Michael Reckord, Contributor
Asafa Powell gets a hero's welcome shortly after arriving at the Norman Manley International Airport last Wednesday. Powell blitzed a stunning 9.77 seconds to set a new world record for the men's 100 metres in Athens, Greece.- JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
"GREAT NEWS about Asafa, eh, Artie?" I called out as my young friend approached the pool bar of the posh New Kingston hotel on Wednesday afternoon.
But, surprisingly, he was glum-faced as he sat down on the stool beside me. "You think so? It's people like him who are keeping us a failed state."
I stared at Artie, amazed. "What on earth are you talking about? A Jamaican athlete a Jamaican-trained athlete, at that has just shown himself to be the world's fastest human, and you're talking about him making the country fail? Have a beer, man, and snap out of it."
"Thanks for the beer, Dads, but I did not say Asafa had made Jamaica into a failed state. I said he's helping to keep us there."
I ordered the beer, and turned back Artie. "Two things: first, I don't believe Jamaica is a failed state. Second, how could Asafa possibly be keeping Jamaica down?"
Artie watched the bartender pour out his beer and lifted the glass. "Cheers," he said and took a sip. "Dads, I've just come from the tenth floor where I had a most interesting conversation with an adviser to the World Bank I happened to run into. I taped the conversation and if you'll listen to it, you'll get your answer."
Artie took his palmsized tape recorder from a pouch at his waist and looked at me questioningly. I nodded and he pressed the Play button.
Artie: Thanks for granting me the interview, sir. Now, let me get this straight. You've been observing Jamaica's economy and social conditions for the past year and yet you didn't recommend the island as being worthy of debt forgiveness by the G8 countries?
Adviser: That's right.
Artie: Sir, we are one of the most worthy countries in the world.
Adviser: And your evidence is?
Artie: It's the same as Mr Bill Clarke's evidence. He called Jamaica a failed state based on our horrendous debt burden, our frightening murder rate, our abysmal examination results and our woefully inadequate health care system.
Adviser: It's all comparative, you know, Artie.
Artie: Who are you comparinng Jamaica to, sir?
Adviser: As you know, the G8 is canceling the debts of the world's poorest countries. Most of them are in Africa -- Ethipoia, for example, where a famine is raging. Niger, where the latest statistics indicate that 150,000 children are severely malnourished and one-and-a-half million people need food desperately.
Artie: But in this region, the G8 is forgiving the debt of Bolivia, Guyana, Honduras and Nicaragua. Why not Jamaica?
Adviser: You may not know it, but there are some countries which we know are in need of debt relief under the World Bank-IMF programme but they have been too boggged down in war --
Artie: Not Jamaica.
Adviser: ...poor governance and corruption to complete the economic reform necessary to qualify for immediate debt forgiveness.
Artie: Is that why Jamaica has not been included in the programme?
Adviser: Not the main reason, certainly.
Artie: Then what --?
Adviser: Look around you. This is a lovely room, isn't it?
Artie: Sure.
Adviser: In a world class hotel -- of which there are many in Jamaica. And they are patronised by thousands of Jamaicans and more than a million tourists every year, right?
Artie: Yes.
Adviser: That doesn't osund like a poor country's situation. Look outside. Notice that every fifth vehicle is a two- or three-million dollar SUV?
Artie: Jamaicans like nice transport.
Adviser: They certainly do. Your motor vehicle numbers have doubled in the last ten years.
Artie: Ahm... well, a lot of those SUVs are owned by foreigners.
Adviser: True, but Jamicans are doing very well, too. Today's paper reports that Jamaican children are following First World children in putting on too much weight. And the overweight statistics for Jamaican women almost equal the 60 per cent for Americans.
Artie: But fat in not the same thing as healthy. You can't stop us from getting onto the debt forgiveness programme because our women and children are too fat.
Adviser: No, but the newspaper also shows that you have some of the best athletes in the world. Asafa Powell wasn't the only Jamaican to win a 100 metres race in Athens on Tuesday. Sherone Simpson won the women's event. No, Artie, I think Jamaica is much too rich in all sorts of ways to qualify for debt relief.
Artie turned off the tape recorder. "You see why I'm upset with Asafa, Dads?"
I nodded. "But look on the bright side: maybe Asafa's feat will cause even more people to come to Jamaica, both as tourists and as world-record hopefuls to be trained by another great Jamaican, his coach, Stephen Francis."
