Juneteenth

Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, enslaved people were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.

Every year we have an event at a Tamarac park to mark the day and 2025 wasn't any different.

This year the celebration took place on the 14th June at the Tamarac sports complex.

 There was a big difference this year though. 

It was in terms of the attendees.

I have never seen so few at this event and can only assume that this is as a result of how much ICE is harassing non-white people.😡

For their modus operandi is to harass, arrest and even assault anyone that is not white under the guise that they are " criminal undocumented immigrants". 

That's totally disgusting.

Despite the clear dangers, those of us who ignored the possibility of an ICE raid and the ensuing inconvenience, turned out and had a good time.

Music, poetry, dance and a nice variety of food trucks.

Feeling welcome

 I certainly felt welcome on landing at Colombo airport, Sri Lanka, for look who met us as we approached the arrival hall!

My hosts, Professor Damith and his wife Sharlene. Sharlene is a PhD student.

Then, as I was walking to immigration, I saw decorations all around, so figured some big celebration had recently taken place recently.

Passengers walking down the well decorated arrival passage to immigration.

I was right about a recent celebration for I subsequently learnt that had I arrived two days earlier, I would have witnessed the annual birthday celebrations of the birth of  Lord Buddha.

 Darn, wish I knew about it before booking my flight.😩 I would have given anything to have witnessed some of that annual ritual.

My hosts Damith and Sharlene have gone all out to accommodate me. For when I said I could take a cab to their home, Damith insisted on making arrangements for me to be picked up since he said I don't know the language.

 I had just assumed English was widely spoken here, (it was a former British colony known as Ceylon) as it is taught in the schools. It clearly isn't though, for not even the taxi man who took me to their home, did not spoke a word.

Sinhalese is the lingua franca here.  (93% speak Sinhalese, 15% Tamil and around 70% speak English. The Sinhalese won the civil war against the Tamil 1983-2009 hence the dominance of their language I guess.)

First Lesson to myself therefore is Assume nothing😊.

I know I am going to have a wonderful  time here though for the vibes are good.

 It's so green and lush too but the rains just started coming after a prolonged drought, I hear. 

 (Of course as you probably know Sri Lanka is an island around six times as large as Jamaica and with a population of over 22 million.)

The drive from the airport to the town of Homagama, took over an hour and that was on a toll road.

My first impressions are: how clean the place is and how careful the drivers are as the roads (outside of the highway,) are extremely narrow but well maintained , for I am yet to see a pot hole.

 

Haven't seen too many big cars either as clearly they import mostly small cars, bikes and tuk tuks aka three wheel, vehicles that fit within their environment and pocket.

Tuk tuk

(Living within your means is clearly an integral part of how your society develops, for despite the political upheaval in 2022 which led to the overthrow of the government and massive economic consequences, according to Georank.org, in 2024, Sri Lanka's GDP per capita (PPP adjusted) was higher than Jamaica's. Sri Lanka's PPP adjusted GDP per capita is estimated at $13,000, while Jamaica's is estimated at $9,400. Thanks Professor Damith😊.)

But back to my first impressions, my favorite vehicle is the tuk tuk, that's what you see in most of the smaller countries in Asia.

Driving to Mount Clifford Range where I will be staying, took me through a section of Homagama which reminded me of sections of Santa Cruz in my home parish of St. Elizabeth. But I didn't see one sidewalk vendor!

Will share my impressions between this island and my island home from time to time. 

Today it's all about getting over jet lag and getting rid of the germs that I picked up on the flight from Dubai to Colombo on the final leg of the long journey here, which has left me feeling slightly fluey.

More anon.

Ps. We are about 9 1/2  hours ahead of Jamaica time.

First memories in pics.

A Sarong.

The Sarong is  a traditional male outfit 

Damith in a sarong, posing beside a Wesak lantern. These were put up all over the island as part of the decoration to celebrate Lord Buddha' s birthday.

Water taxi, the best bargain

Whenever I go to a new city, I always try to take a Hop on Hop Off bus tour, as that gives me a good overview of the place. Better yet, I can come off if I like a particular place, explore then get back on to any other bus from the same company, without further cost.

 On a recent visit to Charlston, South Carolia, I discovered to my chagrin that they had no such thing, so bought a regular tour through Expedia.

Big mistake, for that turned out to be somewhat of a red neck tour. But more on that anon.

So, I bought a pass on their water taxi which follows the same principle as the hop on hop off bus.

