NOTE-WORTHY
Published:Friday | May 14, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Shattered dreams
To bring closure and healing to the nation's soul, I harboured the dream that the prime minister would establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to probe the nation's history of political violence.
Since the sitting of the Parliament last Tuesday, I have had the strange feeling that I am barking up the wrong tree.
- Mark Dawes
We want justice
As I read 'Mothers Torn Apart' in The Sunday Gleaner of May 9, my mind went back to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she stood helpless and torn at the foot of the cross as the security forces placed her innocent son on the cruel cross. Probably, if she were a Jamaican mother she would have a placard saying, "We want justice".
Apart from the pain and helplessness that these mothers are feeling, revenge and bitterness are also festering in many hearts. There is no easy answer to the problem of crime and violence that we are experiencing but I strongly believe that injustice and political deceit are part of the problem.
I am suggesting to these grieving mothers that they come together and form a group that bears the acronym (MAID), Mothers Against Injustice and Deceit, to probe and expose political deceit and injustice in our country.
For too long, we have allowed ourselves to be deceived by what one person calls the "empty promise of certainty."
- Davewin Thomas
Why, Bruce, why?
As human beings, our motives are sometimes more important than the very actions we carry out. A husband who gives roses because he did something wrong is different from a husband who gives roses because he remembers an anniversary.
The actions and statements of our prime minister, in relation to a particular extradition request from the United States of America, have been such that many persons are calling for his resignation. The evidence that we have before us seems to justify that call, but the question I would like to have answered by the prime minister is, 'Why?'
Why would an intelligent man, aware of all the possible consequences of his speech and actions, put everything (his reputation, the reputation of his party, and the reputation of Jamaica) on the line in this way?
Two possible answers to this question are:
1. The prime minister truly believes he is upholding the Constitution, and by extension the rights of Jamaican citizens, and feels so strongly that he is willing to sacrifice himself, his party, and country in the process, or
2. The prime minister has been 'pressured' in some way and is trying to prevent a 'sacrifice'.
There are many other possibilities but I do not want to continue speculating.
- Gary Gardiner