  Can someone donate some more computers?  Read more about Ricardo’s efforts at the link below…

One online comment struck me this week:  ”Jamaica can be a very “cold” place.  If you are young, old or disabled in Jamaica you are in deep trouble. If you are young and also disabled, may the good Lord help you.”

Why bother: If I see one more full-page photo spread of politicians arriving at Parliament for the Throne Speech, dressed up to the nines, I will rip up the newspaper.  The men were, according to the newspapers, “dapper,” “spiffy,” and “dashing.”  The women were “stunning,” “stylish,” and and so on.  The poor Mayor of Kingston, refusing to join the fashion parade, was severely criticized for wearing a perfectly normal outfit, rather than a designer ensemble.  I am, quite frankly, much more concerned about the politicians’ work in Parliament – on behalf of the people – than I am in whether Senator so-and-so was wearing Dior, Escada or whatever.  Please, no more!

I’m sorry to end on a sad note…. My condolences to the families of…

Senior Superintendent Dayton Henry, who headed the Clarendon Police Division.  I met him once, and was struck by his open, candid disposition and his round-eyed, friendly face.  SSP Henry died suddenly, and I know his colleagues are still in shock.  Not only was he an efficient policeman, who helped to bring down crime levels in the parish – but he was also a kind-hearted man who supported many community projects.

…and of eleven-year-old Ricardo Dove, who was shot dead while sleeping in bed at his home in Bethel Town, Westmoreland.   ”It would have been better if they had killed me,” said his father Robert, who was home at the time and found his son’s body soon after gunshots rang out.  My heart goes out to you Mr. Dove, and to the family.  Why?

And so the week comes to an end, as early summer starts to stoke up hot clouds in the sky.  Hurricane season is a few weeks away…

Have a great week!

Ricardo Dove

Ricardo Dove

Related articles and websites:

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120508/lead/lead1.html: Big Olint handouts

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Political-intentions-and-tainted-money_11433253:  Column by Mark Wignal, Jamaica Observer

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100822/lead/lead2.html:  Oh God! Oh no! Olint!

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Politicians-deny-Olint-allegations_11417650

Gold, Silver and Bronze (petchary.wordpress.com)

Sunday Storms (petchary.wordpress.com)

Claim Says Jamaica Crook Funded Political Parties (abcnews.go.com)

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120510/lead/lead7.html:  Phillips urges Jamaicans to prepare to make sacrifices

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/CCJ-all-the-way_11438687

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Read-Across-Jamaica-Day-highlights_11433143

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120512/news/news42.html:  Indian Arrival Day observed at Chedwin Park

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Blow-for-Ja-s-autistic-children_11359380

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120509/lead/lead4.html  Bethel Town child murdered in his sleep

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Ricardo-s-remedy_11417541

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Nutrition-a-right-for-children–says-former-senator_11376671

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120508/lead/lead5.html

Angels of Love    http://angelsofloveja.org/

Crayons Count   http://www.dogoodjamaica.org/crayonscount

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Maia-Chung-Autism-and-Disabilities-Foundation/100339660027871

Ricardo Williams (left)

Ricardo Williams (left) outside his Internet Cafe in March Pen.

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Sunday Sparkle

By petchary on | 10 Comments

I have named my weekly overview thus because we had some glamor and glitter in the Jamaican news this week.  Fun times!

Firstly, our Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller appeared in a long sequined gown at the Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People Awards in New York.  She looked composed and glamorous, and her face glowed.  Many Jamaicans gushed in the social media and on radio.  They were proud that a Jamaican could be so honored, and especially proud that it was “Mama P” (or “Sista P” – which?) who was walking the red carpet.  Yes, she looked good, and that is always important.  But hold on a minute?  Doesn’t Time magazine commend Mrs. Simpson Miller for…. (and Jamaican-American New York Representative Yvette Clarke also, in her short article linked below) …I quote:

Simpson-Miller just began her second stint in six years as Jamaica’s PM, and she’s kicking off the country’s 50th anniversary of independence by calling for the island to sever ties with the British monarchy. More impressive, however, is that she did something few thought possible in one of the world’s most homophobic nations: she called for full civil rights for gays and lesbians. One has to understand Jamaica’s violently antihomosexual history to appreciate her courage, which could resonate throughout the region if she’s successful.

