THE EDITOR, Madam:
THERE IS a creeping acknowledgement that instead of the pre-eminence hitherto accorded to making things like razor blades and steel bars, the historical, physical and cultural legacy of our past, along with our geographical inheritance, should be the foundation and resource for national development.
Here is a hair-brained idea which some dreamer came up with on a week-end holiday on the South Coast. It goes like this... Build on the touching love story of Lover's Leap to attract young (old) lovers, honeymooners, other married couples, to the poignant romance of a visit to the site. Add a bungee jumping attraction to stimulate the Leap without the fatal sacrifice, and.... voila! Never mind the historical accuracy of the legend, it still amenable to allegorical adaptations. Extrapolate such creative thinking to other buried treasures.
Another far-out idea from this same source! Build on the vital significance of the sea to this small island, (now though only a part of Jamaica), to construct a massive Festival of the Sea. From the lowly fisherman and the not so lowly fisherman, the tourism mogul, the naval historian, the environmentalist, the yachtsman, the historian (Middle Passage), the romantic, to the man in the hills whose livelihood will increasingly depend on the tourism industry, a celebration and appreciation of the sea is irresistible. And maybe, the event might generate a healthy profit to many. That marvellous concept the development of Port Royal fits in here, somewhere. That's how it was sold to me.
Then I discovered later, that like every other idea, this is not new. Such a celebration takes place right here in the Caribbean, in Antigua and Barbuda for instance, on a smaller scale.
Indeed, if we add our Blue Marlin fishing tournament to that, and include the erstwhile MoBay to Cuba North America yacht race and regattas, then expand the number of activities, you have Festival of the Sea. That would make Jamaica even prouder and better appreciated hosts of the International Sea Bed Authority.
The many mini-festivals are a reflection of this same line of thinking. Boston Jerk Festival, Yam Festival, Shrimp Festival, Spicy Food Festival, are an emerging part of the mix. Music festivals are already on the way to being well established.
Now we seem to be coming around to the realisation that this must be the stuff of which a Jamaican tourism industry is made. Let that feed an agricultural sector, redirect and energise a manufacturing sector, give new direction to a health sector, stimulate an educational sector, and so on, all coming back around to fuel the tourism industry.
Of equal and more enlightening importance is the increasingly expressed thought that the concept of Jamaica's size is no longer circumscribed by geographical boundaries. Jamaica's limits extend to wherever Jamaicans make their home and of course incorporates the resources to which they have or can have access (including international organisations). Looked at in this way, Jamaica is exponentially more resource rich than its assets within 1411 square miles (hectares anybody?) comprise. The next step is to make this work for us, beyond what is being produced by its own dynamic.
That's the only true path to genuine and sustained development of the country and the individual. This will happen only if we follow up with focused organisation and implementation.
I am, etc.,
H. ANDERSON
Nander@uwimona.edu.jm
