Heroes worshipped in song... Land disrespected

Various National Heroes have been mentioned in popular Jamaican song, but, unfortunately, the places they lived often do not reflect the esteem in which they are held by musical performers.

Chief among these is Marcus Garvey, about whom fellow man from St Ann, Winston 'Burning Spear' Rodney, has sung extensively, most notably in Marcus Garvey and Ol' Marcus Garvey.

However, when The Sunday Gleaner visited Marcus Garvey's home in January last year, the location was found to be unfit for a hero.

The story read in part: "Not that there are no words about Garvey at his former home. There are many, plus a bust. But the property on a slope, though clean and an attempt made to arrange a micro-park, clearly, is at best, rugged. The house itself is, for the touch point of a national hero, a shambles, a shack, a shame."

And Glenworth Miller, who has lived at the address for some time, pointed out that there are no proper restroom facilities. He pointed to an outside facility with zinc sides, and said: "This no proper. If visitor come we no have no facility for them. Is a shamble, is a shame."

Third World did 1865 (96 Degrees in the Shade) about the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865, led by Paul Bogle from Stony Gut. While Garvey's home is a wreck, at least it exists. There is no structure where Bogle lived. In fact, the entire village is gone:

After a visit to Stony Gut in December 2009, the story read:

"In Spring Garden, St Thomas, The Sunday Gleaner sees a sign pointing left, indicating Stony Gut. The descent is steep but the road is good and it does not take long to reach where Paul Bogle's home and the village of Stony Gut are.

Actually, were. For while there is a monument, accessible by a concrete walkway, there are no houses. Stony Gut, including Paul Bogle's home and chapel, simply do not exist anymore. There is a roughly semi-circular clearing to indicate the outlines of Stony Gut, but it is simply a site.

"They [British Troops] came in and destroyed the village," Donovan Edwards, caretaker and guide, said. "After the oppression, people move up the side. Even the road is not the original road." The road leading to Stony Gut was built specifically to access the site, while the original road made a more circuitous descent into the village."

Nothing speared

Bogle was well-known as a preacher, but not even the church where he preached was spared:

"Only a set of stones in a circular pattern, to the left of the walkway, remains of Bogle's chapel. They are single stones, with no elevation to show that they were once part of a wall."

On the other hand the home of Alexander Bustamante, who Burning Spear mentioned in passing in Ol' Marcus Garvey and is prominent in Forward March, has not only been preserved, but organised into a museum.

The Sunday Gleaner visited in December 2009 and found out about the origins of the house:

"Alexander Bustamante was in detention at Up Park Camp, St Andrew, when he instructed his lawyers to have the house built at 24 Tucker Avenue, St Andrew, a brisk walk away from where he was incarcerated. He had bought the half-acre property a year earlier.

He lived there for 20 years after being released in 1942, moving to Jamaica House, the official prime minister's residence, as the country became independent. However, the home is now the Bustamante Museum, which is appropriate, as project manager for the museum, Nora Strudwick, explains."

The property was transferred to the National Heritage Trust in November 1990 and declared a national monument five months later.