A Tale of Two Socas: J’ouvert and SOS!

J’ouvert! Drunken Excitement! (Part One)

Jamaica Carnival 2008 had, indeed, splashed its way into the heart of Kingston's unofficial business district! Even now, I can still hear the excitement...

I hurried to the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel from the Oxford Road based Mas’ Camp, where I stopped and waited for the mass of paint covered bodies which swarmed up Knutsford Boulevard like mosquitoes in sugarcane season. I was a little afraid of the crowd. Brimming with all the excitement of entranced mice enroute to their doom at the piper’s behest, they marched up the road, routinely stopping to ‘take a whine’ against some unsuspecting light pole. When that was not available the ground provided a convenient alternative. This was the scene at the J’ouvert fete, on the eve of the conclusion of Jamaica Carnival earlier this year.

I had attended the event, however, only by way of what a friend claimed, at the time, was the need ‘for a stress release!’ Doubtful about whether I would achieve this objective, I played along in the interests of being a good host. My friend is a student here from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It was also shortly after my confirmation (as a practicing Catholic), which you can imagine was a very important moment for me. Occasioned by great amounts of self conflict, I became convinced I would burn in the ‘Hell Fires’ for agreeing to participate in such ‘debauchery’. Truth is, I accepted the invitation because I genuinely love Soca music, though, I was too tired to enjoy the night out.

A riot of colours and sweaty bodies were crushed together behind the music trucks. Their gyrations, coupled with the combination of electric lights and the ethereal glow of the early dawn was surreal. After the all night vigil of partying and drinking (I don’t drink, so this does not apply to me!), complemented by the excitement of the painting part of the ritual, the promoters gave orders to ‘fly de gate’.

Like ghouls let loose to roam the streets of Kingston freely, the revelers were unimpeded in their eagerness to paint the town red in the early morning. They pushed through the gates and made their way into New Kingston. Two silent sentinels wordlessly bore witness to the unfolding bacchanal, their ‘controversial’ nakedness dwarfed by the raunchy displays of flesh and frolic at the gates to the Emancipation Park.

I watched from a safe distance careful not to mingle with the buzzed excitement of the curiously energetic revelers, as they basked in the cool morning air. “How come they have so much energy at this hour?” I wondered.

Traffic was everywhere, as the floats lazily wound their way up Kuntsford Boulevard and onto Trafalgar Road. Burdened by their heavy music cargo, they blocked traffic for miles. Police were redirecting early morning motorists. Cars honked their horns loudly sounding their approval, as they vicariously joined in the festivities.

The raucous hedonists were impervious to reality now. They whined and drank their way into intoxicated oblivion, their very audible carousing disrupting the pristine morning air. Camera crews ate it up. They bustled about recording everything in sight. Careful not to be photographed, I kept out their way, as onlookers, revelers, vendors and the ubiquitous taxi-men, all, jostled to get in on the action.

Soon, I gestured to my friend to indicate my readiness to leave. However, not before another friend – a professional dancer, came over to hug me. We exchanged pleasantries, all the time keenly watched by her body builder boyfriend who was in close proximity. Before long they too were gone with the music, drifting 'down de road' behind the Zoukie trucks, ensnared in the wake of their mesmeric tunes. Comatose, from lack of sleep and standing all night, I tiredly drove home for a long day's rest…

Save Our Soca! Saving Our Lives! (Part Two)

My most recent encounter with Soca music came at the invitation of another friend who suggested that I accompany her to the ultra, exclusive Save Our Soca (SOS) party, which was held for the second time this year in June, in what is traditionally referred to as an ‘Upper St. Andrew’ community. Waterworks played host to the evening of jamming by hardcore ‘socaphyles’, who ditched their regular Sunday activities to dance the night away. This was an invitation only party that, surprisingly, started at four in the afternoon!

Several cars dotted the tree lined avenue, which gently meandered its way up a sloping hill to a two storey house nestled in a cul-de-sac where the party was held. The warm Sunday evening air pressed down on us, as we made our way to the venue. A ‘good little Catholic’ like me, I thought, had no place being at SOS, which, incidentally, also stands for “Soca on Sundays”.

Initially, I wondered whether I would get home in time for work which I eventually did. However, after some consideration, I went along for the ride. We covered the distance from where we parked to the entrance of the house in a series of anxiety ridden run-walk-jog steps. Periodically, my friend reminded me to “get out of the road!”

Finally, we were greeted by the pumping sounds of Soca coming from the back of the house. A small group of people met us at the entrance. The man and two women double checked our names on a list and gave us our arm bands. They informed that the bar was all-inclusive and that food was also available at a price. I noted the instructions but decided that they would be of little value to me. I was not hungry and did not drink. Still, I certainly looked forward to the music.

Our hosts directed us to the back where the party was already in full swing. There, several smartly dressed patrons of all ages stood around, drink in hand, chatting to each other. Some seemed to be catching up on random items of news; while others dissected the earlier concluded ‘clash’ between Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell at the National Stadium the day before. (See post below!). Others looked on in silent curiousity. They too seemed eager to see what was in store at the Sunday evening fete.

I threw myself into the party. Sweating and prancing around the dance floor endlessly. The energy of the music was great. The fifties Calypso and Pan Music was certainly a good way to take the edge off an otherwise stress filled day. There was just one problem - Soca Monarch King Shurwayne Winchester was in very short supply! How could that be? I wondered, even as several camera phones, not unlike the paparazzi, snapped away at the revelry…(If any pictures turn up with me anywhere sweating profusely, I am totally professing Amnesia like Shaggy and Rik Rok say in: ’It wasn’t me!’)

One of the evening’s highlights was a guest, dressed in a fire engine red mini dress and black pumps, who decided she would outdance me. Now, you should know that, I have danced for many years in a studio, notwithstanding my recent hiatus from those activities and the obvious weight gain concerns since. Though I do not regard myself a professional, it has been said that, I ‘do not to have any bones (in my body)’. That being said, I took up the challenge to join in the ‘wuk up’. Our excitement was infectious. Soon others were looking on, as we cavorted around the floor, laughing mischievously at our various antics. I left the party soaking wet – literally, my misgivings, finally, banished to outer reaches of my mind!

'SOS' started a little over two years ago for those who had returned from ‘playin’ mas’ in Trinidad and needed ‘therapy’ during the Carnival off-season. It quite possibly saved their lives. As for me, I was just happy to have taken a break! No alcohol needed just good music and a great party with wonderful people…definitely what the doctor ordered!

Picture courtesy of the Jamaica Star shows socaphyles at J'ouvert 2008.

Drug Taking and the 'Olympic Express': Jamaican Sprinting, Victor Conte and the BBC!

Come August 15, 2008 most Jamaicans will be sure to pay special attention when the track and field component of the Games of the XXIX (29th) Olympiad, in Beijing, China, sprint out of the blocks. All eyes will be on the Men’s One Hundred Metres. Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, the current World Record Holder in the event and the former World Record Holder, respectively, will be the major drawing cards. However, American double World Champion in the sprints, in Osaka last year, Tyson Gay has also been billed by an International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) reporter as the last third in the triumvirate of premier male sprinters. He could spoil the Jamaican party.

