THE EDITOR, Sir:
WHILE IT is okay to come to the defence of our lovely country, we must be reminded that we have hung our baskets where we cannot reach them for too long. I am a Jamaican who is a student athlete in the United States and I have witnessed the kind of shame and disgrace that Jamaicans have placed upon the Jamaican Flag.
We as a people feel we have to be seen to be heard. If we feel others cannot hear or will not hear us then we will make them feel. We as a people market ourselves abroad as gangsters and sex gods and goddesses, drug lords and dons on one hand and on the other we wonder why no other country wants us to visit their land.
Are we going to continue to be defensive and minimise the problem of crime and violence? If we continue to say crime and violence is a worldwide thing - and it is the message we are sending is, it is acceptable in Jamaica because it is everywhere.
What is this hype with "I am a Jamaican so hear me roar"? We are selfish as a people. Selfish because we do not stop to think about the consequences of our actions. Ignorant as a people, because we refuse to get ourselves informed to a level where we can effect change. Blind as a people because we fail to see that crime and violence stop the growth and development of the people of Jamaica.
Jamaica was a place where everybody wanted to visit. Jamaica has become the place where many people wonder if it is safe to come at a certain time of year. How long are we going to continue digging our own graves then wonder a wah dis faadah!
I am etc.,
TANASH LAWRENCE
tanashlawrence@astound.net
St. Cloud, Minnesota
Via Go-Jamaica
