LETTER OF THE DAY - Jamaica is in a bind

The Editor, Sir:

Over the past few days, the media have attempted to view the eruption in Jamaica through the lenses of a drug and gun fuelled political war, a Mafia-style don protecting his people, and an interfering northern neighbour. I offer another perspective.

Jamaica has a long history of mass anger erupting into violence. For brevity, I'll begin with the 1938 riots. When falling prices of sugar and bananas left workers penniless, there were riots around the first election in 1944, and there were the Bellevue riots of 1946 in which Alexander Bustamante was accused of manslaughter. There were bus service strikes and bombings in 1948; riots around the elections in 1949; the Myrtle Bank strike of 1950, and so on. Generally, elections are accompanied by violence, but it can also erupt outside that cycle. Always, the violence is pitilessly suppressed by the police and army.

Politicians exploit the anger, having learned that without it they can't win, and then attempt to placate it when they do by handing out jobs and other spoils to their supporters. This began with Sir Alexander, and leaders from both parties have followed suit. And the cause of the anger?

(1) Revenge for abuse at the hands of the enforcers - and I have witnessed that abuse.

(2) Unfulfilled promises to both the winners and the losers.

(3) Jealousy of the rich by the poor.

(4) The disillusionment that comes from the realisation that there are no prospects on this earth .

(5) The unrelenting grind required to get anything done amidst a crumbling and unsupported infrastructure.

Jamaica is in a bind. The police suppress the anger to maintain anything approaching a functioning economy, the rich support the police for the same reason, the politicians have to use the anger or have it used against them, and the suppression of the poor fuels further resentment. Certainly, the US's appetite for drugs, the ready supply of guns, and the glorification of violence in song exacerbate the situation, but history would show they are not the root cause.

Acknowledgement and action

Any solution requires an acknowledgement of the current situation followed by action on those factors over which Jamaicans have influence; the nature of the suppression, the nature of the elections, the inequity, and how precious resources are spent or how they are perceived to be spent. Blaming others, looking for solutions from outside the island, bemoaning the lack of resources, or complaining about our historical legacy are not helpful.

Jamaica has set an example of how to rise from the ashes of slavery and colonialism. Its people are its greatest natural resource - creative, energetic, resourceful, multi-talented and renowned. They deserve politicians who do more than struggle for nothing more dignified than power. The privileged - those at the front of the queue - must understand that helping those behind them is in their own best interests and that suppression perpetuates the violence. I realise it's easy to offer advice from 3,000 miles away, but distance brings perspective, and I do so with the hope that this mirror can help start the dialogue that will lead to change, and allow Jamaica once again to show why they have had such a disproportionately large and positive impact on world culture.

I am, etc.,

MAXWELL WELLS

maxwells@nutn.net

Seattle, Washington