In fact, a noticeable pall came over a group of revellers at the Save Our Soca (SOS) event in Waterworks, St. Andrew, at which I was in attendance, two weeks ago Sunday when news broke that American double World Champion Tyson Gay had run 9.68 seconds at the United States (US) National Athletic Trials. I became instantly worried by this ‘troubling development’, notwithstanding my later discovery that Gay had not broken Usain’s World Record. I tried my best to hide my concerns, at the time, by ensuring that my clothes were soaking wet when I left the fete. But that is for another blog…!

Of immediate concern is what will happen when the showdown happens in the Men's One Hundred Meters in Track and Fields in Beijing. Most are likely to be on the edge of our chairs even in the aftermath of Victor Conte’s very disturbing comments to the Los Angeles (LA) Times newspaper, at the weekend, that drug cheating is rampant in the Caribbean. We will not immediately concern ourselves, however, with the ‘warnings’ of the disgraced, United States (US) based, scientific nutritionist and founder of the defamed Bay Area Laboratory (BALCO), which was at the centre of sports largest doping scandal in 2003.

All the signs of a keenly contested battle between the three stars have been in the making for some time now. News of Tyson Gay’s injury at the same US Trials sent tremors fthroughout the US Track and Field circuit, as it did here and elsewhere! What would this mean for the outcome of the Olympics for the American and what of the American sprint relay team? Then, Asafa Powell pulled out of the finals of the 100m in Paris, recently, due to the flare up of a groin injury. An audible gasp was heard across Jamaica, as many wondered whether this meant that Jamaica would get only one medal in the premier sprint event at the Olympics, as well as our World Record ambitions in the Men’s Sprint Relays (4 X 100m).

Despite news from Powell’s press agent Paul Doyle that the injury was minor and that the Jamaican would rest for a few days before running again, shockwaves not unlike the recent earthquake which disrupted our Sunday evening routines on July 13, were coming fast and furious. Finally, the Powell-Bolt clash today (Tuesday, July 22, 2008) confirmed the hype, after the bust of the Jamaican National Trials, where both athletes literally jogged to tape, denying fans the much anticipated 'showdown'. Today, Powell got the upper hand of his countryman and the current record holder Bolt, by one one-hundredths of a second. They were timed in 9.88 and 9.89 seconds, respectively.

As you can imagine, excitement is more than fever pitch! And, that is only on the men’s side ; certainly, just in the shorter sprint. Bolt’s recent 19.67 seconds over 200 meters has clearly marked him as the man to beat in both events in Beijing. In that regard, the British Broadcasting Corporation 's (BBC) current coverage of doping violations in sports, which it is looking at as part of the run up coverage to the Olympics and Conte’s LATimes comments, only serve to train the search light even more on Jamaica.

Do not forget also that, Bolt’s May 31 World Record at the Icahn Stadium in New York was downplayed because of similar concerns about doping, at the time. Both Bolt and Glen Mills, his coach, were clear in highlighting that there was no likelihood of them failing a drug test as they are a hundred percent clean. Powell and his Maximum Velocity and Power (MVP) training camp partner Sherone Simpson, the fastest woman in both sprints in 2006, have routinely insisted that they do not take drugs and that they are tested all the time, both during as well as out of competitions. If true, Conte’s remarks about the notoriety of Caribbean athletes for missing out of competition tests would not apply either to Powell or Simpson, indeed, the entire MVP camp.

Mike Fennel, President of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) solidly defended Jamaica’s testing capabilities, which Conte suggested was sadly lacking in the LA Times report. Quoted in the same story, Fennel said: "[a]ll our top athletes who are continuously performing abroad are tested every time they compete in these big meets abroad . . . so anybody who wants to make comments about our attention to testing, our anti-doping measures are doing that with malicious attempt and are just being bad-minded because we are good. And people don't like [you] when we are good." Fennel was speaking to Jamaica Observer, last Friday on the same matter.


So what, if any, can we learn from the Conte’s remarks and Jamaica’s sprinting prowess, especially as our Olympic Express targets Beijing in less than three weeks? If, indeed, the Jamaican sprinters are as clean, as Fennel maintains, then there is need to urgently question the integrity of the international agenda in its seemingly unusual focus on Jamaican/ Caribbean sprinting. Regardless of how you feel about Conte and his remarks, if ever proven to be true, they would most certainly implicate our much loved sporting traditions; our administrative capabilities; as well as, some of our revered heroes including current Olympic Champion Veronica Campbell-Brown (from the Athens Games) and the late, great Herb McKennley and others. The untold damage to our illustrious history as a small but potent sporting nation is obvious.

Note, I am not suggesting that Conte’s remarks, by themselves, are the only reason for this comment. After all, Conte, himself, has very little credibility. He recently spent time in prison for selling steroids to many highly decorated US athletes, including disgraced sprint sensation and former Olympic champion Marion Jones, who had constantly denied taking drugs. Last year, however, news broke that she had lied to government officials about drug taking and had also committed cheque fraud. Her connections with Conte and her former coach Trevor Graham, himself a Jamaican, effectively, made her a prime suspect in the case - a classic case of 'show me your company and I will tell you who you are'! Graham was convicted, after all, on one count of lying to federal investigators, recently, after reportedly sending a syringe with performance enhancing drugs to authorities.

'Secrets in the Blood'

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), in its new radio series Secrets in the Blood, is also committed to ferreting out drug cheats in sports by calling into question anti-doping mechanisms used by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). According to the BBC, WADA's current technology are not properly calibrated to catch all who try to beat the system. The programme looks, specifically, at the legitimacy of claims that substances like ‘EPO’ (Erythropoietin) are being widely abused by many athletes, especially those who will be competing in Beijing and what can realistically be done to address this. EPO which is also called hematopoietin or hemopoietin is produced by the liver and kidney, naturally. It is the hormone that regulates red blood cell production and also has other known biological functions. EPO plays an important role in the brain's response to neuronal injury and is also involved in the wound healing process.

It is fair to assume that athletes gain an edge on the competition by administering, in controlled doses, substances like EPO as way of ensuring that their endurance and performance levels are at peak. Less time spent recovering from injuries and such like means more which is devoted to being on the track and or in the gym training. This is necessary for the career defining moments like Beijing and before that, Osaka, Japan last year. Only yesterday the BBC’s World Have Your Say Blog looked at whether athletes should be allowed to use drugs. Though not in the majority, a vast number of respondents seemed in favour of this. Why?

According to some: very little is, actually, known about the effects of drugs and how to appropriately test for them. Most notable among the views expressed were those of one blogger who goes by the moniker Uncomfortable Reality. In his/ her view, performance ehancing drugs have been given a (very) bad wrap. Athletes should only be disqualified from taking drugs because the rules say so and not because they are, necessarilly, bad. By allowing athletes to use drugs like EPO, THG (also known as ‘The Cear’) and others, more athletes get a chance to push themselves to their 'real' limits. Such views, as you might imagine, only creates the impression that drug taking should be a 'natural' part of sport. Never mind actual talent. Indeed, never mind fairness, all that matters, according to the bloggers like Uncomfortable Reality, is that athletes are able to showcase their ‘talents’ for all to see - with the help of performance enhancing drugs, of course!

