A Jamaican In Exile

   Extortion affects more than just the construction industry. Decades ago, as a youngster in Jamaica, I opened a Grocery off of Spanish Town Road - then the area of Jamaica with the highest crime rate. My family thought I had gone insane. I was not. There was no competition. My shop was the only grocery for blocks in the densely populated area so I did very good business. Sometimes, there was a line at the door. I learned to retail bread and cheese by the slice, toothpaste 'by the squeeze'. Buying in bulk and breaking down items made me a lot of money while making it easier for my customers who lived day to day. When I was setting up shop, installing counters, shelving, etc., unlike this case, I was given no extortion letter. Instead, I was approached by a soft spoken, friendly young man who openly admired our work on the shop saying an operation like this was going to need 'security'. As I was expecting this, I enquired how it would work. The young man guaranteed that...

In a recent conversation with Jamaican Human Rights Activist and Radio Talk Show Host Lloyd D’Aguilar, it was disclosed that more and more callers to his talk show are saying ‘they are ready for a revolution’ and asking when is the Revolution? The virus crisis has crippled the island’s tourism leading to a serious economic shock. Not only are established businesses dying, the larger underground economy of hustlers, peddlers and the like are seriously suffering. Jamaica’s economy is a two-legged economy; tourism and remittances from the diaspora. While remittances, contrary to expectations have remained steady, tourism is non-existent. Tourism was expected to recover this year but as the virus crisis lengthens, the International Air Travel Association (IATA) is now predicting that recovery to previous levels will not happen until 2022-23. In Jamaica, corruption and crime contribute to a continuing climate of economic and social despair which should lead to social unrest (protests), an i...