THE EDITOR, Sir:

I am deeply concerned with the upsurge of crime and other criminal elements in our beloved country of Jamaica. Despite these disturbing developments, I have decided to move back to Jamaica in 2007.

Like most things, crime has its roots and for us to deal with the problem in an effective way, we must first identify its origin. I have come to the conclusion that the root cause of most crimes in Jamaica centres on the distribution of wealth.

The upper and middle class citizens of Jamaica will find this repulsive, and will argue that corruption, not the distribution of wealth, is the root cause of crimes. I beg to differ. I remain steadfast in my belief that if people are given the opportunity to feel as if they are worthwhile to their country, and have the means through which to support their families, crime on a whole would decrease.

The notion of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer is an all too familiar occurrence in Jamaica. We have lost that sense of community and nation building which originated in our independence era of the 1960s. What has surfaced since then is a psychopathic ideology of selfishness and greed. In light of this, many middle and upper class Jamaicans have gone raving mad in pursuit of wealth.

In their quest to get rich quickly, they will suppress and push the lower class into the ground with no regard for their rights, whether constitutional or the right to an existence worthy of human dignity. This they achieve by paying a common labourer $800-1,000 per day; for the helper they will shell out a mere $3,000-$4,000 per week and will cry down the price of the higgler who tries to sell them their produce.

I do not foresee an end to the social and economic problems affecting Jamaica until we rid ourselves of the idea that big government will create jobs, fix our roads and will provide housing for the poor. The Government can do only so much. The citizens of any country wishing to improve their lives must play an active role in such an endeavour. Jamaica and Jamaicans are no exception to such practice.

In 1948, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated that "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care." In Jamaica today, many people are being denied such a right by the middle and upper class people of the country (including foreign nationals).

If we practise the words of our national anthem in our daily lives, I can guarantee all Jamaicans that we would be well on our way to nation rebuilding and the reduction of crime. Such words will always serve as a reminder of where we were as a country and where we intend to go.

I am, etc.,

COURTNEY YORKE

yardman10881@cs.com

Newport, MN

Via Go-Jamaica