Are Jamaicans giving up?

 

Are Jamaicans giving up the fight?

As one who 'gave up' and emigrated a long time ago, I feel your pain. Even though my personal situation at the time was good, when I saw the clouds on the horizon, I fled Jamaica. At the time of my leaving, people berated me for leaving as I did not fall into the category of poor. Now, some of those same people criticized me and who refused to leave are leaving or if they can't leave now because of age or changes in immigration, they regret not leaving when they could. Their faith in Jamaica's future has been dashed on the rocks.

Jamaica has been hijacked by a corrupt political elite collaborating with a mostly white, brown or Chinese corporate elite, a corrupt government bureaucratic elite, criminal gangs and a compliant media owned and controlled by the corporate elite all of which are backed by a corrupt police force and a loyal army. Also, thousands of Jamaicans benefit from the current corrupt situation - from the corrupt cop who can buy a house to the woman feeding her kids with the income from a gangster boyfriend. Many JLP/PNP supporters also benefit as they feed at the public trough financed by our tax dollars. Corruption and its associated violence is now endemic and normalized in Jamaica. People accept it and live with it because most have no choice - they can't emigrate. The elites don't care, they have security guards and gated communities.

The safety valves of religion, emigration, entertainment, ganja and remittances have relieved some of the pressure so there has been no general social explosion although there have been localized protests from some groups from time to time. The lack of any revolutionary leadership is also a factor preventing revolutionary change in Ja. Generally speaking, if you avoid certain areas, have a good job or business, avoid going out at night, live in a 'good' area, do not get involved in drugs, you can avoid most of the crime in Jamaica and have a good life in Jamaica. A small, percentage of Jamaicans, mainly professionals, have this good life and will never leave Jamaica.

The Jamaican political gangs evolved into huge organized crime groups no longer under the direct control of the politicians. However, these organized crime groups still guarantee political support for their former political masters in at least 13 garrison communities. This gives the JLP/PNP a huge advantage against any newcomers. This linkage of political parties and gangs effectively guarantees these gangs protection from any real attempt by the authorities to disband them although to pacify public protests token anti gang and anti crime measures are announced from time to time. This nexus between the gangs and political parties prevents new parties such as the United Independent Congress (UIC) from starting as the JLP/PNP start out with an advantage of at least 13 garrison constituencies guaranteed between them. Each party can also count on a base in many constituencies, albeit a minority of the electorate, whose loyalty has been bought with favors and contracts. This corrupts the political process and makes Jamaica's elections transactional. New parties cannot compete with this system as the majority of the electorate, turned off of politics, stay home and do not vote.

Even though the majority of the electorate no longer votes, new parties such as the UIC find it difficult to garner the support of this huge majority of disengaged voters as this block of voters has become cynical of all politicians and politics in general. The mainstream media ignores upstarts such as the UIC and so does the private sector who financially supports both the PNP and the JLP. As long as the JLP/PNP do their bidding, support from the corporate sector is guaranteed. New political parties need money and without private sector support and without the support of the disengaged voters, any new party usually withers and dies. In spite of such a dismal situation, the UIC leadership continues the struggle using social media to spread their messages. I admire their tenacity. The UIC has a huge disadvantage as they 'play by the rules' in a game in which their opponents do not have any moral compass and their corrupt opponents consider laws a useless 'shackle'. In Jamaica, one famous politician said that those who play by the rules get shafted. Will the UIC be shafted? We shall see.

Even if by some miracle, the disengaged voters tried to support a new political movement that genuinely tried to eradicate corruption from Jamaica, the current cabal of politicians, criminal gangs, private sector and bureaucratic elites ruling Jamaica will not give up power easily. What they would do facing such a situation is anybody's guess. People find it hard to believe but even in Haiti, people are benefitting from the current situation. Same thing in Jamaica. Thousands of Jamaicans at home love life in Jamaica and many of us abroad continue to visit.

Some countries' situations, like some sick people, reach a terminal state for which there is no cure. Countries such as Haiti come to mind. Jamaica? Are many Jamaicans giving up the fight? You be the judge. If there was an open border with other countries allowing Jamaicans to leave, the stats show that most Jamaicans would leave. However, the minority benefitting from the current situation would stay.

As far as I am concerned, 'parson christen him pickney fus'. The people mentioned as emigrating in the above Jamaica Observer article have made their judgement. Those of us not voting in elections are voting with their feet....

'Evil flourishes when good people do nothing'.

Raymond D. Grant