NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson greets students from the Wilbert Stewart Basic School, who had congregated outside Gordon House, downtown, Kingston for the State Opening of Parliament.WHEN BLAINE Duquesnay and Mikhail Ferguson were born, the Micheal Manley-led People's National Party (PNP) was in power.
As the boys neared their first birthday, P.J. Patterson was to take over. Thirteen years later, Jamaica is still under PNP leadership and Prime Minister Patterson is all the boys have known.
But at 13 years old, political happenings are not issues the two boys often think about.
"I don't really think about it that much. I just get used to it. I am not really into politics," Blaine remarked yesterday.
What he thinks about sometimes are rising prices for goods and services which he
said means that he can't for example, watch as much television as before. However, he
is mostly interested in activities such as watching movies and football.
An avid football fan and player, who is a member of the Real Mona team, Blaine was in fact attending a training session for the upcoming Pepsi Under-14 football league competition when he spoke with The Sunday Gleaner.
FOOTBALLER
"I like playing and watching football. Manchester United is my favourite (team). I find that far more interesting than politics," said Blaine, who wants to be a pilot or no surprise a professional footballer.
For Mikhail, politics hits closer to home because he has several relatives who live in communities which have experienced politically-related violence.
That is one factor which has made him more knowledgeable about Government and political parties. He said he also learned about them from the news casts which his parents urge him to watch from history classes at school and from hearing other people talk.
"I was born knowing that Edward Seaga was the leader of the JLP (Jamaica Labour Party), leadership has since changed to Bruce Golding) and that P.J. Patterson is the leader of the PNP. I have also heard that some
people don't want to vote because they believe that both parties are bad and that people have been killed for votes," Mikhail said. Still, the 13-year-old, who wants to be a computer engineer, said he does not spend much time thinking about one-party rule or politics.
- T.S.