On the other hand, officially, the BBC maintains that, whereas the implications of the indiscriminate use of performance enhancing substances are known, very little information is available to determine their effects when carefully administered in a laboratory or medical setting. Both China, who will be staging this year’s Olympics, and India have been identified as the primary sites for purchasing these drugs at fairly cheap prices on the Internet. According to the BBC report, they were able to purchase knock-off EPO on the Web for approximately US$50. In the process, arguing that, WADA is only able to test for and catch those who use the standard versions of this drug. However, it fails abysmally in the cases of knock-offs.

Beyond the obvious issue of the questioning of WADA's credibility and the integrity of the Beijing Games, there is another worrrisome development here, as well. The possible conflation between suspicions about India and China, as outposts for criminality, and the reading of ‘Third World’ as a generic category to read as ‘not white and Western’ could, quite possibly, lead to the less than promising view that athletes outside of Europe and America are likely drug cheats. ‘Third World’ athletes like Jamaica's sprinters and others might, therefore, be viewed as indiscriminate abusers of said drugs. After all, Jamaica is neither, predominantly white nor, truly, Western. There can be no doubt, then, that Conte’s remarks are, somehow, connected to these claim, if even by way of coincidence.

Questions about our standards for testing athletes of the calibre of Usain, Asafa, Veronica and Sherone, are naturally counter productive; that is, in the absence of evidence to stake the credibility of such claims. They shift focus away from the commendable achievements of these bright, young Jamaicans to highlight instead fear and embarrassment. That Fennel’s defense may also be read as a forceful rebuttal of Conte’s smear campaign speaks volumes about what to expect when the Jamaican Olympic Express rolls into Beijing. Even Dr. Herb Elliot, a Jamaican member of the International Amateur Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) Medical and Anti-Doping Commission and top enforcement official here, was quoted by the LA Times story. He is reported to have told the Christian Science Monitor last month, "We are far in advance of the U.S. record for [preventing] doping. We preach, cajole, and test. . . . Sports is such a part of our culture that the disgrace [of doping] is so great that the Jamaicans that live here wouldn't even consider it."

While, I am not suggesting that the BBC is complicit with the obvious nastiness of the Conte remarks, there can be no doubting the anti-Chinese sentiments embedded in such narratives which call into question China’s legitimacy as a growing world power. As a matter of fact, several weeks ago the Olympic Flame, the ultimate symbol of the goals of the Games, had been attacked several times in Paris and other parts of Europe. And that was only the start. There were reports of protest marches and several other incidents in which Chinese Secret Service personnel were called in to defend the Flame against further attacks. Why?

People were upset about the award of the Summer Games to the Peoples’ Republic of China, largely, because of its less than impressive human rights and even trade record. Note, sports and, most certainly, the Olympics which had their roots in Ancient Greece are supposed to represent the highest expressions of human courage, grit and determination, to say nothing of joy and celebration and the anguish of defeat and the disappointment of failure. In the words of CLR James, Trinidadian scholar, academic and philosopher, sports, definitely, go ‘beyond the boundary’. Under the label “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (Faster, Higher, Stronger), the Olympics represent the crowning achievements of our highest human selves.


One has to be prepared, then, to expect some sort of backlash if Jamaica wins any of the premier sprints events in greater numbers than the occasional one or two reserved for non-American athletes. Our Olympic Express rolls into the Orient, as a result, under what appears to be a cloud of suspicion a-la Victor Conte, et al.

Sunday Night at the Fights: A Crisis of Leadership in the PNP?

From all appearances the sitting President of the Peoples’ National Party (PNP) was to have expected a challenge from her former arch nemesis Dr. Peter Phillips, the most senior Vice President in the Party, despite previous claims to the contrary by him. He challenged her in 2006 and lost in a narrow defeat which brought the, then, very popular Party Leader to power and, ultimately, Prime Minister of Jamaica. In this regard, Mrs. Simpson Miller has always been in, what Frantz Fanon calls a “nervous condition”, in large part because so many of the Party’s top executives were said to be in opposition to her Leadership. That, however, did not change the fact that she became Prime Minister, though it did impact the extent to which she was able to perform successfully in that role.

With history against her, as it is felt that she did not live up to expectations, Dr. Phillips’ supporters are now licking their chops in preparation for what is perhaps felt to be a sure defeat for Mrs. Simpson-Miller, a sort of Cinderella character at the Jamaican political ball. However, is the timing of the challenge of the Party Leader a good move, especially considering that most people are of the view that the sitting Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) are failing miserably in their role as state administrators?

Indeed, on Sunday night when the dramatic announcement came during the Community Vision Media's (CVM) 8 o’clock newscast that there was a meeting at the Harbour View Primary School in St. Andrew, most people had expected to hear that this was to be the ultimate announcement. We were not disappointed. This leads us now to consider the implications for the timing of this announcement, especially as there may be a real (?) chance that the PNP might yet again take control of Jamaica House.

One cannot help but feel; however, a sense of deja-vu in relation to this auspicious announcement and how the PNP’s political machinery was handled in the weeks leading into the General Elections, last year. Mrs. Simpson Miller was eventually relieved of the post of Prime Minister and her Party declared runners-up in the very closely contested political battle. In the final analysis, there were only so few seats which separated the two which then ushered in current PM Bruce Golding to power.

Though, still considered a very popular woman, politician and leader, there is no doubt that the heady days of the near god-like charm and charisma that followed Mrs. Simpson-Miller to the helm of the PNP and, ultimately, the nation’s top job has now been significantly altered. By all appearances, her defeat at the September polls, in the aftermath of a very unpopular State of Emergency and a very devastating hurricane (Dean), from which many are only still recovering, has left the Party Leader a sitting duck in dangerous waters. Dr. Phillips and his supporters have bided their time and are now driving the final nail in the coffin of Mrs. Simpson-Miller’s political fortunes, almost as a means of ensuring that her campaign for being the first female head of state in Jamaica to take office, twice, will be effectively sealed off.

Indeed, one cannot help but feel that this is part of the “Drumblairites” efforts to deny the likelihood of a PNP Government headed by Mrs. Simpson-Miller, again. So, annoyed they appear to be that they are seemingly prepared to sacrifice the Party for the long term objective of keeping Mrs. Simpson Miller out of power. Remember the furore over the announcement of the second date for the elections when it was said that both Mrs. Simpson Miller and then Minister of Education Mrs. Maxine Henry Wilson engaged in a physical scuffle after the Education Ministry announced a date in keeping with the late reopening of schools? This was after the previously mentioned hurricane affected the first date of August 27, 2007.

