NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY
CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke listens to
10-year-old Jahsanie Wilks, a resident of the Jamaica Christian Boys' Home.
Trudy Simpson, Staff Reporter
THERE WERE a number of empty chairs but not enough to deter the scores of persons who came to witness Jamaica celebrate its 43rd year of independence on the lawns of King's House, St. Andrew, yesterday.
As marching bands, manned by uniformed groups, strutted their stuff amid a chorus of traditional songs and cultural dances, the attendees, among them children, waved Jamaican flags to acknowledge the moment.
But the day was not only about celebrating Jamaica's independence. For some, it was about learning and reaching out.
PROPHECY
For three women, who claimed to be prophets, the
ceremony represented an opportunity to warn Prime Minister P.J. Patterson that three arrows of destruction flood, famine and a powerful earthquake were heading to Jamaica. Armed with the verses Jeremiah 14 and Revelation 14 and white sticks rods of power, protection and education, the women, dressed in white, told Mr. Patterson that God was angry with Jamaica for neglecting promises made in the National Pledge and that destruction was heading here. "The sin is so high," one lamented, explaining that wide-scale flooding caused by Hurricane Emily was only the first sign.
For 13-year-old Dexroy Myrie and 10-year-old Jahsanie Wilks, residents of the Jamaica Christian Boys' Home, the
ceremony meant a chance to not only see the colourful array of marching bands but to meet Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke. "I want to see the Prime Minister. I want to know him," he said. His friend young Jahsanie was a little more fortunate. He not only got to meet Sir Howard, he capped his day by engaging the Governor-General in light
conversation and received an autograph at the same time.
