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...

 http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/gov-t-calling-out-national-reserve_208706?profile=1606 Normally, at this time of the year, unarmed police trainees are put on the streets under the supervision of training officers so I hope this is also done again this Christmas. These trainees patrol in groups of 3 or more and are not armed with guns - only non-lethal weapons. The training officer can be armed with a gun. The trainees have radios so that they can call for backup when necessary. I was once a member of the JDF Reserves. I had a job at the time and the active service involved training and exercises on week ends, holidays and vacations. This was in the Good Old Days when crime in Jamaica was very low. I was never called up full-time. I enjoyed the training and exercises which helped my career. It was also fun so I urge young people to join. You can continue your studies or keep your job and still serve in the JDF. The call up of the reserves is a good move but this is pretty much ...

 http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/-silence-in-the-face-of-evil-is-itself-evil-_208436?profile=1100?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&profile=1100&usqp=mq331AQHKAFQArABIA== Few people are as brave as Mr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the noted German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was executed in 1945. He put it best when he said: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. . If we are waiting on most people to exhibit that kind of bravery, we will be waiting a long time. I certainly do not recommend that people come forward the way the writer suggests as I do not want their death on my conscience. This writer urges us to come forward with info to a police force that is corrupt and has members in league with the gangs. It is widely known that the best and brightest or our police officers leave the JCF early. Why? One example of how corrupt and inefficient our security forces are is how they deal with illegal dances. I have been on the phone to ...

 Title: How Democracies Die Authors: Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt Available: Amazon Kindle The problem with democracy is that it is a bad form of government but the other forms of government are so much worse. We have to accept that any form of government is going to be less than perfect. Democracy can be messy. The word 'democracy' means different things to different people. To some, such as the writers of this book, true democracy, majority rule, can lead to a 'tyranny' of the majority. This 'tyranny' can be tempered by a constitution protecting minority and individual rights - but not always. Examples of regimes ignoring the constitution abound in this book. The writers' view of a resilient democracy seems to be one where mainstream party leaders called 'Gatekeepers' restrict who have access to power. The authors submit that this is a better form of democracy than one that allows anyone to contest for state power. Gatekeepers prevent 'un...

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/the-agenda/radical-democracy-left-politics-and-the-pnp-a-tribute-to-d-k-duncan_208237?profile=1096 Well educated, people of good intentions join the political establishment and yet things keep getting worse. The Bible says something about old wine skins which is appropriate. If you enter and submit to a corrupt political structure, more times than not, you become corrupt and/or a party to corruption. 'His (DK's) struggle was to make their (Jamaicans) lives a decent and humane one with dignity.' DK failed, Jamaica is a failure....People like the DKs and Bogues of Jamaica should have formed a movement of real change instead of grafting themselves into the stinking, rotting albatross of the JLP/PNP political establishment. The political parties, rotten as they were, seemed to be the way and Michael Manley was a good salesman...... A real opportunity was lost in the 60's. All these well educated people of good intentions need to accept that we...

 http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/world-news/20201016/french-leader-decries-terrorist-beheading-teacher Before 9/11 when I was a student at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, I wrote about and spoke out against some of the backward practices of some who claim to to be followers of the prophet of Islam. I specifically criticized Female Genital Mutilation and the general treatment of women in Islamic countries. I also warned that fanatical Muslims would cause problems for us in the future. Then 9/11 happened and everyone said 'You were right!' I got death threats on my phone, I was attacked by mobs of Muslim students at the school and had to have a campus police escort to and from classes. Thanks to the campus police, I was very lucky not to be beheaded. I had to eventually end my studies, leave Carleton U and flee Canada so they won. Most Muslims are very peaceful, loving people but there is a significant fanatical element in Islam which the mainstream Muslim community an...