Jamaica - land we love?

Carolyn Cooper, Contributor

I recently telephoned the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) to see if there were any lots for sale on Long Mountain. I have absolutely no interest in selfishly buying any land that is zoned for public open space.

What I really wanted to know was how far along the HAJ is in its disastrous scheme to sell off almost 30 acres of conservation lands to private developers. Right across from the Mona Reservoir!

To predict disaster is no exaggeration. A 2000 environmental impact assessment (EIA) for both the Long Mountain Country Club and the proposed development down the hill (Mona Estate, Section One) clearly outlined the potential threats to the reservoir. There was the risk of an estimated 50 per cent increase in surface run-off from the sites. The report warned that if the run-off got into the reservoir, it could "negatively impact the water quality".

The assessment highlighted the fact that "a build-up of sediment reduces the capacity of the reservoir and could also clog pipes and drainage outlets, increasing the maintenance cost of the reservoir to the National Water Commission". The report also noted the risk of soil erosion as a result of "removing vegetative cover to facilitate construction". In addition, the EIA underscored the importance of protecting the four wells at the foot of Long Mountain which could become contaminated.

I was alarmed to be told by the HAJ that there are no lots for sale. Di whole a dem sell off already? You can just imagine my relief when I learned that the HAJ hasn't even started to sell the lots. Can this possibly mean that sanity has finally defeated expediency? The HAJ was expecting to rake in approximately $800 million from the sale of the lots. But at what cost? The wisdom of conserving public lands for the common good ought to prevail over the folly of satisfying the greed of a few individuals who couldn't care less about anybody else, much more the distant future of the country.

LIVING IN LIMBO

Those of us who actually love our homeland can't afford to just sing about it on ceremonial occasions. By the way, I simply don't understand why the national anthem has to be played at the cinema and at other quite ordinary events. As far as I'm concerned, that's national adultery. We're watering down the anthem. Perhaps, I'm wrong. In any case, loving Jamaica should mean much more than mouthing platitudes. We can't live in limbo, unable to take action. We must make our voices heard as we show that we really love our land and want to protect it from unscrupulous developers. And we have to come up with creative ways to spread the message.

This is exactly what Dr Esther Figueroa has done in her recently published novel, 'Limbo'. Full of passion - both hot sex and a fiery love of the land - Figueroa's novel turns environmental protection into erotica. Definitely not pornography. Better known as a documentary filmmaker, Dr Figueroa has made several provocative films: Jamaica for Sale (2008-9), Cockpit Country: Voices from Jamaica's Heart (2007), Saving Rio Grande - Lifeline of a People (2007) and Massa God Fish Can Done (2009).

Figueroa challenges proverbial wisdom which optimistically claims that Massa God fish can't done. She skilfully documents the way in which our destructive practices are finishing off not only Massa God fish but so much else in the environment that we simply take for granted. We idiotically keep on taking and taking without a thought of how it is all going to be replenished. Destroying coral reefs a no nutten. They will grow back like fingernails.

TECKING BAD TINGS MEK JOKE

In her disclaimer, Esther Figueroa defines Limbo as satire: "It is meant to make you laugh lest you weep." We know that sometimes you really have to teck bad tings mek joke. Or you will burst a blood vessel. Shawna Yang Ryan, assistant professor of English at the University of Hawaii, Manao, where Dr Figueroa was Distinguished Writer in Residence in 2013, captures the essence of the novel: "A deadly serious story lightened by laugh-out-loud humour."

Our own poet and novelist Olive Senior describes Limbo in this way: "Esther Figueroa deftly navigates between steamy romance, backdoor deals, and dangerous plunges into the inferno of Jamaica's environmental disasters. But the novel's other side is its tender and evocative celebration of love, friendship, place, and belonging. Limbo is a page-turner that will make you want to start all over again when you come to the end."

Who knew that an environmental novel, set in Jamaica, could seductively provoke insatiable desire? In the hands of a skilful writer, even saving our beaches, mountains and rivers can be sexy. If only we would give environmental issues a fraction of the time, energy and money we spend on making ourselves desirable. All of that styling will count for nothing when Massa God world done mash up. Limbo will be launched this morning at 11 at the University of the West Indies, Mona, in the Neville Hall Lecture Theatre (N1). The public is invited and admission is free.

Carolyn Cooper is a professor of literary and cultural studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona. Visit her bilingual blog at http://carolynjoycooper.wordpress.com. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com.