WESTERN BUREAU:
JAHOIDA MCKENZIE, a Rastafarian of a Mt. Salem address, in Montego Bay, is hopping mad. According to him, he was recently the victim of an alleged act of discrimination, which he felt has no place in modern Jamaica.
Mr. McKenzie, a former tour bus driver, who has been unemployed for over a year, visited The Gleaner last Thursday with an advertisement, which he had clipped from a local newspaper. The advertisement, which was put out by an employment agency, operating under the name 'Effective Personnel Service', was asking skilled persons to register as part of plan to assist them in securing employment.
"After I saw the thing in the paper, I called them by telephone right away and told them I was a driver seeking employment," said Mr. McKenzie, who was attired in a dashiki-style outfit with matching turban. "They took my name and telephone number and said they would call me if they found something for me."
Two days later, Mr. McKenzie said he got the call he was anxiously waiting for. Effective Personnel Service had called to say that they had found a job for a driver and was asking him to report for an interview the following morning at the agency's office at the People's Arcade on the Howard Cooke Boulevard.
According to Mr. McKenzie, when he got to the office, a lady who identified herself as Ms. Brown, met him at the entrance and while they were speaking, the gentleman, who was supposed to interview him, came out of the office. Upon realising that he was there for the interview, the man immediately became boisterous. "No boss, me not interviewing no Rasta, me a one of those who discriminate against Rasta... You can go and complain to whoever you want, I am not looking any job for any Rasta," Mr. McKenzie quoted the man as saying, drowning out his protest to be given a chance.
When The Gleaner called Effective Personnel Service to enquire about the incident, a lady who identified herself as Ms. Brown, who answered the telephone very politely, suddenly became quite defensive when she learnt the call was from The Gleaner and that the call was in regard to Mr. McKenzie's claim.
REFUSED TO DISCLOSE
"I don't want to get mix up in this argument at all. You can ask him if I said anything out of the way to him," Ms. Brown said, who subsequently refused to disclose the name of the man who had spoken to Mr. McKenzie. "I can't give you his name because I don't know what you plan to do about what the Rasta man tell you."
Subsequent calls to Effective Personnel Service yielded no fresh information as Ms. Brown, who refused to give her first name, said she had no information to give. Mr. McKenzie said he has since reported the matter to the Ministry of Labour as he said he wants some form of action to be taken against the agency.
"This is a violation of my human rights and I am seeking justice," said Mr. McKenzie. "My being a Rastafarian cannot be a good reason to stop me from earning a living."
- A. F.