This is, of course, quite erroneous.  She did/said no such thing, and if she had said it she would be committing political suicide.  This was pointed out by the incisive broadcast journalist Dionne Jackson-Miller, who was a member of the debate panel when the then-aspiring Prime Minister referred to the issue.  Since her accession to the prime ministership – not a word on the subject.  Our Prime Minister did not call, nor is she calling, for full civil rights for gays.  You may read the transcript at Dionne’s link below for confirmation of this.  Meanwhile, Ms. Betty Ann Blaine in her weekly column expressed shock at Time’s assertion that Ms. Simpson Miller was a staunch defender of gay rights, pointing out, “Jamaicans are Christians, not homophobes. I for one have no “phobia” for anything or anyone. As a Christian society, it is God’s word that is paramount, and not the dictates of any group, internal or external.”  Well, put that in your pipe and smoke it, Jamaican Muslims, Bah’ais, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus etc.  So much for religious freedom in Jamaica, let alone civil rights. Others pointed out that conditions in the Kingston constituency represented by the Prime Minister are far from ideal (see below) while she is in her beautiful gown.  These people were deemed to be “haters,” as were any Jamaicans who suggested that the Prime Minister might have been selected based on a false premise.

And with the usual Jamaican wit, one letter-writer called Ms. Simpson Miller “The new Time Minister of Jamaica.”

Portia Simpson Miller at the Time Magazine awards

Portia Simpson Miller looked elegant, and thrilled too.

The second glamorous story of the week was the announcement (by the mother-to-be herself, on Facebook) that the darling of the social media pages and former beauty queen Yendi Phillips is pregnant from her current lover.  He is a young man called Chino, who is in the dancehall business; don’t ask me what he does, I don’t know.  He strings some electronic rhythms together in a studio, one suspects.  Now, Yendi is glamorous and Chino is cute and the son of a “conscious” and well-known reggae singer.  So again, they look good, and we do wish them well.  But oh, dear.  Once again the “haters” are out (can’t someone just get them to shut up?  They spoil everything…)  They are suggesting that the charming Ms. Phillips is but one in a long line of uptown/downtown “babymothers,” and that dancehall men collect them like notches on their bedposts.  Those haters are asking, “Why don’t they get married, first?”  Well, we are told by some that marriage is out of fashion, that love is love (and besides, this pregnancy will no doubt boost their careers).  So why be so mean-spirited about it?  Please note – some eighty per cent of children in Jamaica are born out of wedlock – so one might suggest that this marriage thing is pretty much a lost cause.  And as Barbara Gloudon commented on her radio program “Hot Line,”  a wedding isn’t a marriage; how true.  So again, heated debate in the social and traditional media – was this really news?  Again, I will put in a plug for Ms. Jackson Miller’s blog for an interesting discussion on what makes the news – and who makes it.

But yes, it seems this was news.  And here are the happy couple in an interview.  I wish them (and the baby) good luck.

Ms. Yendi Phillips and Mr. Daniel "Chino" McGregor

Moving swiftly on, it appears there were serious matters in the media that warranted some attention.  Here’s my Issue to Ponder for the week…

Impotence is something that Jamaican men fear greatly – and our Transport & Works Minister (and former Finance Minister) Omar Davies is no exception.  He has created – and Cabinet has already approved – a three-man panel (people of the highest integrity) to oversee the arrangements, contractual and otherwise, for three major infrastructural projects. Minister Davies is a man in a hurry; it is a “fait accompli,” it seems, a done deal.  He has, effectively bypassed our much-esteemed Contractor General, Mr. Greg Christie, who by law has oversight of all government contracts.  Mr. Christie is a thorough man, single-mindedly dedicated to his work – and never lost for words.  When Minister Davies made this announcement in Parliament this week, Mr. Christie was overseas.  He must have been chomping at the bit to get home and deliver what one would call a “fulsome” response.  And fulsome it was.  In a front page report in the Observer, Mr. Christie called the Minister’s new arrangement “a brazen but futile attempt to usurp, undermine and circumvent the lawful government contract monitoring authority and mandate” of his office.  Minister Davies has responded that he doesn’t object to Mr. Christie “asking questions,”  but that the Contractor General is not the only one who can do so.  Hmm.  How will this work?  Is the Minister on shaky legal ground here?  Can a compromise of sorts be reached?  