Much cheaper and more enjoyable.

When they promised the possibility of seeing dolphins I was over the moon, as those are among my favorite animals.

I even had illusions of them swimming beside our boat and doing their famous surfacing in unction, beside us as we sailed along.

That was not to be at all!

Not even one jumping up as in the pic above.

We did see about four, but no big jump, just the fins.

Oh well what can I expect for a $17 boat trip?😏

Oh well, for that price I got to see Charlston from the water, Fort Sumpter, an actual retired air craft carrier and the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.

Built in 1929, this is the third longest cable stayed bridge in the Westen Hemisphere. It crosses the Cooper River and connects downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant. It has a main span of 1,546 feet (471 m).

It is 2.7  miles long  and we were told that it has a jogging lane, so is a favorite among outdoor lovers in the area.

An actual air craft carrier which once was manned by 3000 sailors.

It is now retired and just a tourist attraction.

The marina

Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island near Charleston. It was being constructed to defend the region from a naval invasion, after British forces captured and occupied Washington via a naval attack, during the War of 1812. 

It was however still incomplete in 1861 when the Battle of Fort Sumter occurred sparking the American Civil War, but it was then severely damaged and left in ruins.

 Although there were some efforts at reconstruction after the war, the fort as conceived was never completed. 

Since the middle of the 20th century, it has been open to the public as part of the Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park.

This water taxi trip was definitely a better option than the land tour I took earlier.

 

 

Thanks Amazon.

It was such a a pleasant surprise when I got an email from my publisher Amazon, saying my autobiography "Looking Back....." had been selected to be converted into an audiobook!

This is link:  https://www.audible.com/pd/LOOKING-BACK-Audiobook/B0CY2MZL4H. 

I listened to it and it sure has been well done using AI. 

This autobiography was written in 2015 but the Florida launch was  in October  2017. (Joan, my views: Florida launch of "Looking back...." (joan-myviews.blogspot.com).

 It has been doing quite well on Amazon as a paperback for years.

 I guess that's why they selected it for the upgrade to an audiobook. 

Thanks Amazon. It's a great listen😊.

Other Links; Joan, my views: Joan Williams, former local host, looks back to go forward (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

Joan, my views: An excellent book review (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

Youtube; Joan Williams - YouTube

Hypocrisy to the nth degree!

 When I heard the hullabaloo coming out of the Peoples National Party (PNP), private sector and a few other hypocritical mouths, because MP Warmington declared that opposition Leader Mark Golding’s color should disqualify him from becoming prime minister of Jamaica, I had a good laugh.

For wasn’t this the same party that was able to remain in power for eighteen years, not because they had good policies, but because they were able to convince most Jamaicans that Seaga, a white man could not lead Jamaica because of his color?

How the world turns!

P.J. Patterson, who led probably the most corrupt regime in the history of my poor beleaguered country, could never have stayed in power for 14 years, were it not for the race card that the PNP played consistently.

Where were all those people who are now protesting about Warmingiton’s comments, during that period?

Jamaica’s motto is “Out of many one people” is strictly aspirational in my view, as race baiting is an integral part of our culture.

I am not saying I support racism now, any more than I supported it when Seaga was head of the Jamaican Opposition JLP. 

Of course not.

What is double amusing too, is to hear some well-known apologists even trying to promote Mark Golding on the basis of what his late father did for the country.

The late Professor Sir John Golding, was an orthopedic surgeon who was key to helping to contain the polio epidemic that hit Jamaica in the 1950's. When he saw the level of disability that it caused especially among the poor, he established the Hope Institute to make and supply prosthetics for those affected.

In addition, he opened the Hope Valley Experimental School which was the first and only school in the Caribbean to integrate disabled and normally able children. Other initiatives included a company to employ the disabled, a farm for the handicapped, a Cheshire village a fairground to employ the handicapped and to raise money for a rehabilitation center, a prosthetics and orthotics center, a physiotherapy school and a hospice.

So yes, the late Professor John Golding was a great man.

However, the last time we Jamaicans elected a prime minister on the basis of what his father had done, it proved to be a great disaster and even thrust us in a civil war.

Yes, I am referring to the late Michael Manley, who sailed to leadership of the PNP on the coattail of his father, National Hero Norman Manley.

Oh, how we lived to regret it!

Let’s not do the same crap again, as that damage was too devastating and long lasting.

Out of many one people is a great aspiration yes.

