Too long a process

By Peter Espeut

The prime minister recently told us that emancipation is a process, not an event. This means that, even though formally and legally free, we Jamaicans must expect some vestiges of slavery to remain while the process is working itself out. We must not expect to be fully free, even 175 years after so-called 'Full Freedom' was awarded on August 1, 1838.

'Full Freedom' was granted on terms largely determined by the former slave masters; the dehumanising relationship between masters and slaves was replaced by new dehumanising relationships: between masters and servants, and landlords and tenants. The former slaves were offered pittances as wages, and were charged huge rents for house lots and provision grounds they and their ancestors had occupied for generations.

Rather than launching a 'New Jamaica', Emancipation launched a new class war which is still under way, though with new protagonists. Emancipation gave legal freedom, but not power - either economic or political. The former slave owners still controlled the House of Assembly, the judiciary, and the vast majority of the land; the former slaves owned no land and, therefore, had no right to vote (only landowners could vote).

Meanwhile, non-conformist missionaries were buying and subdividing disused estates, selling lots to former slaves, thus giving them the power to vote. As, at every election, more black and brown Jamaicans entered the House of Assembly, the former slave masters were slowly losing their grip on power. The only thing to do was to shut down the House of Assembly before black people took over the country! They voted themselves out of existence. With direct rule from London, and the governor selecting all the members of the Legislative Council (not the people), the power of the former slave masters was secure once more.

The churches founded elementary schools across Jamaica, but high schools were only for the elite. Plantations needed an unlettered labour force, and the plantocracy had no use for education among their field workers. The same education system persists today, with a few tweaks.

I suppose we will soon be told that political Independence is not an event but a process. We must not expect, after a mere 51 years, that all the vestiges of colonialism will have disappeared. The colonial masters have gone, but others have taken their places.

Keep majority under control

The modern political elite (of all shades of colour) has retained the contempt for the majority of the population the slave masters and colonials had. Jamaican politics (don't forget the carefully designed garrison) is organised to keep the majority under control - dependent and underdeveloped and tribal.

It is amazing how durable these old relationships and old attitudes are.

Neither the politicians nor the elite who fund them want the extent of their 'backative' to be publicly known. So while one MP introduces a private member's motion to require non-governmental organisations (lobbyists, he calls them) to declare their sources of funding, the most dangerous lobbyists - those who pass millions to politicians in secret - are protected.

Indeed, in 2013, the parties and politicians propose to double the amount they can receive in secret from any one person from J$10 million to J$20 million. Why shackle the drug lords and future Olints to such paltry sums? This will only make the process of emancipation and independence longer.

Why is this malcontent MP harassing lobby J-FLAG, wanting it to reveal precisely who is funding its extensive media and legal campaign to make homosexuality as normal in Jamaica as heterosexuality? This will only further drag out the process of our sexual emancipation. His timing is definitely poor!

And speaking of poor timing, as one government minister proposes a law allowing the unborn child to be able to inherit, another proposes a law to make killing the unborn easier and safer.

And one week after anti-smoking regulations took effect, the minister who decreed them is already backtracking - under pressure from lobbyists. Quite inappropriately, the minister used his emergency powers which allow him to put regulations quickly in place to address epidemics and other public-health crises (like after a devastating hurricane or earthquake) to address smoking, a chronic health and lifestyle problem which should be banned through specific and well-thought-out legislation. This is poor governance after nearly 51 years of political independence.

What is worse is that the minister now says he wants his emergency powers removed, so that he must first table all his regulations in Parliament before promulgating them. But what if a natural disaster has destroyed the Parliament building, or killed a number of MPs? How will these regulations be affirmed? This kind of thinking is the real disaster, as we celebrate our process towards elusive emancipation and independence.

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and environmentalist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.