Christmas nuh 'mus chris'

On the day that downtown Kingston marked 'Christmas in the City' with the shopping spree, my friend Marcel related that he parked his car with the aid of a young man. He gave him a monetary contribution for his services and wished him "Merry Christmas". In a flash the young man responded with Jamaican creativity and ingenuity that "Christmas must come but it nuh mus chris".

This person speaks eloquently for the 180,000 more persons who are now living below the poverty line since 2007. He is perhaps speaking for the 318,000 persons on the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) programme.

Pregnant women and persons 60 years and over on PATH get $900 a month. It is important to remember that if a person earns or gets $1,800 per week then he or she is considered to be living above the poverty line. These persons would not ordinarily qualify for the PATH $900. How realistic is it to live on $1,800 per week and pay for water, electricity, clothes, food, mortgage or rent and pay for fees for education and health? And the minimum wage in 2009 was J$4,070 for each 40-hour week, and for industrial security guards J$6,050.

Minimum wage worse off

Since inflation has moved by 10 per cent since the last rate adjustments, it means that minimum wage earners are significantly worse off in 2010 than in 2009. For so many persons Christmas will not be 'chris'.

And it is not expected to be good for the country, which has experienced 12 con-secutive quarters of negative growth. The furore by some big companies concerning the recently announced tax package is a bit late in the day. The companies are complaining that they cannot afford the tax package. But where were these companies when I wrote a year and seven months ago that the persons who are poor could not afford the taxes (Where will the taxes come from? May 7, 2009) For many persons, Christmas will not be chris because the Government's taxation policy is not sustainable and counter-productive.

Therefore, we need to remember that Jesus the Christ appearing in the world was a symbol of hope for humankind. Jesus by being born in a manger reminds us of the worth of persons of humble beginnings and that good can come from insignificant birth places. In addition, according to the Magnificat in the gospel of Luke, God appearing as flesh was to humble the arrogant and powerful. It was to be a reversal in the fortunes of those who were poor and suffering. Unfortunately, this message is too often not taken seriously by the Church.

Good job

The Jamaican Church does well in providing immediate relief of food, soup, clothes, shelter, health clinics, counselling centres for victims of natural and social disasters in order that persons can survive. Furthermore, the Church is doing a fairly good job of teaching persons to fish. The Church is involved in helping persons to acquire the necessary tools, skills, and knowledge so that they can care for themselves.

However, the major weakness is that the Church is not in the forefront in the struggle for structural change in law, politics and economics so that there will be less waste and corruption, and facilitating equality of all and justice for all. The Church needs to be in the forefront of bringing good news to persons who are poor, and liberation of those who are captivated by sinful desires and demonic systems. It is that poor performance of the Church why for so many Jamaicans Christmas will not be 'chris'.

Merry Christmas to all my readers.

Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'The Cross and the Machete: Native Baptists of Jamaica - Identity, Ministry and Legacy'. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com