As a Jamaican, I find it very embarrassing to see an increase in the number of Jamaicans arriving in Barbados with narcotics. If that were not bad enough, recently I saw a middle-age woman who pleaded guilty dressed in the full colours of the Jamaican flag, as she appeared in court. This was to the amazement of the Barbadian court officials, who remarked that it was illegal to wear the full colours of the Barbadian flag. I wondered in amazement where this 'proud' Jamaican woman got the mindset that it was an honourable thing to wear the full colours of the Jamaican flag in a Barbadian court.
Then I remembered Jamaican politicians and how they have stifled the progress of the Jamaican people. A good example is the former prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller, and my hometown of Whitfield Town in Kingston. This former prime minister has been the leader of the constituency in which it is located for decades and you only have to drive through the community to see its current state of deterioration. Yet many in this constituency are proud to have Simpson Miller as their leader.
Embarrassed
When I compare many of our Jamaican politicians with other leaders in the Caribbean, like Barbados, I feel embarrassed.
Barbados is one of only two countries that have made the Caribbean Court of Justice its final Court of Appeal. Perhaps it is because their leaders have the vision to appreciate that a united Caribbean holds the best hope for our peoples and flags. Perhaps it is because they care for the welfare of their people and their nation. Perhaps that is why Barbados is at 31 and Jamaica is 101 on the most recent United Nations Human Development Index.
It is time the leaders in Jamaica feel some shame because they have, for decades, squandered the collective wealth of the country, especially its human resource. I felt ashamed for this 'proud' Jamaican woman as she was sentenced to prison and hope that someday soon Jamaica will take its place as a location where the true human potential of all its people can develop and prosper and we will see fewer Jamaicans trafficking in drugs.
I am, etc.,
ALLAN CARTER
aicarter@yahoo.com
Barbados