Peter Espeut | Spinning into 2021

The Roman god Janus is always depicted with two faces – one turned backwards and the other forward. The month of January is named after him (I don’t hear any protests that this month has been named after a pagan god), and January 1 is a good day to look backwards to 2020, and forward to 2021.

Last year – which closed the second decade of the 21st century – will always be remembered for the onset and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world, including Jamaica. None of the prophets, fortune tellers, psychics, tea leaf readers, or obeah men who gave their prognostications for 2020 (including those featured in this newspaper) predicted this phenomenon which dominated the global and local happenings during the year. I hope this will be sufficient to discredit them forever, although I doubt it.

The West Indies cricket team lost most of their games comprehensively, and clearly lacked competent spinners. I do not know why Jamaica did not offer some of our specialists, who have been doing a pretty good job at the COVID-19 spin.

We are assured by the Ministry of Tourism that reopening our borders has not led to even one imported case of COVID-19 arriving on our shores, and there is praise for the success of the ‘resilient corridor’ across Hanover, St James, Trelawny and St Ann. Our expert COVID spinners claim no connection between tourism and the current spike in confirmed novel coronavirus infections in Hanover, St James, Trelawny and St Ann. And don’t forget Westmoreland where Negril is located.

Jamaica was announced to be into community spread of the virus on September 4, the day after the September 3 general election, and after weeks of political campaigning up and down the country. The election was announced on August 11 – Day 155 of the pandemic – when we had accumulated only 1,047 confirmed cases and 14 deaths; two weeks later (August 25) we had only 1,732 confirmed cases and 19 deaths; two weeks after the election (September 17) we had 4,571 cases and 55 deaths.

The COVID spinners claim no connection between the election campaign and the onset of community spread, instead blaming it on Emancipendence celebrations in early August.

Recently, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases daily has dropped dramatically – and so has the number of samples tested daily; testing 1,000+ samples daily produces 70-100 plus positive results; testing less than 400 samples daily results in under 40 positive results. Clearly, the way to keep the positive results down is to test fewer samples.

DENYING EXPERTISE IN SPINNING

I don’t know why the Jamaican Government is denying the West Indies team the benefit of their expertise in spinning.

With COVID-19 restrictions cancelling face-to-face classes, and many people working at home – as well as nightly curfews – traffic fatalities may have set a new annual record (I write this on Wednesday); the murder count was also pretty high in 2020.

The Government’s pro-environment and anti-corruption rhetoric was also near record levels in 2020, while reported corruption was pretty high, and environmentally damaging actions by Government continued unabated.

What do I look forward to in 2021?

Well, I look to the courts to force the Government to obey the Jamaican Constitution and to protect the natural patrimony, and to bring to book corrupt politicians and public officials. I look forward to an increasingly vigilant media landscape, with more incisive analysis of government statistics, and a more militant and litigious civil society where government malfeasance is concerned.

I have no expectations that nepotism or cronyism will become a crime in 2021, or that politicians and senior public servants will be required to make public declarations of their assets, or that all political donations and their sources will be published.

No Jamaican government since independence has been able to come to grips with gun crime, or to break the link between politics and guns. I wonder if it is too much to hope for an effective anti-crime plan in 2021 based on reducing social inequalities?

COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerability of humanity in the face of nature. In 2021, I look forward to a greater respect being paid to our natural environment, especially to our wildlife and ecosystems.

I can dream, can’t I?

The Rev Peter Espeut is a sociologist and Roman Catholic deacon. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com