Surely, there is no denying that the PNP stands a real chance at the polls, money issues aside. On the other hand, some pundits argue that, the PNP are cash starved and will remain so for as long as Mrs. Simpson Miller is head of the Party, as there are many who refuse to support her as leader. If the Jamaican proverb: “if fish come outta wata bottom come tell yuh sey dung deh dutty, believe im!” (If a fish comes out of the water bottom (of a river) and tells you that down there is dirty, you had better believe him!) is true and, political rumours of this kind are to believed, then efforts were made in the last campaign to starve the Party of funds. The Comrades Against Portia (CAP) group, it is said, had much to do with diverting funds away from the campaign and, quite possibly, into the coffers of the Jamaica Labour Party. At any rate, monies not received for the PNP, at that time, would naturally be a boost to the JLP, even if those funds did not go to the JLP.

So, what has Mrs. Simpson Miller done that has warranted this very serious crisis of support inside her own Party? Some have claimed that she is very clannish and does not listen to (good) advice and also that she talks too much! Indeed, we will not soon forget the credit card saga or even the “doan draw mi tongue” (don’t draw my tongue!) episode which both Dr. Phillips as well as the JLP used to full advantage in their respective campaigns. In the case of the latter, it helped cement a JLP victory whereas in the former the cracks in the once formidable armour of the much loved Party Leader were opened up for all to see. She has never recovered since. It was only a matter of time before it was widely reported that she was “out of her depth” and “could not manage the job of PM”.

This most recent challenge has caught both Mrs. Simpson-Miller and the Party under different circumstances. She is now Leader of the Opposition and the PNP has been out of power for the first time in eighteen years. The likelihood of another bruising battle, this time against a sitting Leader of the Party presents all other sorts of implications and possibly complications, especially considering that Mrs. Simpson Miller may have chance of winning the next elections; that is, if we are to believe the word on the street.

My barber tells me, for instance, that as a staunch supporter of the JLP and Mr. Golding, specifically, the “Cassava Government” as they are now widely referenced is not liked by the majority. He claims that an election at this time will mean sure defeat for the same Party that was touted as the answer to the corruption of the PNP and the only solution to poverty which stalks the land. As a matter of fact, it was in that same barber shop that I was pointedly advised that my, then, support for Mrs. Simpson Miller would not result in success as the PNP was on its way out. In the barber’s words: “Sista P cyan manage!”

If we are to invest faith in these pronouncements, bearing in mind that barber shops are the meeting places for all sorts of people from different walks of life, as well as that some of the predictions given in this barber’s chair as well as elsewhere have come to pass, can we realistically believe that the JLP will loose? That, of course, depends on whether Mr. Dabdoub succeeds in unseating Mr. Daryl Vaz as the duly elected Member of Parliament (MP) for West Portland and, therefore, forces PM Golding to call an election.

One friend and a business owner advises differently. In her estimation, the Appeals Process has the likelihood of dragging on for years, which will mean the JLP will serve out its term. This will possibly make way for the PNP if the JLP continues at the current rate. In that regard, the challenge to Mrs. Simpson Miller could not be better timed. After all, if Dr. Phillips wins the leadership race, as he is expected to do, then, the JLP would basically be campaigning for the return to power of the PNP under his leadership. The timing of the announcement and eventual challenge of Mrs. Simpson Miller, therefore, seems to have taken account of more than just a matter of a short term victory for the PNP at the polls but to look seriously at rebuilding the Party around certain core ideas about leadership, one of which is, undoubtedly, class privilege.

That, of course, has been a common theme in my entries here, in large part, because I feel it is not always sufficiently acknowledged in Jamaica and is taken for granted by those who have it. As a result, privilege is generalized to the rest of the populace to suggest a fictional equality which does not really exist for all. It is in that context that that Mrs. Simpson Miller’s failings as leader are to be understood.

You cannot be an average or even good leader when you are not born of the privileged social, political and economic elites in Jamaica, certainly if you are female. On the contrary, you have to be twice as good and twice as "nice" to make it for any length of time. Just ask the African-Americans in post-Civil Rights America and they will tell you an earful in that regard. Even then, it is said that you are still not allowed to excel to top positions whether in government, business, or some other area of industry.

We in Jamaica deny that these are real considerations in our constructions and, ultimately, the performance of identities on the socio-political landscape. Those who receive immediate support are those who come closest to embodying the ideal – white, upper-class, educated, Christian, heterosexual masculinity, or who can successfully appropriate it. Any projects which vary (too far) from this ideal, as in the case of the former PM Simpson Miller, will have a significantly harder time rallying support, especially from these social and political enclaves. These, unfortunately, are the realities in which we live in Jamaica.

Who will bell the cat and who will insist that projects of equality must be exactly that – equal? Who is going to demand for real development of all areas of the society through meaningful, lasting and appropriate policies; not just by responding to every criticism made in the public domain and certainly not just for the political ‘poor’? Who is going to include young professionals and ‘young people’ into the frameworks of governance, beyond the simplicity of platitudinous maxims like: “our youth are the future”? What is their role and is that defined in such a way as to appropriately reflect the commitment and mobilization of real resources for their integration into the development frameworks of the society?

Where is the parity in a system which awards heritage, colour and class over and above talent? Where is the justice which ensures that, those detained and placed in state lock-ups and are allowed to languish for years without trial or ever being seen by a judge, yet alone a lawyer? Where is the moral centre needed to understand the significance of adhering to core values of determination, trust, credibility, fraternity and respect for all? And, who will be the champion of this cause?

Where too, is the conviction of character needed to put an end to political corruption and various vices, nepotism, unfair systems of privilege and the scourge of crime that continue to undermine the fibre of the nation? What even is the ‘nation’ and how important is that in raising the profile of citizenship issues and rights throughout all sectors of Jamaica? Is this what the leadership bid of Dr. Phillips represents, at this time? If so, sign me up!

However, if it is simply to undermine “woman time now” sentiment and “teach Sista P a lesson” as a way of reminding her that she “does not belong” and “cannot cut it”, as a result, I will pass. Thank you very much!

The shifting tides of the political fortunes of the PNP Leader and the PNP, itself, are a source of extreme fascination for all, both inside as well as outside of Jamaica. After all, Jamaica is said to be “PNP Country”. Whether or not that is true or whether this new fight for power inside the Party will return it to its “soul”, as many claim, remains to be seen.

One thing is certain, however, the battle for supremacy announced on Sunday last by Dr. Phillips, at the Harbour View Primary School, throws open the door for another round of bloodletting from which the Party might not recover in time for a “snap election”, if one is, indeed, called.

Sunday Nights at the Fights, anyone?...Just curious!

Talking Sex…Jamaica-Style!

I had the most amazing reaction to a presentation I made last week when I spoke at the ACS Cross Roads (Cultural Studies) Conference at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus. My paper which was entitled: “Enforced Heterosexuality and the “the fear of a Gay Planet”: Critiquing Contemporary Narratives of Masculinity in Jamaican Popular Culture” examined the current Jamaican sexual politics. It was located in the larger context of Adrienne Riche’s concept of a Western enforced heterosexuality and ‘the fear of a gay planet’.

