By Marjorie A. Stair, Bureau Chief Are we really committed to solving it?
"When the people are no longer afraid of death,
Why scare them with the spectre of death?
If you could make the people always afraid of death,
And they still persisted in breaking the law,
Then you might with reason arrest and execute them,
And who would dare to break the law?"
- Tao The Ching #74
JAMAICA IS probably the only country in the world where people demonstrate to support breaking the laws of the country; people demonstrate to support known and violent criminals to whom they are enslaved in every meaning of the word; those who have offered themselves as our representatives and leaders speak of JLP and PNP controlled areas in the face of a supposed onslaught on violent crime that is crippling the country and killing off our brothers and sisters.
This is probably the only country where people believe that killing off more and more of the 'shottas' will solve crime while business, civic, political and other leaders continue to socialise and make deals with the crime bosses and no attempt is being made to limit their activities and movements in anyway.
In the big business of crime in Jamaica, 'shottas' are a dime a dozen and are expendable to both the Dons and, clearly the rest of the Jamaican society. And why is this? In all of the discussions concerning crime, I am yet to hear any mention made of the roots of the crime and violence in out land. The murderous, brutal and devastating violence and crime that stalks our land, uncontrolled and unchecked despite the numerous plans, announcements and committees, is rooted in an inequitable and unjust society that is not paralleled in any of the other Caribbean islands. The squalor and deprivation of our inner city communities that shocked the business and religious leaders and is now shocking the security forces who are trying to 'clean up the areas', is not to be seen in any other English speaking Caribbean island except Jamaica. The 'shottas' and those who support them do not care about the rest of us because we do not care about them. 'Shottas' and those who support them are not afraid of death because death has surrounded them from birth. Pretty early in their life they realise that they are pawns in someone else's game and survival means either escaping from the area or aligning themselves with those who are in control. They face the death caused by the slow poison of malnutrition, unsanitary and unhealthy conditions, hunger, unemployment, low and inadequate wages in exchange for hard and long hours, poor education aggravated by undiscovered and unattended learning disabilities that ensures that they are unemployable, contempt and indignity. They experience the death of the spirit and lose hope. Those who exploit them in the pursuit of their own agendas whether the agenda is political power or financial gain then easily fill the vacuum in their lives, created by an uncaring society.
Having served on the Wolfe Task Force on crime and being deeply concerned about the increasing rural poverty and increasing deprivation in our inner city communities of Kingston and Montego Bay, I have no interest in crime plans or the numerous committees that seem to mushroom from these plans. The Wolfe Task Force is now ten years old. How much of its recommendations have been implemented. I have the same attitude to the plans, announcements and committees for the agricultural sector. I will celebrate and congratulate when I see the results. Forty years of promises of a better quality of life in the face of the reality of increasing poverty, ignorance and a sharp deterioration in the quality of the life of the majority of the citizens of the country are more than enough for me. Let us move to the solutions and the results and announce those as solid achievements.
In his book, 'Emancipation Still Comin', Anglican Priest, Kortright Davis, comments on the fact that short-term solutions are often the most attractive to short-sighted persons in the face of long-term problems. He then asks the questions: "Can the poor ever truly be free? Is poverty the hallmark of unfreedom?" He answers his own questions:
"Although poverty is a serious form of bondage, it is not the worst possible form, and the poor of the world have always had to struggle not only for bread but also for justice, dignity, and freedom. The poor know that they cannot live by bread alone; but it is not always clear that the rich and powerful sections of the world understand this."
The squalor and deprivation of Kingston inner cities and Montego Bay squatter communities are at the end of a long trail leading from rural Jamaica. A trail traversed by those leaving the country and moving into the city in search of bright lights, excitement, entertainment and a better quality of life. There are of course other factors contributing to increasing rural poverty and rural and agricultural decline. Any discussion of the revitalising of the agricultural sector must start and end with markets and must, therefore be centred on international trade negotiations. Most countries including the USA and CARICOM have already conceded that agriculture trade issues, even those of relevance to the FTAA negotiations, will be decided at the WTO. The long-term objective of the present WTO agreement is to establish a fair and market oriented trading system through a programme of fundamental reform. The essence of this reform is to correct and prevent restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets.
The WTO negotiations are essentially another aspect of the history of rich/poor relationships in which Kortright Davis argues that emancipation from above usually benefits the strong and the powerful, while the poor and weak remain in an unaltered condition.
Will the results of these and the FTAA negotiations be different or will history prove Fidel Castro right in his belief that these negotiations will essentially make a mockery of words live sovereignty and independence countries like ours are again converted into simply markets for the products of the richer countries and a source of cheap labour for their industries? Is this all there is for the majority of our people? And is this enough?
