Stealing land

The big news in Jamaica concerning the destruction of illegal homes erected by squatters in Coopers Pen, Trelawny,  reminded me vividly of one of the main reasons why I  became disenchanted with the People's National Party (PNP) and joined the struggle to get them out of power in the 1970's.

It's a long saga, and I outlined it fully in my book, "Looking Back...the struggle to preserve our freedoms."

 Link:LOOKING BACK......... by Joan Williams - Audiobook - Audible.com

The recent Coopers Pen development is a sad story about what happens when poor, struggling people are fooled by corrupt politicians who use them as pawns to gain power.

The destruction of the homes and assets of the residents is heartrending and everything should be done to assist them in their plight.

I indicated at the top that it was squatting (land stealing) which mainly drove me from the PNP, for I was first made aware of this initiative pushed by the late DK.Duncan, former General Secretary of the PNP, shortly after we had paid down on farm land in St. Catherine and were struggling to pay the mortgage before one grain of rice was reaped. Just about then Duncan and his fellow political criminals started to target medium and large sized land owners with "capturing." (They claimed they had the right to take some of our land as they had none and we had too much, hence they were going to capture some!)

Had the PNP succededed in this socialist thrust, we would have had far more gullible poor people losing their hard earned assets through legal bulldozing, as in many instances, that is the only option left to legitimate land owners who were targeted by these socialists.

For once free loaders move on to your land, it is a long and extremely expensive and tedious process to get them off.

In the case of Coopers Pen, the owners have been going to court from 2012 (14 years!) to gain access to their land. And in every case, the courts had ruled that they must get the use of their land for their own use as the squatters have no rights to it.

But look how it has ended!

About fifty families, some with babies just days old, were thrown out of their houses and their assets destroyed by bulldozers in the early hours of the morning. 

The JLP which has been consistently in power since 2016 does not have clean hands in this matter either. For our constitution does not recognize parties but governments and it is the Ministry of Housing that has consistently represented (misrepresented?) the interest of the  residents in Coopers Pen. 

This incident once again not only demonstrates how terrible it is for people to be exploited by politicians, but also, the fact is that these politicians, whether PNP or JLP, don't really give a hoot about the poor.

Hampton School

 As I am honest, I will say up front that I hated most of the years I spent at Hampton School in St. Elizabeth.

When I was growing up, Hampton supposed to be one of the most prestigious schools in Jamaica, and since it was only about a mile from my home in Malvern, my fate was sealed before I was even born💫

When I attended however,  it was more like a prison or the secluded covent in Britain that your read about, than a school. 😡

 I will be honest though in that I loved the last two years of my life there (in sixth form), as we commuted daily to share classes with the boys at our brother school, Munroe College 🥰. (Oh boy, weren't those days exciting! One day I will tell you about them.)

It was my dislike for all things Hampton though why I washed my hands off that institution on leaving, and never got involved in the "old girls" affairs. (HOGA, Hampton old girls association is the name of the past students' group). (ME OLD? YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING.😉

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I learned about the situation below recently and had to get involved. 

The information came via a video about conditions in Woodlands, St. Elizabeth and its environs,  which suffered badly with the passing of hurricane Melissa. The video was forwarded to me by my cousin Everett Smith, a Florida based attorney who was born in Woodlands.

 It's about a Hampton girl whose home was upended by hurricane Melissa. This further added to her misery as a day girl who had to use public transportation daily from the border of Westmoreland/St. Elizabeth to get to Hampton School. This distance means she has to leave her home in the wee hours of the morning in the dark and return at nightfall. That sounded appalling, especially as it related to her safety as a young woman.

Besides, what time would that leave for her to study, was my other reaction and how could she deal with personal issues such as bathing etc when the very bathroom of her home no longer exists?

 These are what motivated me to contact Sonja Pringle, an active HOGA mrmber, to see how we could help. I am happy to see the ball got rolling quickly, thanks to the hard working Dawn Ebanks, president of HOGA.

 Let's all rise to the occasion.

You see whether we like the school, me or not, there are situations that call for immediate action.

I am therefore calling on all who read this blog to assist this young lady. No donation will be too small and a spreadsheet will be sent to everyone showing all donations and expenditure. 

 Thank you. And please share this blog with friends/schoolmates who have a heart.🤎

,.....................,,.......................................

The young lady's name is: Anna Marie Wright. 

Donations are to go to:

Zelle. Jordannem.ebanks@gmail.com. 

PayPal. Jordannem.ebanks@gmail.com. 

Update from Dawn Ebanks 08/15/2026

Spreadsheet not opening on my phone but anxious to share contributions so far: 

1. Karan $10,000

2. ⁠Anonymous $10,000

3. ⁠Annette $40,000

4. ⁠Sonia us$100

5. ⁠Sharon us$50 

6. ⁠Joan us$200

Total j$60,000

Total usd$350 j$54,250 

Total J$114,250

Ps. Google Hampton School, St. Elizabeth if you require any other info.