I focused, however, on how Jamaican national identity is constructed, historically, by ancient, colonial jurisprudence which seek, in the main, to criminalize certain expressions of sex; in the process, enshrining a culture of sexual violence, hatred and gendered and racial discrimination. My presentation highlighted how race, class, colour and gender are subsumed under the sexual lingua franca of the modern West, with its great preoccupation with ascertaining and locating personal and cultural identities and subjectivities through sexual practise. The overall intent was to question the impermanence, albeit the seeming illogicality of applying labels like homo-, hetero- and bisexuality in our current Caribbean/ Jamaican realities.

In the post presentation discussion, a member of the audience – a Jamaican woman, who I later learned was also a Ph.D. and a film maker, announced that she was ‘queer’. Her comments came as part of a very heated exchange with another male member of the audience – an American, who originally challenged my contentions about the politics of sexual labeling here.

The Jamaican woman ‘came out’ as a way of shutting up the, apparently, obtuse American, at least this was how I read it. He, cynically, queried whether or not there were gay people in Jamaica. His comments were directed at me. The woman, however, demanded that he clarify his use of the word ‘gay’ as he seemed to have missed my point. He responded that, the distinctions were ‘semantic’.

Needless to say, this further ignited the woman’s already excited passions. She stated very loudly for all to hear: “I am queer! I am Jamaican! I live in Jamaica!...What do you mean by gay?” Her last question trailed off into an anguished appeal for more than just clarification, but also reflected what I thought was the pain of having one’s identity erased from the discussions. Incidentally, this was the very point I was making, at the time.

Discussions about sex here have been hijacked by an extreme focus on male homosexuality which, basically, denies the experiences of everyone else in the debate. The American, obviously, missed this nuance, in his blithe disregard for these apparent complexities which, in part, explain sex and sexuality in Jamaica as well as the woman’s own placement in that dialogue.

The ACS Conference was, certainly, living up to its billing. It was more than ‘filling a gap in the international cultural studies community’. By all appearances; it was also therapy. At one point, I wondered whether I was in church. After all, the audience’s contribution had an eerie feeling of an ‘altar call’ in which I was, fortunately or not, placed in the role of high priest.

Yes, all bets were off. It was open season and sex was the target! Indeed, this was only one panel. I heard there were others where the responses were even more dramatic. Pity, I only saw one other. I was preoccupied with professional work and church commitments as well as the need to catch up on needed rest.

For my part, I had never witnessed this much passion expressed in relation to a topic by any audience of this kind. But, then again, this was the start of a long weekend of ‘academising’! Plus, we were talking sex – the very stuff of our beings and, incidentally, the title of today’s entry which I thought would have made for interesting reading, especially with the "Jamaica-style" added!

The other panelist, herself, a Jamaican who teaches at Brandeis University in the United States expressed ‘concern’ that the Jamaicans might not have demonstrated the appropriate levels of meekness which it is claimed come so ‘naturally’ to us. According to her, we/ they (the Jamaicans) were in a rabid, no nonsense mood, causing fear and disquiet amongst the foreigners.

Indeed, the Jamaicans (in the audience) seemed eager to divest themselves of the ideological baggage of foreign imposed labels, with their narrow, taxonomical definitions authored by the West. Admittedly, I did not know what to expect or even how I was to dress for the occasion. One friend/ colleague had earlier questioned whether my jeans and blue striped polo shirt were appropriate. Notwithstanding that I had presented at other conferences, both here and overseas before, I was still uncertain because of the sheer magnitude of the ACS Cross Roads Conference.

I sought the advice of an older, female colleague on the matter. She, however, wasted no time in informing me that she had other, more urgent commitments. Left, then, with the full brunt of my anxieties, I was forcefully reminded that I had volunteered to bell the proverbial cat. The troublesome issues had been placed squarely on the agenda – sex in Jamaica! How very interesting! How very intimidating! The opportunity was clearly now mine to ensure that I saw my own way. After all, a presentation with a title like “enforced heterosexuality and the fear of a gay planet….masculinity…popular culture…Jamaica” was bound to ruffle more than some feathers.

Allow me a few indulgences, if I could, to share my position on some of these very troubling issues; that is, in the context of my presentation. Firstly, I make no special claims on the issue beyond a simple effort to argue that the limitations of sexual labeling, especially, in Jamaica are symptomatic of a society fundamentally vested in racist, colonial elitism. I wished to suggest that this be considered as a legitimate premise for rigourous academic interrogation of sexuality in Jamaica. As a result, traditional approaches to theory and methods must, by necessity, be reconfigured.

The standard academic practice of excluding rather than including the voices of those without conventional theoretical platforms or ‘authenticity’ on which to make their voices heard must be urgently revisited. Any efforts to read sexuality as a purely physical act is, largely, aimed at disregarding the likely nuances suggested by my position as well as to reify traditional systems of oppression in the society, as a result.

Rewind to the earlier mentioned confrontation and my presentation. With my recent encounters with some members of the ‘progressive liberal (pink) media’ (read the entry before the previous one!), uppermost in my mind, as well as the Jamaican Prime Minister’s now infamous remarks to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC): “Not in my cabinet”, I eagerly anticipated the discussion. I was, however, completely surprised at the point at which the confrontation erupted between the American man and the self-declared ‘queer’, Jamaican woman.

Vainly, I tried to intervene by way of reiterating that the matter was not semantic, as the American had claimed. I stated, in between, the face-off, that the Western, white, male, intellectual, elitist agenda which is primarily responsible for demonizing Jamaica as ‘the most homophobic place on earth’, was vested in constructing the debate purely around sex. In so doing, other critical issues which were in need of being ventilated were suppressed such as the importance of desire in constructing fear of the ‘other’.

I argued that, if the matter was purely a question of sex, then, there was need for explanation of the phenomenon of ‘gay parties’ in Jamaica which do not sit well with the constructions of the country as either the ‘most homophobic’ or even a mildly homophobic place on earth. It also did not explain the vast numbers of ‘gay paraphernalia’ which complement this phenomenon, specifically the Jamaican media’s fascination with ‘gayness’. If sex were the only consideration, in other words, there would be no need for the trafficking and wholesale consumption of videos of gay parties, many of which have been circulated here in the last year.

Indeed, the fascination throughout all levels of the society with this state of affairs would cease to be, primarily, because the tapes were not explicitly sexual. If they were then surely the repugnance (?) of it all, (to strictly heterosexual sensibilities, that is) would result in a boycott. However, there was clearly more at stake than meets the eye, as reflected by media reports, on this issue last year.

It is possible that, the mostly upper- and upper-middle class owned and controlled Jamaican media have very real investments in maintaining ideas about ‘gayness’ as a purely ‘effeminate’, largely garish and definitely offensive. By so doing, they direct attentions away from some of the more problematic areas of sexuality and its relationship to constructing the national identity as well as citizenship issues, by forcibly placing it into the realm of ideological conjecture and, therefore, beyond the reaches of the so-called ‘common man’.