Transport & Works Minister Omar Davies

Transport & Works Minister Omar Davies wags a finger...

One question I would like to ask on the matter of corruption is, has the Prime Minister responded “fulsomely” to the letter sent to her in January by Mr. Christie, outlining a comprehensive package of anti-corruption measures that her new administration should consider addressing as early as possible?  And further… Is the Prime Minister keeping her promise made during the above-mentioned leadership debate to strengthen the Contractor General’s office, and all other government agencies with anti-corruption oversight?  That sharp CVM Television reporter Andrew Cannon reminded us of this earlier last week, posting that clip on Prime Time News (keep up the good work, Andrew!)

Why bother?  Should one?  Mr. Gregory Mair is the Opposition Spokesman on Industry, Investment and Energy and one of the few Opposition members who has had anything interesting to say since the local government elections – or anything to say at all, in fact.  He asked in the Gleaner this week whether Jamaica shouldn’t just leave CARICOM.  Jamaica, which is the largest English-speaking country in this grouping (often called a “talk shop”), and the Jamaican people are not benefiting, says Mr. Mair.  As the largest island, Jamaica also has an embarrassingly large trade deficit with its small neighbors, especially Trinidad & Tobago.  Does Mr. Mair have a point?  Online responders mostly agree.  Issues like the case of Shanique Myrie (who the Observer still insists was “finger-raped” by immigration officials at a Barbados airport) don’t help, in Jamaicans’ minds – and this case is also being heard in that nation.  Is this issue worth keeping on the media front burner, or is it just one of those endless circular conversations?  

Concerns: We are a nation of thieves – or if you like “tiefs.”  Vandals – no, let’s call them criminals – destroyed J$16 million of equipment belonging to telecoms firm LIME at their cell site in Bernard Lodge, St. Catherine this week – including a new “green” energy-saving device that had just been installed.  LIME has been plagued by thieves for years now, mostly stealing gasoline from the cell sites.  The green device was supposed to prevent this.  You can’t win, can you.  When investors read these stories, what do they think?

LIME's destroyed equipment at Bernard Lodge cell site

This is what concerns me when I hear that Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton says he is considering reintroducing the now-banned scrap metal trade – but that it would be strongly regulated.  The scrap metal tiefs must be rubbing their hands with glee.  Is this wise, do you think dear readers?  Can we regulate the trade strictly enough?

A zillion congrats are in order this week!  Among those receiving “virtual bouquets” from me this week are:

The U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica Pamela E. Bridgewater, the hard-working staff of the U.S. Embassy’s consular section and all others who made possible the erection of an awning to protect visa applicants from the elements.  Cheers!  I know Jamaicans greatly appreciate this.

The high-flying Norman Manley Law School and its proud Principal Professor Stephen Vasciannie, whose debate team did extraordinarily well in another international competition this week, the Phillip Jessup International Law Competition in Washington, DC – they finished among the top sixteen schools out of a total of 600 globally.  One member of the team I must single out for a special Portia-type congratulatory hug is Maurice Smith, a highly intelligent young man who won the U.S. Embassy’s Martin Luther King Essay Competition several years ago, when a student at Manchester High School.  Below is a picture of Maurice on a recent visit to the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington recently.  Who could be a better inspiration?  Big ups to all!

The Jamaica Manufacturers Association for its Jamaica Expo at Kingston’s National Arena this weekend.  My husband visited, and gave it the thumbs up!  Great display by the “Bold Ones,” interesting discussions with Solar Buzz – and a great sampling of that new white rum, Rum Fire, produced by the Hampden Estate.  I hope that everyone will be doing much more business, as a result of this well-organized trade show.

The Gleaner for its ongoing focus on downtown Kingston’s restoration.  Its feature on some of the great old colonial buildings that are being refurbished was inspiring.  But let’s remember cities are not just about buildings – they are people, too.

Kudos to Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell for getting on with things.  His new bipartisan energy council (is that the correct name?) has already met and he seems very focused on bringing energy costs down.  I fully support his efforts.