A WhatsApp group chat called "Tatewood student" has also been established. (Tatewood is the name of a large property in Woodlands).

Link: https://youtu.be/wtmUzaCD-g4?is=w39LMukggbYC4z9u.

Nine months later!

I have always had a special love for the town of Black River, as growing up in deep rural St. Elizabeth, Black River was the closest place we could experience anything close to civilization.  

 I expressed my love and extreme sadness in a blog, shortly after Melissa destroyed our town.

https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2025/11/i-weep-for-black-rivervictims.html?m=1. 

Naturally when I returned to Jamaica, nine months later, Black River was a must visit for me.

That trip brought back the deep sadness at losing such an important part of our diverse history and great disappointment, as it appears so little has been done to try and address the devastation. 

For nine months later, Black River I remains a picture of pure desolation.

The vivacity of the town seems also gone and everything seems lost.

How are people even surviving when commercial activity remains almost at a standstill and people's abodes remain so inadequate and depressing, I wondered .

Yes the government has said it will build a new town away from the raging sea. But 9 months later, what has been done to even try and bring back a little normalcy and comfort to the lives of the thousands thousands who lost their homes and small businesses and need  to survive while the grandiose plans are being made?

Clearly the lack of action has nothing to do with the availability of funds, since the reports are that hundreds of millions of donated money, sit in the government's coffers while people sink deeper into despair.

It is disgrace too that there is so little sign that the infrastructure is being restored before the next hurricane strikes. 

 Not even the sea wall has been rebuilt or shored up to protect whats left of our beloved town. 

The bridge which had been our pride and joy for so many decades, and which attaches Black River to numerous satellites districts in St. Elizabeth, looks like it can fall into the river at any time.

 Driving along the Crane Road to Parotee is even more heart breaking as no structure, residential or commercial seems to have escaped Melissa's wrath.

 That area is vulnerable, but living humans have to exist there while the plans are being made.

Nine months later, very few structures look in anyway habitable and in the interim, the area has become one big garbage dump.

Does the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) exost to deal with garbage or is that just a fancy name for another ineffective government agency?

I ask as every inch of that area is covered by nothing but hurricane debris, nine months later. 

That same debris which will most likely end up in the water when the next big breeze blows and further destroy whats left of the fragile environment there.

I lived through another major hurricane called Gilbert. That was in 1988, and not only did Gilbert only devastate a few parishes but indeed the entire island. 

We got a lot of support from near and far, but even before lights were restored everywhere, you could see signs that a serious and efficient government was in place, as people were quickly employed in every parish to clean up and restore the infrastructure. 

Why didn't we see any people at work doing any cleaning up in Black River and its environmens? That area just seems to be at  a standstill!

Who cares?

And don't tell me that the NSWMA is busy, as no where in south west or north west Jamaica did we observe even one garbage truck at work. 

In fact, in town after town through which we drove from Montego Bay to Black River, we saw signs that people were being responsible, as garbage was neatly piled into huge receptacles along the roadways. 

But they were all overflowing as clearly trucks were not coming through to clear the containers.

Jamaicans are supposed to be religious people and one has always heard the phrase cleanliness is next to godliness, but no one seems to have told the comfortable directors in the offices of the NSWMA about that!

Even in Duncan's, Trelawny where not too much hurricane damage was done, when you walk on the streets, the stench of garbage is overwhelming, for since the NSWMA does not seem to collect garbage anymore, people have resorted to dumping their garbage in the drains or that's where it ends up when the collection bins overflow. 

Blocked drains and rain are incompatible, so I shudder to think of what awaits people as the government coffers overflow with donated funds, while the garbage piles up and the infrastructure remains vulnerable because nothing is being done while the money sits in banks as the people perish.

Yes, Melissa was a major disaster but the lack of government action which has followed has made life even more hopeless for thousands of our fellow Jamaicans😪. 

It's a crying shame.

 

Age no deterrent!

 Would you undertake a major construction project if you were lucky enough to live to your ninties?

I am 80 and would never dream of taking on the task of dealing with contractors and workmen as it would probably send me to an early grave!.

Not the Wallaces though!👍

Mrs. Nellie Wallace is a 95 year old retired educator and her husband Everald, a farmer.

Miss Nellie

They beleive that no challenge is too great or impossible nor is age as a deterent when the circumstances call for action. 

Mr. Everald 

Mrs Wallace is a graduate of Moneague Teachers College who spent more than 70 years in the teaching profession.

 Most of that time was teaching at Fyffes Pen Primary in Brompton, St. Elizabeth and later at Clapham Primary and Infant School in Brighton St. Elizabeth. (she did a few short stints at other schools over the years too).

