Alfred Dawes | The fruit man cometh

Jamaica has had an outsized impact on world events that goes beyond our music and sports heroics. We ignite sparks that are a call to action for others who can carry our voices far beyond our shores. Jamaica is a mouse, but when we roar, the world takes notice.

Call me delusional, but I always felt like there was something special about this country. This island, the only one Columbus would specifically request to be his own, has done more to influence world events than any other country relative to its size and population. The first island to be captured from the Spanish by the English forces led to the true beginnings of the British West Indies. But that was just the start.

When the abolitionist movement was flailing, it was the news of the Zong massacre of Africans destined for Black River, St Elizabeth, that provided the rush of blood that saw the abolition of the slave trade. It was the Sam Sharpe rebellion that reinvigorated the again waning abolitionist movement in 1831. We even exported rebellion to our neighbours.

It was not Toussaint who rallied the Haitian slaves to take up arms against their French overlords, but a Jamaican obeahman called Boukman. The result of the uprising he inspired was the first time in history that slaves were successful in overthrowing their masters and forming an independent state. An obscure Baptist preacher, Paul Bogle, in an obscure corner of the colony challenged the system and led to a complete transformation of the system of government in the island and the governor later being charged for murder – a precedent that led to widespread reforms in the Empire.

LEAST LIKELY CHARACTER

It was Marcus Garvey who inspired a whole generation of civil rights heroes and Bob Marley who sang their anthems. It has been the least likely character who makes the greatest impact. That is the story of Jamaica.

The story continues with figures, now lost to history, who organised the first sugar and dock workers’ strikes in 1938. Those strikes and ensuing riots were what led to the formation of the labour unions and political parties that led the independence movement here and inspired similar movements across the Caribbean.

Outside of Boukman and the Haitian revolution, history does not remember the instigators, only those who ultimately lead revolutions. We will never know who decided to throw tea into Boston Harbour or that storming the Bastille was a good idea, but we know exactly who eventually transformed those initial acts of defiance into overthrowing tyrannical regimes.

In modern times, another name, however, stands out: Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian fruit vendor.

On December 17, 2010, Bouazizi set himself on fire, dying a few weeks later. The reason for his self-immolation was that he was beaten by police officers after he resisted their efforts to confiscate his fruits because he could not pay bribes. The slap that hurt Bouazizi so much that he killed himself was soon heard throughout Tunisia and the Middle East as the Arab Spring he triggered spread like a contagion.

Dictators who had ruled with an iron fist suddenly saw the masses taking to the streets, demanding their ouster. Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain saw either complete overthrow of regimes or insurgencies and civil wars. Other governments such as Saudi Arabia were forced to make concessions in the face of growing street protests. The region would never be the same again.

REVOLUTION IN THE MAKING

Revolutions build slowly. They are like a tinderbox awaiting a spark. Decades of frustration and anger at corrupt regimes and lack of opportunity can result in an explosion of protest at the slightest instigation. Most times, the one who lights the spark, like Paul Bogle, is never who you would expect it to be.

We are taught only about the leaders of the revolutions, and so we believe that one must be learned and already have a position in society from which to lead. But it is those very traits that make these later leaders unlikely to initiate a rebellion. Their place in society gives them too much to lose and with little connection to those who face the greatest hardships. It is hard for them to roil up a crowd. Instead, they can capitalise on the chaos already generated by the actions of an instigator.

George William Gordon spoke out about the conditions of the poor blacks, but he never had the street creds to convince them to join him on a march from Stony Gut to the courthouse.

The instigators, on the other hand, come from the belly of the beast. They have nothing to lose. They have no positions to protect or connections to maintain. One wonders what madness drives them to do what they do. But when they show a single act of defiance, they immediately inspire a following even if they are later supplanted by the leaders from the higher societal ranks.

It is the likes of a fruit vendor, a sugar worker, a simple Jamaican, who will trigger the next revolution. And it will be in our lifetime.

Jamaica simply cannot continue along the same corrupt path. As the gap between rich and poor widens, and criminals roam free because of connections, it is only a matter of time before the fuse is lit. We keep looking for a political or civic society leader to save us when if we follow the historical path of our country, it is someone with no pedigree whatsoever who is most likely to be our saviour. And if history is to be repeated, whenever there is upheaval in Jamaica, the world better take notice.

The system that rewards the privileged over the common man is found the world over. As the one per cent gets richer and the poor descend further into the slavery of indebtedness, the tinderbox is primed. As sovereign rights are stripped away by unjust trade rules and the hegemony over world affairs is enjoyed by an exclusive club of nations, the match is being struck.

The Fruit Man waits, not realising it is he who destiny has chosen to light the fuse. We don’t know from where he will come, or at what hour he will appear, but the world shall take notice of his singular action. Jamaica will say to the world, Behold, the Fruit Man cometh!

- Dr Alfred Dawes is a general, laparoscopic, and weight-loss surgeon; Fellow of the American College of Surgeons; former senior medical officer of the Savanna-La-Mar Public General Hospital; former president of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association. @dr_aldawes. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and adawes@ilapmedical.com