Wendel Abel - I AM WHAT I THINKKIDNAPPED, EXILED, tortured, harsh treatment, overworked, whipped, used and discarded.
So began our history as a people. The original inhabitants of Jamaica were wiped out after 150 years of Spanish rule. Slavery in Jamaica was among the harshest in the world. No other event in history rivals this experience of sustained cruelty and dehumanisation. We were treated as commodities, chattels, our women raped, young children worked, men humiliated and subjected to the harshest punishment and our old people discarded with indignity. Our foreparents emerged from slavery, penniless, naked, and barefooted, without land. Armed with ironclad will and firm resolve they suffered sickness, overwork, suicide, armed rebellion, droughts, hurricanes and through it all we have survived. We are an extraordinary people.
We are survivors. Let us remind ourselves of these realities in the light of the current challenges facing this country and our people -- the high crime rate, the economic misfortunes, the debt crisis, unemployment, drug trafficking, males at risk and AIDS.
In this article, the past is being invoked to gain insight into our present dilemma, to remind us of our enduring capacity to survive and to remind us of the strategies used by our ancestors and to strengthen our resolve to tackle the myriad of problems we face.
We have a lot to celebrate. We, the descendants of slaves, have achieved much. Our athletes they are among the finest in the world. Our professionals have distinguished themselves locally and internationally. Our tradesmen and artisans have excelled. We have contributed immensely to the cultural fabric of the world; Bob Marley stands out in iconoclastic proportions. Our women have distinguished themselves in many in endeavours as mothers, nurses, teachers, medical doctors, actors, beauty queens and models to name a few.
What then is holding us back and what do we need to focus on as a society?
1. Unity. For any family, community or society to succeed, we have to work as a group. Our politicians must start working together and lead us as a people to work together. We need to inculcate greater civic pride and a sense of patriotism.
2. A stable family system.
The family in Jamaica is threatened. Slavery destroyed our family structure, after emancipation a peasant class emerged with a fairly stable family structure. This family system has been eroded by waves of migration as mothers and fathers leave their families behind and by dysfunctional communities. We have created a generation of 'barrel children' with major psychological maladjustments. In the past decade over 20,000 of Jamaicans have been deported, many of whom migrated at an early age. Their lives characterised by profound discontinuities and multiple shifting. Lee Malvo stands out as one such victim.
3. The rule of law and justice. Under slavery the ruling class used repressive laws and harsh punishment to achieve social control and dominance. Our criminal justice system has always discriminated against the poor. Many Jamaicans pay scant regards to the rule of law and use money, status and colour to circumvent it. We need to establish a criminal justice system that is fair, holds everyone accountable and respects the rights of every citizen including the poor.
4. The role of the church. The church played a pivotal role in the development of this society by placing emphasis on education, fostering family values and a stable society within the context of spiritual development. The modern Jamaican church now places too much emphasis on evangelism and proselytising and has abandoned education, family life and promoting community. We are creating a dysfunctional church within a dysfunctional society.
5. Values. Our ancestors, poor and dispossessed, built a stable peasant society through courage, determination and creativity. They did this out of respect for self, love for country, on hard work, honesty and with the determination that neither they nor their children will ever again be enslaved. As a society we need to revisit and reinforce these values.
In our collective experience and our consciousness lies this capacity to triumph over adversities and to surmount hardships and problems that shackle us into a state of hopelessness and helplessness. We are survivors.
Dr. Wendel Abel is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Lecturer, University of the West Indies.