The collective commitment to maintaining ‘homophobia’ as part of the popular set of ideas which discursively govern the performance of masculinity in Jamaica begs questioning in the wider context of the complexities of the race-colour-class triad which originated in plantation hierarchies, historically. Though real for many, these are often difficult issues to explain in clear and precise terms.

The conflation of ‘uptown’ with ‘brownness’ and the transference of values of respectability to that group automatically renders its inverse – ‘downtown’, oppositional. The binary created means that to be black, at the very least to be perceived as black means that one starts from a place of deficit.

The anxieties of the brown, upper classes of Jamaican society, therefore, demonize the black under-classes, for the most part, the vast majority of whom exist outside of the reaches of privilege. Constructions of Jamaica as 'the most homophobic place on earth' locate these concerns squarely at the feet of the mass of black, disenfranchised bodies who populate Jamaica's underclasses. In so doing, further alienating black, lower-class Jamaicans from the 'nation' as an ideological construct.

It might even be reasoned that this is but another of the manifestations of the complex and disabling triple jeopardies of race, class and gender at work in post-independence Jamaica for many. The international gay lobby is in many ways, then, complicit with and exaccerbates these imbalances in the society's internal class logic and, therefore, further exposes vulnerable black youths to greater risks.

Obviously, talking sex 'Jamaica-style' is hardly sexual. No titilation and racing pulses here, at least, not in sense in which we traditionally consider sex. We are more likely, it appears, to come to blows rather than to make love on this one!

Turning Thirty (...Something) and the Politics of Change

So, I have quietly joined the thirty-something generation. Last week, to be exact, I became an official member of the demographic! No, there was no cake, champagne or partying! I was quite content to stay home and rest in bed!

Before I go further, though, let me add that in reality the title of this piece is not altogether accurate, as I am really thirty-something rather than thirty (30), hence the parentheses.

That said, I thought the title catchy enough to elicit readership, which I have not been as dutiful in maintaining as I have not been updating my entries here as much as I could. Last time, I was bogged down in an international dispute (read the last entry!) and blogging elsewhere. The latter I still do.

Now I am preoccupied with being ‘thirty-something’.

I have been thinking: what does one do in one’s thirties? That question comes into my mind with much more frequency, especially as I battle weight gain and a decrease in my appetite for certain things, among them the “push” to want to do everything and go everywhere, all at once. I am much more interested in pacing myself compared to the ‘roaring twenties’, when fast and furious was the name of the game.

Indeed, there were many times when I would party the weekend away without missing a beat and then show up for work on Monday mornings, bright eyed and bushy tailed, or so I thought. Then, I was twenty-something and going on very fast…and baring all the signs that go with that – strong opinions, exhaustion, etc.

I should, of course, confess two things about myself in relation to the above – I do not drink, nor smoke. So, it actually remains to be seen just how much fun one can have when these two things were not part of the social equatuion.

In fact, some friends of mine are now trying to break me into the habit of social drinking. However, I still feel no such desire, except with the occasional “Stones Ginger Wine” which, because of its sweet taste, I have started adding once or twice to my juices and water. At thirty-odd, I feel less and less desire, even! Is that normal? Where did all the passion go? Yikes! I am getting old...!

…On a more sober note, I should let you know that I also became a Christian, recently. That I thought was perhaps the most dramatic change of all. Never would I have guessed that for all of my very vocal criticisms of the Church, specifically what I claimed was its contributions to a single-mindedness against which I was very opposed that I would now be a practicing Roman Catholic. I even sing in a choir there...go figure!

This, however, has been one of the more rewarding experiences I have had. I have developed, inter alia, a keener sense of concern for the welfare of others and have also become more aware of and patient towards criticisms, specifically of self-declared Christians, many of who I have learned are merely human beings doing the best they can.

That does not change that there are things about the Church as an institution which are to be continuously reviewed and assessed some of which I will address in future entries. I accept that the Church has had many shortcomings in terms of how some of its members have contributed to the formation of social issues over time, which has not diminished its overall personal and spiritual value for some people.

Still, I am convinced of one thing – true compassion does not come with a label. Nor is it, necessarily, part of a culture, religion, gender, sexuality or class. It is not so much about who wears which clothes and says what on whichever days.

Rather, love and tolerance are truly about the feelings you have towards yourself and others. This is what matters the most. How you treat with your fellow man, which also includes you!

Becoming thirty(...something) has perhaps been the best teacher for gearing me up for that sort of consciousness, which has lead to a new pace. Is this the rest of my life?

Well, if it is, then let me say categorically – slower does not mean better nor does it mean less. It’s just different.

Thank God for the thirties!

Blogging for the BBC and the Xtra Stress!

Recently, I was invited by the BBC World Service to be one of two weekend editors for the World Have Your Say 'Blank Page', a blog, where people from all over the world are invited to make entries on various topics of interests. Katharina, my co-editor, from the Netherlands and I ratcheted up a record number of entries for that weekend – a grand total of 173, after an acknowledged shaky start. We were both, unavoidably, absent for the opening segment of the blog – work and family commitments. Katharina had gone to dinner with her family, whereas I was late in getting back from work that Friday.

Secondly, Xtra, the gay and lesbian newspaper in Canada invited me to be a source in one of their stories which looked at the planned boycott of Jamaica’s tourism industry by Canadian gay rights groups. Excited at the prospect of speaking to an international audience about elements of my academic research which, in part addresses this issue, I was sorely let down when the story was printed. Despite my original request and repeated efforts to get them to change this part of the story, I was misrepresented as a Jamaican Government Spokesperson on the subject.

I was attributed the dubious distinction of being “a public relations officer with the Jamaican Government”, which though true, had nothing to do with the contents of the interview. They eventually altered it to say “but stresses that he does not speak on behalf on the Jamaican Government…” Still, dissatisfied I forwarded a letter of complaint to the newspaper voicing my concerns. I recieved a response from one of the editors offering to edit my letter, as it had gone over the three hundred word limit.

I later recieved an email from a colleague and friend in which I was quoted in another story by the newspaper. This time, however, I was cast in the especially unflattering role as flippantly denying the reality of homophobic violence in Jamaica. Portions of an interview completed with an editor from the newspaper here in Kingston were used, despite my wishes to contrary. Indeed, I was also misquoted in the story. Again, I sent another letter of complaint as well as explanation of my thoughts on the matter, elements of which are included in this entry below.

Before leaving this subject, I feel it important to make two related points. Firstly, the title of this piece is intended to draw attention to two of the reasons that I have not been able to update my blog in the last month, as well as to emphasise the growing importance of discussions about sexual rights and freedoms as crucial parts of identity politics, currently. Of course, I can jokingly refer to the Xtra issue as "stress", almost by way of making light of the matter.

However, the gravity of representation in the current dispensation is real. In fact, it is downright political! Hence, I am not very keen on seeing this as a simple matter to be laughed away under the meaninglessness of a minor inconvience. Much to the contrary. My interests in the stories/ issue go well beyond the "stressfulness" of the matter to more directly target questions of trust in the context of media representations, especially where people are keen to (mis) judge you even without knowing who you are.

