Garth RattrayTHIS YEAR we celebrate 40 years of Independence. Like other fledgling nations, we have slid, slipped and stumbled along this path of freedom. Our politics has gone from the far left to the far right and everything in between. At various times in our history our economy has been kept afloat by sugar, bananas, bauxite, tourism and (many postulate) underground financial activities.
Far too many of our desperate people have turned to the illicit drug trade. Criminality, indiscipline and corruption (at all levels) effectively besiege our nation. As with all economies under stress, there is a threatened dehiscence of the middle class. Some may ascend into the upper echelons but many will sink into the lower fiscal realms. Yet, in spite of all this we manage to remain one of the most viable, resilient, resourceful, expressive, inventive, intelligent, artistic and athletic people on Earth.
If any people can crawl out of this quagmire, we can. If any nation can turn this around, we can. With our natural talents we will never be doomed. We can return to the days when our policemen only needed a uniform to maintain law and order, when we showed respect for authority and to our fellowman. Although we have foolishly abused our beautiful environment and terrorised one another, it is no quixotic delusion to honestly believe that we can once again be free of indiscipline, criminality and conflict. However, in order to achieve this dream, it will take more than a Commissioner of Police, more than a Minister of National Security, more than a Prime Minister, it will take the sustained concerted effort of us all.
Jamaicans (especially those abroad) have always excelled at school, work and sports. We have proven our unique survival and leadership skills. Our determination and ingenuity are the envy of others. We only need to wholeheartedly apply our talents here at home in order to return Jamaica to her former glory. We can once again be the tranquil, exotic pearl of the Caribbean but we must choose between our current destructive path of selfish greed, easy money, drugs and 'politics' and the redemptive path of hard work, discipline, honesty and service. With all this in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to wish Jamaica a Happy Birthday:
Happy Birthday Jamaica, it's been a tough year, death and destruction from both far and near - your children are frightened and running in fear, some lost all they had, all that they hold dear.
We seem to forget from whence we came, that under the skin we're all just the same, that there's no need for hate and strife, that there's no need to take a life.
When will we learn that crime doesn't pay, that it can't bring a brighter day - when will we learn that nothing should divide us, that drugs and politics cannot unite us?
Though sadly burdened by this killing spree, remember that God hears everyone's plea - we ask once more for merriment and mirth, and to return to the Jamaica that was paradise on Earth.
Happy Birthday Jamaica, you've suffered a long time, you've braved floods, droughts, road accidents and crime - they dirty your streets, cover them with grime, they take everything, not returning one dime.
They plunder and ravish and reap all they can, and reduce your poor to less than a man - social upheavals, and riots and such, make for bad press that goes abroad far too much.
You were once so happy, not even a care, so beautiful and serene, beyond all compare - the darling of the Caribbean, your skies were so fair, now they're clouded by a smog that no one can bear.
Your beaches of white they glistened and gleamed, they'd be here forever or so it seemed - then along came pollution and destruction of the reef, your white sands are receding, oh what grief.
Your mountains majestic, so tall and blue, now hidden by a haze we can barely see through - your rivers that once gushed out to the sea, are now mere trickles of what they used to be.
Over the years your contours did change, and now your outline looks quite strange - with expansions, new roads and houses too, your map has been altered to make a new you.
They dumped up your shores and shifted your sands, they did this so they could acquire new lands, but the fact of the matter is they're ruining the ecology, by basing decisions on convenience, not biology.
Your wide-open spaces are being denuded, as ancient trees are quickly uprooted and replaced with asphalt to run our cars that produce enough smoke to hide all the stars.
Your techno-progress has been forestalled by a public utility that was enthralled, with self-serving profits that should have been used, to replace old parts so badly abused.
Happy Birthday Jamaica you may as well celebrate, for no one yet knows when they'll fly the gate - political parties both old and new, are jostling for positions with a view, to lead this nation all crushed and torn and tired of weeping wishing no more to mourn.
Your athletes are famed, your scholars are great, our crimes will be tamed, just patiently wait - your music is known in every land, your beauty was moulded by God's own hand.
Keep strong, Jamaica let not your heart fear, though conflict and bitterness are everywhere - though hard times and sad times make you shed a tear, remember that we love you and always will care.
Be merry and jolly, forget all the pain, have fun and sing with a pleasant refrain. Your people will rally and never will fail, we're here with you always and we shall prevail.
Happy Birthday Jamaica, may you have a long and peaceful life.
Dr Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
