Damage control begins at home

A.J. Nicholson, opposition spokesman on foreign affairs and foreign trade, addressed the delegates during the opening ceremony of the fourth biennial Jamaican Diaspora Convention at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios, St Ann, on June 16. He is reported as saying, "The Jamaican diaspora must pursue mechanisms that can collectively repair the country's image abroad, which has been tarnished because of recent internal instabilities."

Whereas I have no criticisms of Mr Nicholson's request of the 200 delegates (mainly from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom), I wish to go one step further and emphasise that damage control must begin at home.

Members of the diaspora are not socially isolated from their motherland. They maintain close relationships with friends and family here and contribute meaningfully to our country's upkeep in several ways, especially financially. Unfortunately, research has proven that a vast amount of remittances to developing countries goes directly into paying monthly bills and other non-developmental areas.

Free advertising, pr

The diaspora also provides free advertising and public relations for our island. Members of the diaspora impact the perception of our island directly - by their personal behaviour - and indirectly - by their utterances in praise of, or disgust with, what's going on back here on 'The Rock', as Jamaica is sometimes called. However, the Internet has literally put the entire world at our fingertips. By simply pushing a few buttons/keys, anyone is able to connect with almost any place on the planet in a visual and auditory way.

My point is this: Because of the Internet and worldwide media access, anything our relatives and friends abroad say and do will have little positive impact as long as we continue in the same vein as we are doing now. To be perfectly frank, it is my sincere belief that, given our innovativeness, resilience and ability to work hard when sufficiently stirred, we can overcome any financial and/or natural disaster if we are trusting of our leaders, unified and motivated.

As things stand, we are none of those things. Politics has always torn our nation apart, so the theme of this year's Diaspora Convention, 'One Nation - Jamaica and its Diaspora in Partnership', is still a dream.

In my opinion, the events that led up to last year's insanity, social disruption, major financial losses and many deaths only highlight the evil side of Jamaican politics. Brand Jamaica was a major loser in the mayhem that ensued and now we are asking the diaspora to help clean up our mess. How embarrassing!

International embarrassment

Unless and until we clean up our act, we will always experience internationally embarrassing problems - crime, corruption, injustice, inefficiency and disunity - that will turn off potential visitors and investors.

We certainly can't expect the diaspora to have faith in our leaders - and, therefore, our country - if most resident citizens do not. Over the years, the actions of several politicians have given the impression that politics is a tool to achieve power (and therefore many privileges/unfair advantages, including some protection from the rule of law), and wealth/financial security (in cash and/or kind).

The events leading up to, surroun-ding and following the Coke extradition debacle confirmed, in the minds of most Jamaicans, that party politics trumps ethical behaviour and the welfare of the general populace.

Damage control must first be done to the image of politics; we need honest, impartial and brave leaders to begin that long-overdue new paradigm in gover-nance, help stem criminality and instil the confidence needed for holistic growth and development.

Garth A. Rattray is a physician with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.