Brandon Allwood and his group of youth advocates at Help JA Children for their efforts in organizing a March and Rally on May 1 (the first day of Child Month) in support of Jamaica’s marginalized and abused children.  Your sincerity, determination and compassion are without question.  Come out and support them!

Television reporters Kirk Wright (TVJ) and Andrew Cannon (CVM) for their probing and thought-provoking reports.  You are coming up with some good stuff, guys.  Kirk’s report on conditions in Majestic Gardens (how ill-named) in the Prime Minister’s constituency, and his conversations with some of the residents, provided much food for thought and discussion.  Don’t miss the TV news, people!  

Several links related to all of the above are listed below.  I confess, though, to having terrible layout issues – so do forgive the assorted “dots” below which I can’t seem to remove.  My apologies!

As always, dear readers, I welcome your comments, criticisms, corrections and compliments (maybe, even!)  Until next Sunday…   (and don’t forget, Thursday May 3 is World Press Freedom Day!)                                                                                                        

  • Norman Manley Law School Debate Team

    Professor Vasciannie with the Norman Manley Law School Debate Team

  • Maurice Smith at the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, DC

    Maurice Smith at the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, DC

Opposition Spokesman Gregory Mair

Opposition Spokesman Gregory Mair has his doubts about CARICOM.

Contractor General Greg Christie

Contractor General Greg Christie also likes to wag his finger



http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975_2111976_2111996,00.html   Time Magazine article by Yvette Clarke on Portia Simpson Miller

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2107952_2107953_2110149,00.html  Time Magazine feature on Portia Simpson Miller

Portia, that Time 100 List and Gay Rights (newsandviewsbydjmillerja.wordpress.com)

Jamaica’s Portia Simpson-Miller and Usain Bolt Nominated for Time Persons of the Year 2012 (repeatingislands.com)

Jamaica gets ‘nudge’ toward repeal of anti-LGBT laws (76crimes.com)

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Sold-out-for-30-pieces-of-silver_11317924#ixzz1tMs5wiRq  (Betty Ann Blaine column)

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120425/lead/lead1.html: No to impotence

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120110/lead/lead7.html: Christie sends anti-corruption proposal to Simpson Miller (January 10, 2012)

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120423/lead/lead9.html: Let’s leave CARICOM – Mair

Sunday Steam (petchary.wordpress.com)

Listen to the Youth! No, Stop… REALLY Listen, Please! (petchary.wordpress.com)

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=36740: Vandals set fire to LIME cell site

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Jamaica-Expo-2012-kicks-off-

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/US-Embassy-s-new-covered-section–good-going-Ambassador-Bridgewater-  Editorial on new awning at U.S. Embassy

Posted in: Americas, Environment, Money | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sweet Inspiration

By petchary on | 2 Comments

[Note to my faithful readers, wherever you are:  The Petchary has been weary of late, and folded her feathers for a while.  This is the first flutter, though... Coming back to life, slowly].

A word about sweetness.  It does not come naturally to many people, because, perhaps, it’s not something that’s valued and it’s a silly, trivial thing.  The Petchary has no recollection of her beloved grandfather ever smiling, for example.  He just didn’t see the need to.  But he must have been charming when he proposed to her beautiful grandmother… Or was he restrained and careful in that British way?

But I digress.  What is the essence of sweetness in a human being, as opposed to a cupcake, a rose, a small puppy?  It is all about a gentle quality, a kindness, a connection.

And what is inspiration?  Breathing in, of course, literally and metaphorically.  Holding in that sweetness, then slowly letting go.  If you really have to.

There are two things which, in the Petchary’s book, are sweetness and inspiration combined:  good music, and the people who play that good music.

Such is Brent Birckhead, a saxophonist with jazz as his first love, and music slipping off his fingertips.

Sweetness comes more naturally (if it comes at all), in young people, and Brent is only twenty-five years old.  It all flows naturally with him, along with the inspiration. And the two merged into a deliciously rich and nourishing river of goodness, like the Blue and the White Nile, at a workshop at the Jamaica School of Music in Kingston, Jamaica last week.  The youthful participants bathed in that river of delicious jazz, swam in it, splashed around happily.  Several dived straight in, emerging refreshed at the end of two hours of teaching, collaboration and learning.

