It's time for us as Jamaicans to define who we are, what we want to be and stick to that model. Teach it to our children, display it in our museums, transmit it to the world and define ourselves by a positive standard that is uniquely Jamaican.

For too long, our definition of ourselves has been negative and based on the 'anancy' history of our past. Why don't we have museums in every parish which display and depict the unique history of that area? Why don't we have a catalogue of our history and teach it to our children and have it as subjects in our schools? Why don't we restore our historic churches and buildings in our parishes and push heritage tourism?

Original records

Get the minds and stories of our people on tapes and video, then package these and sell to our visitors. Why don't we have original records of mento, drummings available worldwide on CDs and DVDs? Or videos displaying our history with a narrator, and video clips of our heritage?

Our country and nation cannot move, grow or move forward because we don't know who we are! A people who don't know themselves cannot grow. The Indians know they are Indians and teach their heritage to their children. The Chinese and other Asian nations teach their heritage and ancestry to their children. The Europeans teach and tell their ancestry to their children. We have to go beyond telling about Nanny and Paul Bogle. We need to embrace the principles of Garveyism and teach it in our schools and begin to ask our children who do they want to be and how do they intend to be that person.

Hungry for information

People are hungry for information. Why don't we have tours which depict our experience of slavery to emancipation to independence? Why don't we have reggae museums in several parishes? Jamaica is more than hotels and beaches. Why don't we have villages which show the early life of Jamaicans with wattle and daub houses and the 'kitchen bitch' etc.?

Our country is rich and our wealth is right there in Jamaica. We need to wake up and define who we are and sell who we are to the world.

I am, etc.,

PATRICIA WILSON

patois21@yahoo.com