Windscreen wipers and the Willie Lynch syndrome
Published:Monday | September 20, 2010 | 12:00 AM
The Editor, Sir:
On Saturday I saw my friend Peter (fictitious name). He is one of those boys (now an adult) who had been out on the street cleaning windscreens from the time I met him 11 years ago. My first encounter with Peter was when he was admitted as a patient at the Kingston Public hospital with appendicitis. I was his surgeon.
I watched him as he asked the person in the car in front of me for the privilege of cleaning his windscreen for a small fee. I watched the disappointment on his face as the window was rolled up and the occupants of the car said no. When he looked up, he peered into my vehicle for what must have been five seconds. I smiled as that look of recognition crept over his face when he realised that it was me. He burst into this smile and ran over to my window as he said "Wah happ'n boss?',' while acknowledging my children in the back seat.
Is there another way?
A certain sadness crept back on his face as he explained that he was just released from jail and had to do 60 days community service. His crime? Trying to survive by cleaning windscreens. His condition? Very hungry. I gave him what I had on me at the time because for me, Peter is special.
I asked myself, 'is there another way?' What have we given these young people as alternatives to survival in a recession-ravaged world when we deprive them of a non-criminal source of income? I was angry. Enough is enough. We need to respond in a collective way to the needs of these youth. We need to engage all the stakeholders (including these young men) in meaningful dialogue as to the way forward which would be mutually beneficial to us all as a society.
In Jamaica, the reality is that, as a people, we have inherited a legacy of a mentality cultivated by 400 years of slavery. It's the Willie Lynch syndrome. Willie Lynch developed a system which was meant to keep us mentally enslaved for eternity; a system that prioritises care for our former colonial masters rather than for ourselves. Whereas we can forgive the previous generation for still being shackled by this mentality, we should no longer accept this for ourselves.
The truth
As a nation we have been blessed by God, who in his providence, has given us the Baptist and other churches, Marcus Garvey, Rastafari and many enlightened musical artistes (modern-day prophets), to bring us closer to the fullness of the knowledge of the truth that we are indeed a mighty race, fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of the Almighty.
The bible says we are to love our neighbour as ourselves. We need to love ourselves. Let us urgently address how we are going to deal with these 'windscreen wipers'. Let us, out of love, give them a bit more time to survive while we urgently use our God-blessed intellectual skills, (those same skills that have allowed us to be world champions in the Microsoft Imagine competition), to come up with a creative path for our future and for the future of the many windscreen wipers, our precious human resource.
I am, etc.,
BRAD EDWARDS