It may well be argued that there is no need for any more knowledge in a context where most Jamaicans seem to rally round certain expressed signifiers of identity, in this instance, the defence of the national identity as heterosexual, male, working class and black, for the most part. Hence, I am making this entry as a way of addressing some of the key issues which impact this (Jamaican) identity as well as how it is percieved, both locally and abroad.

Sexuality in Jamaica is a, largely, political issue given the complex ways in which race, class and gender intersect in its construction. (Homo)sexuality, as a result, is much more than a mere question of who one sleeps with but also an act of political affiliation. Discussions of same which do not adopt a condemnatory attitude towards male homosexuality, especially, runs the risk of being considered pro-homosexual and, by extension, opens one up to victimization. The rampant homophobia expressed in Dancehall popular/ culture, specifically, ensures the active policing of the boundaries of sexual desires, accordingly.

This does not mean there are no homosexuals here. Rather, that Jamaica is represented in our imaginations as a space in which heterosexuality is homogenised national identity. All Jamaicans are the equivalent of Bible thumping, religious zealots with a penchant for bigotry. Our raison d’etre is the persecution of all that is different which is also considered ‘un-Jamaican’.

The Xtra reports to which I refer, partly elide these concerns and seek to construct Jamaicans and 'Jamaican-ness', by extension, as a homophobic monolith. That the reporter, in the original piece, felt no pains in revealing my professional credentials, notwithstanding the fact that I had asked him not to, clearly highlight the contempt with which we are held. You are, in other words, guilty by national designation/ association. Beyond the clear breach of trust in terms of the revelation of other parts of my identity and the subsequent efforts to construct me as flippantly disregarding such ovewhelming hatred, these two incidents point very clearly to the troubling nature of these issues, currently. Any discussion of which, must necessitate common understandings.

I have long felt that a meaningful discussion of sex and sexuality in Jamaica is urgently overdue. Such a discussion cannot countenance the traditionally one-sided diatribes in which poorly disguised bigots articulate their own aversions to other expressions of sexuality, even while claiming the 'need' for tolerance. There can be no tolerance where there is no understanding, empathy and human compassion. Power struggles are not a sufficient substitute for real dialogue on this very important topic. Freedom has to encompass all members of civil society, a point I was especially careful to make to the Xtra editor who interviewed me in Kingston. By which means, one section of the population cannot be considered free and able to move about while others must operate under the cover of darkness, all the time fearful of infringing on the laws of the land.

Conversely, freedom also means respecting the rights of others, notwithstanding that we may sometimes be in disagreement. The ancient colonial laws in Jamaica which thinly veiled the xenophobia of the white colonial elite who drafted them, centuries ago, must be removed from the books as a matter of urgency. In their place, the strengthening of the institutions of civil society must be such that the notion of human rights are expanded beyond a mere question of "freeing unjust criminals" and granting rights to "batty man", et cetera.

The efforts to recapture Victorian manners and custom, through the bastardised versions of 'Britishness' enshrined in parts of the Jamaican constitution must go. We must approach the twenty-first century with readiness and purpose. Political apathy and cultural disaffection cannot be the course of action. It is not 'business-as-usual'. The effects of the colonial legal system, which it may be argued, were more about reconstructing Britain as an imagined space of desire, rather than a real society in which non-Britons (also) lived constructed ‘the natives’ as insignificant beings unworthy of rights and freedoms. These institutions must be abolished. We must come into the twenty first century and join the global struggle for human dignity in the post-slavery, postmodern era. We need to get with the programme!

Kevin Brown; the Amnesty Report: Jamaica’s PR Nightmare!

To say that April Fools’ Day (Tuesday, April 1, 2008) gave us more than we had bargained for as a nation would perhaps qualify as a major understatement – perhaps the one of greatest significance so far this year. First, we heard the story of the Amnesty International Report entitled: “Let Them Kill Each Other: Public Security in Jamaica’s Inner-Cities”, in which the human rights group made the damning charge that the Jamaican government has, effectively, left the inner-city, urban poor to fend for themselves regarding the provision of adequate security by the state. Then, there was the even more distressing report that the thirty-two year old Jamaican-born, United States (US) army veteran Kevin Brown started acting strange during check-in for Air Jamaica Flight 80 at the Orlando International Airport (OIA). According to the Orlando Sentinel:

Brown was watched, questioned and detained Tuesday by Transportation Security Administration and Orlando police officers after he was deemed to be acting strange during check-in for Air Jamaica Flight 80.

A luggage search, according to an affidavit filed Wednesday by Orange County sheriff's Detective Kelly Boaz, turned up:

*Two galvanized pipes.
*End caps with holes drilled in them.
*BBs.
*A model-rocket igniter.
*Batteries.
*Lighter fluid.
*A lighter.
*Two vodka bottles with flammable nitromethane.
*Instructions on making explosives (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/crime/orl-airport0308apr03,0,5200541.story)

To say that this is a cause for concern is, of course, stating the obvious. Among others, these two reports together highlight the tragedies of war; in this instance, the war in Iraq and its lasting impact on world politics, currently, as well the far reaching political implications of crime in countries like Jamaica. On average we murder approximately 1500 hundred of our citizens each year in what might be rightfully entitled our undeclared civil war. Of course, what is more distressing about these alarming facts is that it is generally contended that crime statistics are deliberately under reported as a way of not alarming the citizenry any more than needs be…Psych! Too late! The proverbial puss is out the bag and amongst the pigeons, to boot!

Between Brown’s actions and the recent Amnesty International report which identified the Jamaican government as a fairly callous institution in terms of its abandonment of its citizens to the whiles of dons, community leaders and other thugs for hire, make the point only too well. Jamaica is an unsafe place to be, let alone in which to live. If you are not rich and possess the means by which to remove yourself from the violence, death and despair then you are a moving target, it seems, and even then there is no guarantee.

In an effort at damage control, Prime Minister Golding has pleaded with Amnesty International for clemency insofar as explaining the extent to which the Jamaican state has been rendered incapable of undertaking the types of interventions needed to critically address the crime problem here. According to the PM Jamaica’s debt servicing obligations, especially in light of the recent Estimate of Expenditures which were announced as part of the 2008-2009 Budget presentations is a real problem. In the words of PM Golding:

"I urge you to be sympathetic to the real difficulties faced by a Government that must find $723 million each day to service the national debt. You will, I am sure, appreciate the extent to which this constrains our ability to address the urgent need to provide social services and economic opportunities in these areas," he said in a statement released yesterday." (http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080402/lead/lead4.html)

While, certainly a noble gesture in terms of the Government’s admitted recognition of the real needs to be addressed in such a context, the flip side is all the more distressing when considered against the background of world-wide price increases in basic food supplies as well as the rising cost of living, which, ultimately, also impact crime. The state’s recognition of the problem is a good start, however, it remains to be seen whether that by, itself, will prove a sufficient basis on which to request leniency and, therefore, a ‘letting off the hook’ regarding the significance of this report and Jamaica’s growing international reputation as a crime capital.