When Hurricane Melissa struck, Teacher Wallace and Mr. Everald who should have been relaxing while enjoying their long years on earth, literally experienced hell on earth.

For the four bedroom home on the hills of Brighton where they had happily and quietly spent most of their lives, was totally destroyed within hours.

The remnants of their home.

Teacher Wallace told me the hurricane hit around 9am and the entire roof left in no time. So she and her husband spent the next 4 to 5 hours standing in a corner in one of the rooms. Her husband stood in front of her to try and shield her as much as he could, but they both got thoroughly soaked.

It was terrifying.

By the time it was all over (about 5pm) they realized they were homeless for the first time in their long lives. 

She said it was God who sent some men from the community, including former students, armed with machetes to see how they were.

As she has difficulty walking, the men put their hands together to make a chair so she could sit, then they carried her to a neighbor, friend and church sister, Mrs Judith Warren who graciously welcomed them.

That's where they have been living for the past 9 months.

But the Wallace's are proud, independent minded people and decided that they had to build a new home as they couldn't impose on a good neighbor forever.

While most of their family scoffed at the idea because of their age, as Mr. Wallace had level land in the flatter section of Brighton, they decided were going to build a new house, come hell or high water. 

And that's what they are doing with the assistance of Mr. Warren jr who is Mrs Wallace's godson. He is helping to supervise the project for them.

 The new home being built is smaller than the one they lost but it will be much sturdier.

Relatives and friends are now so sold on the project that they are also helping them as much as they can, to realize the dream of a new safe, sturdy home. 

You know what is the only tragedy in this story of good neighborliness, resilience, community, spirit, independence and courage?

The tardiness of the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) to assist. 

 You really only get a true impression of the usefulness of an organization by how it treats its professional associates.

Teacher Wallace paid dues and was a faithful member of that organization for almost seven decades.

After the hurricane, the JTA  announced that it had a fund to assist its members who had been affected by Melissa. So she filled in a pile of paperwork and applied.  A relative in Kingston has even followed up by telephone several times.

Would you beleive that nine months later, not even a cent has come from the JTA to assist this dedicated educator!

That is really shameful as the JTA is so strident when it wants something but  clearly falls short when it comes to helping educators who have done so much for the country. 

That is totally unacceptable.

On another note, Jamaica could easily win a prize for having the most potholes in the world. 
The road to Brighton demonstrates perfectly what happens when potholes are ignored far too long.  Inevitably they become monstrous gullies😡.

Sumfest 2026

 Thanks to the destructive hurricane Melissa which wrecked everything in its path in Jamaica in 2025, Sumfest this year had to be moved from Montego Bay to Plantation near Ocho Rios.

This is the same venue where Rebel Salute used to be held annually, but I understand it is not being held any more and other events there are discouraged. 

I actually like this venue better but everyone who uses the main road or lives nearby, object to events being held there because traffic congestion makes life frustrating and even dangerous for them. 

 So the authorities don't normally give permission for things to be held there. But I guess they agreed to allow Sumfest this year because of the situation. 

Maybe they should have postponed the entire thing though, for this is the worst Sumfest I ever attended.

Why? 

Because for the entirety, they had no live bands but only recorded music!

 And for the first three hours or so, they used no artists but just screaming DJ's. 

I must admit though, the female Magnum dancers were extremely talented.👍

Queen Ifrica

When the live artists started to perform, the only one who was really impressive was Queen Ifrica and when the big stars, Vibes Kartel and Movado came on, only Movado had been worth  the wait, in my book.😡

 It was extremely well attended though so maybe the young people liked that crap, but I didn't.

We went, we listened but we were really not well entertained this year.

Ps. A friend brought to my attention the following statement which was posted to the organizer's webpage.

"Updates on the Return to Traditional Live BandsDownsound Entertainment has explicitly stated that this condensed format is a one-time, one-night emergency staging.Why it changed: The shift away from the traditional multi-night, live-band festival was entirely due to severe infrastructure and venue damage at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay caused by Hurricane Melissa [05.1].The Future: Festival organizers have reassured fans that Montego Bay remains the permanent home of Reggae Sumfest. They plan to return to Catherine Hall for the July 2027 festival, restoring the traditional multi-night lineup that features full backing bands, comprehensive reggae nights, and traditional dancehall nights."

Pity I never saw the info re the change in program format before we bought tickets!😡

Still celebrating June 19-28, 2026

My 80th birthday was on May 20th, but for weeks I was able to have family in and out and celebrated at every turn🙃.

 

With Jason from Ocho Rios.

This delicious Lychee cake my friend Mitzie gave me in mid July, brought the celebrations to a close I guess.😁

Hope I can get one for every birthday from now on.😋