Devon Dick SINCE THERE is only one National Heroine, the Rt. Excellent Nanny, then she should be regarded as the Mother of the Nation and accolades be given to her specifically on Mothers' Day. The treatment of Nanny has been less than adequate. She was in the last batch to be conferred with the honour of National Hero. This is due partly to what Professor Edward Kamau Brathwaite describes as bias against the periods 1660-1740 and 1740-1834 and the heroic struggles against the oppressive plantation system. He blames this on the intellectual training by the colonisers who taught the emancipated Jamaicans to regard highly the Crown Colony government period of post-1866.
NO STATUE
This improper treatment is also demonstrated in there being no statue in honour of National Heroine Nanny. There is a statue for every other National Hero with the exception of the Rt. Excellent George William Gordon, but of whom there is a bust in National Heroes Park. So often persons quote other National Heroes but not Nanny. So often persons use the lives of other National Heroes as illustrations of courage worthy of emulation but hardly Nanny. There is little work on Nanny as an important paradigm for action.
Furthermore, Nanny suffers from some myths. Perhaps what is best known about Nanny is a myth. It is claimed that she caught bullets with her buttocks. And on the contrary, the documentary evidence about her is not known. Brathwaithe in the book, Wars of Respect, states that there are four references to Nanny in written archives. There is the reference to Cuffee who claimed a reward 'for having killed Nanny the rebels' old obeah woman' p. 16.
OBEAH
Who wants to identify with an obeah woman especially when it is remembered that obeah is illegal in Jamaica. It is likely that the authorities of the time would disrespect the religious beliefs of the Blacks and classify them as obeah meaning superstitious and dangerous. Obeah would not have been seen as an attempt to gain protection from evil and a desire for success. In any case, it is time that obeah be removed from the law books as an illegal activity. It is not a threat to national security or the well-being of others. Furthermore, it would prevent some citizens from perceiving Nanny in a negative light.
There is also reference to Nanny putting to death three white men. Many persons assume that Nanny is a violent person. Little thought is given to the possibility that Nanny engaged in self-defence and/or activity to free the Maroons. Why is it that some persons would refer to President George Bush as a liberator of Iraqis - liberation which has caused the lives of thousands of Iraqi civilians and soldiers and 700 American lives - but those same persons fail to acknowledge Nanny as a freedom-fighter.
Then there is a reference to Nanny and her great husband. And most importantly, there is a land patent that states, 'George the Second by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland and King of Jamaica... do give and grant unto ...Nanny and people residing with her and heirs...a certain parcel of land containing five hundred acres in the parish of Portland...'
LAST REFERENCE
This last reference shows the greatness of Nanny in challenging the superpowers of the time and being successful. According to Braithwaite Nanny is a 'Queen Mother' who ought to be respected. Nanny is a symbol of courage who fought against great odds for her people. She won for her people land which was important for tenure, economic empowerment and family stability. Proper treatment of the Rt. Excellent Nanny is not an academic exercise but an issue of justice.
The world continues to witness glaring double standards. The Editor of the UK's Daily Mirror had to resign because he was the one who made the decision to publish pictures of British soldiers abusing Iraqis which was discovered to be faked. No one said he published them deliberately knowing that they were faked. But the charge is that he has endangered the lives of British soldiers. It is not that British soldiers did not abuse Iraqis but that these pictures were faked. How is it that the pictures of American soldiers abusing Iraqis which are not faked that endangers the lives of Americans has not led to the resignation of the American Secretary of Defence? It is under his watch that it happened. In addition, his pronouncements created the climate by claiming that some persons would be outside the purview of the Geneva Convention.
It is time that Jamaica treats the Rt. Excellent Nanny properly and recognise her as the Mother of the Nation.
The Rev Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church