In public relations it is often stated that you cannot sell a bad product; that integrity and high standards speak for themselves; and that, where there is a scarcity of money to advertise, as is often the case, a good product will sell itself. But, is this really the case? And, how does this apply in the Jamaican context where these two incidents, which are only but the most recent developments in a very long line, likely to negatively impact the country’s public image; that is, as a hot spot for violence? This, notwithstanding that some of the violence does not directly emanate from us, as in the case of Kevin Brown.

Surely, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) has its work cut out, as well as the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports. In the case of the latter, there is a generally held view that part of the aggression and energy of crime in Jamaica is also what accounts for our athletic prowess internationally. In effect, the same energy exerted in dodging bullets and outsmarting and outrunning the police is what is also used to break world records and win Olympic and other international sporting medals. Of course, this is only conjecture and reflects badly on our sporting image and our sports people. After all, there are no known studies which have yet made the link between these two things.

What can be said, however, is that if and when the academy finally catches up with public opinion on this issue, it will prove all the more obvious that there is a clear need for more creative solutions to be invested in the issue of governance, specifically as they impact crime fighting. This does not simply mean a removal of M16 weaponry nor penalizing officers for shooting randomly in public. Though the latter is cause for very real concerns, especially as an eleven month old infant was tragically killed in one such incident, recently.

Rather, there is need for more meaningful investigation skills and specialized training; an upgrading of our forensic and scientific crime detection skills; as well as fostering and enhancing public trust and engendering public/ private partnerships, as part of key crime fighting efforts. A master plan in which community policing plays a critical role is also essential. This must address too, the trade in illegal guns; narcotics; and the influence of politics on crime, as a matter of urgency. Indeed, the security budget has to be made into one of the priority areas of governance to the extent that social programmes which seek to alter the tense relations between the police and some inner-city communities are addressed. This might well prove the time for the application of specialized behaviour change and social marketing skills to crime fighting in Jamaica.

After all, the US Army just recently indicated that it has discovered that physical combat alone cannot stem the problems of regime change in places like Iraq. Hence, the Operation Hearts and Minds campaign, that also addresses the other needs of the country thus affected. While, surely we are neither in Iraq nor Afghanistan it does not hurt to learn from this example, especially where it is commonly felt that some members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) play on both teams simultaneously – the good guys and the criminals.

I recall, for example; that in 2004 I was a victim of extortion courtesy of three police officers in Spanish Town, the old capital. Here is the story, for those who may be interested:

I was held up by three police officers while driving along the, then, newly opened Spanish Town leg of Highway 2000. Lost and confused, at the time, as I had never driven on this stretch of road before, my horror was further cemented by the fact that Jamaica had just begun recovering from a double dousing of very heavy rains from Hurricane Emily and Tropical Storm Dennis; and there were no street lights along the highway. In the case of the latter, I was not aware of this before, otherwise I would have stayed put in Kingston.

Afraid that I had gone too far off the beaten path, I became aware that there was a car following behind me. Soon there was the flashing of lights and the screeching noise of a police squad car siren. I was told via bullhorn to stop the car and get out. Frightened, lost and completely stressed out, I complied immediately. However, this was only the beginning of my ordeal which was compounded by the fact that I was driving in the wrong direction and with an expired driver’s licence, to boot! (I foolishly thought, at the time, that you were allowed a one month grace period, as in the case of the Road Licence. But alas! This was not to be!).

I was then accosted by three police officers bearing long weapons which were pointed directly at me. They insisted on knowing why I was driving in the wrong direction. They commented that they had been observing me for sometime and had noticed that I seemed lost and unsure of where I was going. At this, I immediately confessed my dilemma, hopeful, that I would be assisted by the officers of the law. However, this was not to be. I was told to show them my driver’s licence along with the other car documents. In between all this, they glared at me very sternly, oblivious to my plight.

Finally, the one who asked to see my licence indicated that it was expired and that I was to accompany them to jail (This was in the dark night; midnight for all I knew and cared then!). After all, the penalty for this breach is – you guessed it, a night in jail with all kinds of people! You can imagine my distress and consternation! So, it was obvious that they had me where they wanted me. They proposed that as an alternative I was to pay my way out of jail (And, God knows how long I would have been in lock-up, at that rate, right?).

Realising that I was being victimized by the classic “hol’ dung an tek way!”, approach as we say in Jamaica, I pleaded that I did not have any money and that; I was actually on my way to Portmore to see family members and had got lost due to the poor visibility and the state of the Mandela Highway which was badly flooded. Only one lane of traffic was opened, at the time. (Hence, how I came to take a wrong turn on the newly constructed highway).

Long story short, I was given two options – go to jail for driving with an expired licence and in the wrong direction to boot! Or, pay my way out of an otherwise unpleasant experience, the lasting consequences of which I did not wish to imagine. Consequently, I was told that they would accompany me to the ABM machine and that I was to approach the machine, just on the outskirts of Spanish Town (Brunswick Avenue, to be exact!) and not draw attention to myself.

After withdrawing the six thousand dollars (approximately 100 plus US dollars, at the time), which they had demanded I was to drive to a safe location and then pay them. Totally petrified, I complied with the request and then drove, very foolishly in hind sight, to a darker spot in the centre of town, behind the old Registrar General’s building where I handed over the money. When finally released; that is, when they had determined that I had been very compliant and that the money was, in reality, six thousand dollars, (which I could ill afford then as now!), I was told to go.

Needless to say, I sped out of Spanish Town and back to Kingston like bat out of hell. I was so distressed I sat in Café Deli at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, regarded as one of Kingston’s finer hotels, all night relaying my story to anyone who would listen. Before that, I had sat dazed at the bar of Christopher’s Lounge, at the Quad – a very popular night club in New Kingston. I subsequently made a report to the Professional Standards Branch (PSB) of the police force. However, as I did not get the number of the squad car or the badge numbers or names of the officers (like I had time to notice that!), I only received an apology and the matter was forgotten.
Hence, my conviction that police officers here tread a fine line between criminality and upholding the law in many instances.

It is useful hear news reports that more officers are being charged as a result of the actions of the PSB, though the matter is also very distressing at the same time. At last count, there were approximately twenty-four who are facing possible sanctions. Indeed, to address the problem of crime and Jamaica’s growing reputation as ‘Murderville’ there is an urgent need for more than just words – all of which are useful in drawing attention to the issue, but which are woefully insufficient in terms of allaying public as well as international fears on this subject. This reality is, of course, further compounded in the case of Kevin Brown by the fact that the allegedly unstable Iraqi war veteran was about to board a plane to Jamaica with bomb making equipment in tow. According to him he was going to assemble and show his friends in Jamaica how to make explosives like those he saw in Iraq. Do we really need to point out how serious all of this is? Of course, the answer is no!

Much more needs to be done to address this very worrying problem. Pronto!