Brent Birckhead

Brent easing into that river of African inspiration

I use the image of the two Niles merging advisedly, since that majestic waterway is the longest river in Africa.  As Brent said at the workshop, “Any time we go back where we came from, it’s a good thing.”  When asked what he thought about reggae music, he commented, as if everyone must understand this, “It’s all linked.  It’s all African music.”  (He also described reggae music as “off the hook,” an expression the ageing Petchary had never heard before, but it sounded like a compliment). He told the young Jamaicans present about Congo Square in New Orleans, the African wellspring of jazz.    He told them about how jazz moved northwards to Chicago and Kansas City, and the flourishing of the music in New York City.

Brent Birckhead

Happiness is a saxophone at your back

Brent was born in 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland.  He told his new young friends that parental support was critical for him.  His parents matched every dollar he saved with one of their own.  And when his passion for the saxophone became clear, his grandfather bought him one from a pawn shop.  So he took on the instrument at age ten, and clearly never looked back for one second.  He has a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Howard University and just got his master’s in Jazz Studies.  He lives in Washington, DC, and was named best blues/pop/rock soloist by the illustrious Downbeat magazine as part of its 33rd annual Student Awards.

Esperanza Spalding

Just had to pop in a photo of another brilliant young jazz musician!

The most important thing about Brent is his spiritual connection to the music – “You must have the feeling,” he said.  Sheldon Griffiths’ eloquent trumpet version of “No Woman No Cry” had the feeling.  So did his friend Jesse Jones on saxophone.  Both are from the gritty inner-city area of Seaview Gardens in Kingston, with so much focus and steel in their eyes and a gentle strength in their playing.  Both played the evening after the workshop at the U.S. Embassy-sponsored “Blues on the Green” concert in Kingston’s Emancipation Park with Brent, in the finale – “One Love.”  The feelings flowed all around.

Another young Jamaican who grasped that feeling and shook it around quite a bit was a girl saxophonist from the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force Band and Drums.  She played fiercely and without flinching, leaning back with eyes closed with the jazz player’s stance.  Standing among a group of about fifteen young men and Brent on stage, her spirit rose with every note she played.

Back to inspiration again.  Jamaicans do love a vote of thanks.  It’s a (sometimes) short and (often) overly formal speech at the end of an event; a bit like a version of the Oscars thank you speech where you dare not leave anyone out – and including the bit about thanking God, too.  That “giving thanks” is so important here on this island.  And I mean that sincerely.

But no fancy speechifying for our girl saxophonist.  She got straight to the point.  ”You have inspired me,” she said, adding with great emphasis, “Believe me… One day I will be the best.”

As if taking his cue, Brent told the shining and satisfied faces of young instrumentalists from the Sam Sharpe Community Band in Montego Bay, Charlemont High School in Clarendon, all over Kingston, St. Jago High School in Spanish Town, “Music can save your life…and inspire your life.”

“Saving” is something Brent spoke a lot about.  The kids understood that in a split second.  Music, indeed, can and does save lives in the frayed, undone environment that is Kingston’s inner city.  And, for that matter, in rural Jamaica, too.  ”Music saved my life” may sound far-fetched, even whimsical and pretentious.  But not for these young men and women.  It is, literally, true.

And the other stream of consciousness that flowed through the workshop was, as noted earlier… “I must go back to my roots… Spend time,” Brent urged, “Spend time going back.”  African-ness.

Yes, Brent may well be an old soul – that sweetness and kindness and maturity is of one who has gone before. (The Petchary thinks – knows – she is a newish one herself).  And his music stands shining above it all.

“Without music, life would be a mistake.”

Yes, Friedrich Nietzsche said that.  Truly.

[My next post on Mr. Birckhead will be much shorter and with more photos.  And hey, Maurice Gordon is a supportive and brilliant musician himself.  More next time]

Related links:

Brent’s home page

The Jamaica Combined Cadet Force Band and Drums

Who is Brent Birckhead?  Jamaica Observer newspaper article

Brent blows the blues  Jamaica Observer

http://www.downbeat.com/

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 94 (wfmu.org)

Posted in: Americas, Music, Spirit | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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