THE EDITOR, Sir:

FIRST, ON behalf of concerned Jamaicans here in South Florida, I would like to send our heart-felt condolences to the families that have lost loved ones. Our prayers are with our fellow Jamaicans, as you go through this challenging period. I know that we are a resilient people and that we will rise to the occasion and recover from this devastating event.

That said, let me get to the centre of why I wrote this letter. Several fellow Jamaicans watching the coverage from here in South Florida laud the positives that we have seen in terms of eloquence and decorum in announcements and interviews, preparations, and general interaction that the press have had with our fellow Jamaicans, both here and in Jamaica. But we are, as I am sure any law-abiding and positive Jamaicans are too, disgusted at the reports of gun play, looting, the shooting of a doctor on her way to work, and an international news crew being held at gunpoint.

Are these the images that we want the world to have embedded in their minds? Do we really want to give the world another reason to harass us as we travel, discourage foreign direct investments, and worse yet, detract from the positive elements of our country? We all know how the press is in some parts of the world, in that they will play on these negatives ten times more than the positives.

At this time, the Prime Minister of Jamaica P.J. Patterson, needs to make a national radio address to the nation to remind its people that although we have missed the eye of the hurricane, we have not missed the eye of the world.

I am, etc.,

VIL JEFFREY

seanjeff@comcast.net

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