Kingston isn't Jamaica !

 As a country girl growing up, I often not only heard the term"Kingston is Jamaica" but also saw it in action and was always incensed.  

We had to become accustomed to being left behind, for that is how most of our governments operated. 

In short, we were 'back a bush' so had to be satisfied with 'what lef' or nothing!😡

So, we never even saw street lights or asphalt roads  much less sidewalks, until we went to the great city.

Seeing the immediate reaction by many to the devastation left by Beryl, just reminded me how we country folk used to feel being left out of the picture.

To be clear, I am no longer a Jamaican country person or even a Jamaican resident anymore. But it really hurt when for days I got news from home that hurricane Beryl had only been a little breeze blow which had only done minimum damage.

Ok, admittedly, many of those who referred to it as a little 'breeze blow' had survived Gilbert and it's aftermath which had caused them to be without electricity for weeks on end and had  known many roofless friends and neighbors.

 So they having expected a very bad experience  based on Beryl being  prophesied to be worse and it sure wasn't in their neighborhoods, can be excused. 

But not the media which downplayed the island wide damage or couldn't wait till they had the facts.

 So they carried stories of comfort, based on the situation in most of Kingston.

Yup. In their minds, Kingston is still Jamaica apparently!

It was only about two days after Beryl had totally wrecked sections of Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth, that the rest of the country and indeed world, started to recognize that there was more to Jamaica than Kingston!

I eventually learned that the devastation in my parish, St. Elizabeth, had really been severe, with a vast number of persons left totally homeless or severely exposed to the elements.

The destruction in these country areas are not only parochial problems though as it is these three parishes that mainly supply a significant amount of not only the fruits, foods and vegetables to the entire country of Jamaica, but poultry and fish as well.

Let's hope when it comes to rehabilitation and helping people to get their lives back on stream, the Kingston is Jamaica philosophy will not prevail. As everyone is a taxpayer (even if it's only GCT)  and should not be treated as lesser beings, simply by virtue of not having been born 'under di clack' 😡.

And this means in terms of having essentials like light and water restored!

We also all need to be vigilant to ensure that the billions to be spent to repair infrastructure is properly accounted for and quality work done, for remember this is just the first hurricane of what is predicted to be an active season.

Tessane Chin to the world

Once again a great Jamaican, this time Tessanne Chin, has shone on the world stage and demonstrated once  more that Jamaicans are world beaters.

And now, once again, we will see the politicians jumping over each other to get on her bandwagon to try and benefit from her personal achievements, something in which they played no part.

Tessaane's success has again exposed for the world to see that it is only the poor leadership which has plagued this country since independence, that has brought us to where we are. For it is poor leadership that has put us on the top of the corruption and murder pile, destroying the potential of so many of our super talented people, while the cultist followers would have us honour those who have been the architects of our destruction.

For it is the garrison politicians and their willing collaborators in the two major parties, who have brought Jamaica to the criminal level that the country has sunk to, as the  garrisons are the crime incubators in which slavery is even being practiced today with the blessings of some of our so called leaders, present and past.

Tessane's success, did not come about only because of her natural talents, but because her talents were nurtured and most importantly, because Jamaicans at home and abroad, found something to rally around.

This is where leadership comes in, for with proper leadership, we at home and abroad can bond together and become world leaders in every possible area of life.

This is why I find this determination by some politicians to limit our potential, stifle our self respect, confidence and faith in ourselves by insisting that we have to hang on to the colonial  and parochial concept of Federation, now called Caricom, to succeed in this world, so counter-productive.

For if little Singapore without a tenth of our natural and human resources can become a world leader, whats stopping us?

The answer, poor leadership, has been clear for decades but are we really prepared to shake off the shackles of lethargy and continue to accept the leadership of those who limit us, as we go into the new year?

Despite the magnificent performance of the Tessanes, Shellies, Bolts and the unexposed talents of the thousands of young Jamaicans here, plus the obvious willingness of those in the diaspora to work with us to help us succeed,  I would not hold my breath, since there is real truth in the popular saying, "without vision the people will perish."