Delroy ChuckCHRISTMAS IS definitely the most wonderful time of the year.
It is a time of peace, hope and goodwill. It is a time when everyone seeks to bring cheer, love and happiness, to care and share, and to exchange gifts and good tidings with families, friends and one another.
It is a time to think of one's failings and achievements, of the struggles and hardships of the less fortunate and how to help them in their time of need.
Christmas undoubtedly means so many different things to different people.
For the entrepreneur and businessman, it is the best of times, when commercial activity peaks.
For the weak, sick and forgotten, it is the worst of times, as the spirit of Christmas can rarely be enjoyed when their lives are so full of pain and misery.
Yet, for each of us, it can be a time of great joy, inner peace and personal satisfaction, especially if we think of the many blessings bequeathed and give thanks by caring and sharing with others.
COUNT BLESSINGS
Christmas in Jamaica is a truly blessed occasion. Having experienced Christmas abroad, where one spends most of the time indoors or suffers from the bitter cold of the chilling winter, it is a real pleasure to bask in the sunshine at Christmas.
Even when there is a white Christmas, with snow covering everywhere, I still cannot understand how the long-suffering residents of the north can truly enjoy Christmas, as we do here.
Is it any wonder that our families and friends trek annually from the north to our shores to spend and enjoy Christmas. So, while we count our blessings, we can remember those in the bitter cold, and take time to share greetings and whatever we can and truly make this time of the year one of good cheer.
THE POLITICIAN
Christmas for me, the politician, is another opportunity to truly reconnect and reach out to constituents, many of whom never tire to share their concerns, express their complaints and detail their needs.
Still, I am truly fortunate that, in my political constituency, there is peace and harmony, even while residents cry out for more jobs and opportunities.
From 1997, when I became MP, I expressed the desire and worked diligently with many others for peace and prosperity.
Our programmes of sports competition, community meetings, and steadfast beautification and upliftment, started in 1998, initiated the peace and improvement in Grants Pen, Barbican and surrounding communities.
Whenever I think of how I found Grants Pen in 1995, the gang warfare, community violence and social decay everywhere, I know that much has been accomplished, and give thanks, but appreciate that so much more needs to be done.
A TIME OF THANKS
Christmas is always a time to give thanks. In North Eastern St. Andrew, in spite of Hurricane Ivan, we can give thanks that even though some of our residents suffered from flooding, damaged homes and broken gullies and roadways, there was no loss of lives and serious injuries.
For me, there are so many individuals and organisations that have contributed to the upliftment of the people and to make this Christmas a better one than any before.
At this time, I can express my appreciation to the firms that have donated paint to beautify the roads and the inner cities.
We are truly blessed that many organisations Stella Maris Foundation, KRC, USAID, AMCHAM, PERF, and others have come in to work along with the police, the churches and the citizens to sustain the peace, to train the young people and to bring hope where none existed before.
I give thanks and praises, in particular to the police, starting with Supt. Rosalee McDonald-Barker with whom I worked closely to eliminate the gang network, which allowed the peace initiative to gain momentum and remove the division to hitherto war-torn communities.
A TIME OF HOPE
Christmas is, therefore, a time of hope. If communities can become better places, crime reduced and hopes raised, the same can happen throughout our blessed country.
Jamaica does not have to remain a crime-ravaged country, in which we suffer more murders per week than other countries do annually.
Where hopelessness creeps in, desperation and frustration follow, and many murders and criminal violence are the result of sheer emotional frustration and desperation.
If we are to turn the country around, we need the policies and programmes to bring genuine hope to our people. Vain promises and public relations will not suffice.
People want to believe that things will get better and communities like Grants Pen and the whole of Jamaica will have a new birth of peace and prosperity. Merry Christmas to you.
Delroy Chuck is an
attorney-at-law and Opposition Member of Parliament. He can be
contacted by email at Delchuck@hotmail.com