But judge Mark Golding on his ability and policies and stop the hypocritical nonsense about not bringing people's color into political discussions.

The PNP started the trend, now they and their apologists need to cut out the hilarious side show about color and demonstrate to the country what they are capable of doing.

Sister Benedict

Four years ago, (Feb 2018), the Jamaica Observer carried an article entitled “70 years of service.” It was written by their editor Vernon Davidson.  (https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/70-years-of-service/. (70 years of service - Jamaica Observer). 

In the article Davidson recorded the invaluable service a Catholic Nun named of Sister Benedict Chong, had been doing in one of Kingston’s most dangerous and deprived areas.

Her contribution to uplifting the lives of the people in the area, has been no less than phenomenal and if you want to be inspired, you should read that article.

I know Sister Benedict well, and for some reason, I recently thought about her and wondered how she was doing. So, I asked a Roman Catholic friend to contact her and find out for me. I soon got the good news that she was fine.

When I heard she was on Whats Ap, I called her. I was in absolute awe, when she told me that she was 91 years old but still lived at Law’s Street, above the centre there called Laws Street Training Centre, which she along with other nuns had operated for years. When I asked her why she was still working, she told me the other Nuns had died, young ladies were not entering the Order, poverty and need was getting worse in the area, so she had to continue the journey which includes feeding and delivering ‘care package’ to some 800 persons every other week.

It is possible however, that the younger generation does not know of the critical role, the same Sister Benedict  played in 1978, in exposing a massacre carried out by a group within our own Army called, the Military Intelligence Unit (MIU).

This was during the term of  PM Michael Manley,  who brought our country to the brink of a civil war.

Manley, an admirer of Fidel Castro in Cuba, sought to use both our army and police as his own private militia, to dominate the Jamaican people into submission. 

One particular heinous act carried out by the regime became known as the Green Bay Massacre.

Long story short, Manley had a section in his constituency which was not supporting his party, so decided to get rid of the leaders.

His constituency was poverty stricken with high unemployment, so he used soldiers from the MIU to befriend a group of young men from the area and promise them employment at a place in St. Catherine operated by the Army called Green Bay.

 Under the command of a Colonel named Ian Robinson, around a dozen young men were picked up and transported to the ‘job’ site at Green Bay, in an army vehicle. On arrival, the young men were told to walk ahead of the army personnel who transported them. As they started walking, soldiers lying in ambush opened fire on them. Most of the young men were killed but two or three managed to escape, one even swimming to safety.

He had been born at Laws Street and knew sister Benedict from birth. So, he found his way to her Centre for refuge. When he got there, he was barefooted and bleeding profusely from cuts and bruises he received as escaped by sea and running through an area covered with prickly acacia bushes. Sister hid him from the authorities and nursed him back to good health.

  In the meantime, the army publicized a story to the effect that; the army my had encountered a group of young men the night before, unloading weapons from a boat by the sea. They confronted them, were fired on, they returned fire and most of the men were killed but two or three escaped.

On hearing this version, a grateful nation thanked the army.

That story remained in the headlines for weeks as the nation cheered, thinking they had been saved by the courageous men.

In the meantime, Sister Benedict on hearing the other version from the man she was hiding, contacted an investigative journalist she knew at Jamaica’s only independent newspaper, the Gleaner. 

That journalist was David DaCosta.

 DaCosta listened to his version and with a small team, set out to investigate the matter.

They miraculously got proof of its veracity, quite by accident.

The leader of the Army’s assassination team, Colonel Robinson, had taken pictures of his family on his camara (in the days when people used cameras with films) and also on the same film, taken pictures of the scene at Green Bay.

When the film was taken to be developed, someone there realized that the pictures of the dead men were taken at Green Bay and contacted DaCosta.

Using scientific methods, they were able to prove that because of the angle of the shadows,  the incident had occurred in the early morning and not at night as the Army had reported.

With that revelation, some soldiers who had been uncomfortable with the operation, started to give information to the journalists anonymously. That caused the entire official story to unravel and even international human rights organizations helped to spread the truth about the massacre, far and wide.

I don’t think Sister Benedict’s role in exposing that major threat to our democracy has been celebrated as it should.

So, while the people of Laws Street and its environs owe that dedicated Nun for her  commitment to them for almost 75 years, the island of Jamaica also owes her a debt of gratitude for helping us retain our freedoms and democracy.

Sister Benedict is indeed a phenomenal woman.