Garth Rattray | Vanquish Jamaica’s evil twin

Jamaica is a beautiful and friendly country. God has smiled upon us with majestic mountains, verdant hills, pleasant valleys, rolling plains, unique forests, fertile soil, gurgling rivers, sparkling streams, stunning beaches, blue skies, beautiful sands, azure seas, gentle breezes, and wonderful people. Jamaica has been a global influencer and world leader in human rights, music, sport (especially track and field), academia, and science.

Our people are intelligent and innovative. We are generally kind and helpful. There are Jamaicans making a difference on almost every continent. Our smile, our laugh and our resourcefulness are exceptional. We are survivors who can adapt to any situation. Despite suppressive colonisation and, later in our colourful history, divisive and exploitive politics, our people remained hardy and proud through it all.

Jamaica cuddles you in her arms and soothes your woes. She heals your wounds and lifts your spirit. Her calming rhythms quiet your soul. Her warmth and grace infuse you with love. Her earthy aromas take you to a place beyond your worries and troubles, while the symphony of her night creatures floats you off to sleep. If you surrender to her, you will be one with nature, at peace, and draw upon the infinite inspiration that she offers.

UNIQUENESS EVIDENT

From our small and quaint villages in rural areas to our bustling and modern urban spaces, the uniqueness of Jamaica is always evident. Nobody does it like we do. Amid the hustling we will always find kind and gentle faces. The peanut vendor and ‘fudgie’ still have a place among the motorbike delivery services, numerous food establishments and restaurants. The mixing of the old and the new, the traditional and the non-traditional, the local and the foreign cultures make for an interesting combination or experiences rarely seen anywhere else on the planet.

Citizens of more developed countries speak excitedly and longingly about visiting our shores. They crave the Jamaican experience – our warmth, our smiles, our food, the tropical pace and nature’s bounty. They transform from automatons into real human beings once they set foot on our soil. And they leave with heavy hearts but light-hearted memories. Jamaica is the reset button for those burdened with the vicissitudes of life and the pressures of surviving in their concrete jungle. Jamaica is their escape to a ‘paradise’ where they can be who they truly are and soak in the pleasures of life itself.

But our beautiful little Jamaica has an evil twin. Her twin did not manifest evil until old-style politicking separated communities and families. It was a time when the less-fortunate communities were made to be dependent on their party affiliation to survive. Animosity led to violence, as people literally fought over scarce resources and spoils. For party supporters, winning or losing at the polls could mean eating properly or scrounging for food, owning a home or a shack, wearing clothes or rags, education or ignorance, and surviving or perishing.

The violence escalated when firearms were introduced into desperate and volatile communities. The gun became the tool by which some intimidated, ruled, controlled or dispatched others as they saw fit. It was about this time that people lost the respect for life. For some youth, the gun became the symbol of power and superseded vocational skills and/or a solid academic foundation. The gun provided an easy way to make fast money and empowered sociopaths/psychopaths. In order to control the lower ranks within the politically aligned enforcers, there emerged the don. And, when the old-style politicians could no longer provide for their underlings, the dons took full control and sought alternative financing to assist the needy within their communities.

ALTERNATIVE WAYS

The alternative ways of doing things led to a replacement sub-society that operates under different ethics and a substitute justice system. In several less-fortunate communities, these replacement systems undermined and eventually displaced the country’s [formal] laws and justice system. Slowly, inexorably, the alternative system leached out into the wider community and surreptitiously grew into the evil twin of our beloved country that we have today.

Now, survivalist rules predominate, getting away with whatever you can is the name of the game on the streets, at work, school and in life. Unrestrained impulses lead to abductions, rapes, violence, arson, and murders. Schoolchildren are fighting over trivia and using deadly weapons. Corruption is far more common and deeply ensconced in every level and sphere of society. The underground, alternative economy is pervasive. Within such a phantom system, disagreements can never be resolved in the (official) judicial system. Consequently, gang-related and illegal operations end up in many killings. Often, the victims are either innocent bystanders, babies, the elderly, family members, relatives, friends, or acquaintances of the real targets of someone’s ire. The havoc created by Jamaica’s evil twin is like a perpetual motion machine; once it gets started, the vicious cycle of violence and retaliation keeps it going indefinitely.

Jamaica’s evil twin must be vanquished. Brute force will only have a limited effect. Dealing with the rotten fruits and crooked branches will not stop this perpetual motion machine; it must be uprooted. Intense social intervention is the only way to deal with this evil scourge. Until then, many of us hang on to the good twin and lament the existence of her evil twin sister – we pray to see the end of her sooner rather than later.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.