Our votes matter. Silence changes nothing
Published:Wednesday | July 30, 2025 | 12:09 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
On June 19 and July 22, 2025, The Gleaner published letters I wrote about my family’s experience at The University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). I acknowledged the quality of care provided by health professionals but highlighted a significant weakness: UHWI’s management and administrative systems are not patient- or client-centred.
Following those letters, many people – especially on Facebook – shared their own experiences. One person wrote, “UHWI is consistently tragic.” Another added, “I’m afraid this is fairly typical in the healthcare system.” Evidently, poor management at UHWI is not new. It has been a persistent issue for years. Still, I ask: how many have used the appropriate medium to express their dissatisfaction? The answer: very few.
This silence highlights a deeper problem in our society – especially as a general election gets closer. Many Jamaicans have taken on a similar indifferent attitude, claiming their vote won’t make any difference. However, I see things differently.
My counterproposal is based on the concept of critical mass. Had enslaved Africans or colonised Jamaicans thought this way, we might not have achieved emancipation or political independence. There are recent examples of this. Under Prime Minister Bruce Golding, the Jamaica Labour Party eventually gave in to public pressure – through letters, protests, and persistent calls – to extradite Christopher “Dudus” Coke. These moments demonstrate the power of cumulative, persistent public pressure. Change happens when individual voices unite into a collective that becomes impossible to ignore.
A reader replied to my letter, stating, “More patients and their families should give this type of feedback to policymakers and administrators.” I agree. When shared regularly and positively, public feedback can create the moral and civic pressure needed to drive reform.
Our ancestors used the communication technologies of their time – religious rites and burning sugar plantations – to protest and build momentum towards liberation. As their 21st-century descendants, we have even more tools at our disposal: the pen, the press, and social media. Let us not disappoint them. Let us not fail to protest. Every written word, every shared post, every cast vote contributes to the critical mass for change. As the Jamaican saying goes, “ One, one cocoa full basket.” Every protest, letter, post, or vote adds to the basket of revolutionary action towards national change.
In healthcare and governance, our voices matter. Our votes matter. Silence changes nothing. We must speak, write, vote—and build a better Jamaica, one courageous voice at a time.
FR DONALD CHAMBERS