Paul H. Williams, Gleaner Writer

What is Oliver Brown of Sommerset, St Thomas, to do? Should he spend all his youthful days at his father's little welding shop waiting for an arbitrary client to drop by? Should he join the ranks of those who have left school and have nothing else to do than to roam their communities night and day as 'rolling calves'? Must he get desperate, and go to Kingston to pick pockets? Or, should he resort to drinking and/or illegal drugs to help him forget how hard and brutal life can be? Not a chance.

This ambitious, 22-year-old Seaforth High School graduate wants a job to lead an honest and decent life, to help him get out of his parents' house. And he's not just another high-school leaver with a few subjects. He's a level-two, HEART-trained welder. Like many young men who were encouraged to acquire a skill, he has, but cannot find a job, at least not in Sommerset.

Sommerset is a very rural district - located at the foot of the Blue Mountains - just above Trinityville. The land is fertile and the babbling Morgan River runs through it. The people are warm and friendly, and if you see a strange-looking woman approach you, listen to her. The things she tells you make you laugh. The things people say about her make you reflect.

The things that Oliver - in an easy-going, soft-spoken way - tells you will also make you think, think about what is going to happen to the youths, especially the young men, in and around his community, and this country, generally.

'High school' graduates

There they are, with absolutely nothing to do. Some are semi-literate or plain illiterate, yet they have 'graduated' from 'high school'. Some have been bleaching. Even in these rural parts, you see the pale orange faces, and jet-black necks, arms, etc. For those like Oliver, it is a desperate situation. They want work, but cannot find any.

One option for him, then, is to pack his bags and find work outside his parish, perhaps in the Corporate Area. Okay, that's fine. However, based on distance, it isn't financially feasible to travel across parishes daily. Should he get a job in the Corporate Area, suitable and affordable living accommodation is top priority. For a start, he would have nowhere to stay.

This is the very reason he was not able to complete the work experience requirement for the completion of his training. He has a statement of competency from HEART outlining his skills, and has since gained some experience in addition to what he's getting at his father's shop.

Oliver has no intention of festering in the hills of St Thomas as a sore, becoming nutrients for the lush, green vegetation around him; he is going to be a productive member of society. He needs a job! He said confidently: "Based on my skill and qualification, I have the theoretical training, and the mind to do it. I know how to do the welding. From I have the mind and the practical skills, and with my aim to push, I know I can do it."

A LIFE OF PAIN

Unlike Oliver Brown, Coy Hall of St Andrew is employed. But, that's for now. For, the possibility of his not having a job for quite a while is strong. One day, his employers might just relieve him of it because of his frequent absence from work, or he simply might not show up. They know and understand why he's away regularly; nevertheless, it might start to affect their business, and they might soon get frustrated.

This has been the essence of Coy's life since he has left high school, not being able to keep a job because of an illness so painful that you wouldn't wish it for your greatest enemy. His yellow eyes say it all. He has sickle cell disease. This means a life of being in and out of hospital, huge medical bills, uncertain employment and the possibility of an early death. Abnormal blood cells are the problem.

Normal red blood cells are round and so they flow easily through the veins. But for Coy and millions of others, these blood cells are shaped like a crescent or a sickle, thus the name sickle cell disease. Sickle cells cannot flow easily in the veins, creating more like a traffic jam. The inability of these oxygen-carrying cells to move through the body causes excruciating pain and damage to the organs.

Living on the edge

Still in his early 20s, Coy is living on the edge. He now has a condition called acute chest syndrome, as a result of the disease. It is characterised by persistent coughing, chest pains, breathing difficulty, higher-than-usual fever, bleeding in the lungs. "It is very painful. It is as if someone is squeezing against the lungs, some hard pressure on the lungs, you can't really breathe through your nostrils, you have to breathe through your mouth."

In addition to the pain, sickle cell disease has put a severe strain upon Coy's oft-moneyless pockets. Sometimes when he gets a painful episode he has absolutely no money to buy painkillers. Voltaren is what he uses regularly, but when that fails, he has to resort to morphine. These are very expensive drugs, which minimum wage cannot pay for.

Dying

But in all this, Coy has great inner strength. His illness and the possibility of dying young have not pushed him under. He lives one day at a time, though he knows that one day when he's rushed to the emergency room, that it might be the last time.

"At first when I was very young, and I realised that I had such an illness, I used to fret a lot. As time goes on and I get more mature, both physically and mentally, I realise there is nothing I can do about it, I just have to live with it," he said, with hope flickering in his eyes.

paul.williams@gleanerjm.com