The Intersection of Gender, Culture and Education: Jamaica: The Next 50 Years!

The events which transpired on Tuesday, January 28 will long remain in the memories of most Jamaicans. In addition to the 7:7 earthquake which struck Jamaica at approximately 2:10 pm and which triggered panic attacks among the population, a number of persons on social media circulated news that Jamaica had a suspected case of the dreaded coronavirus.   The already tense atmosphere soon went into overdrive by early afternoon when the earthquake struck. According to dictionary.com panic is a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior, and that often spreads quickly through a group of persons. Many persons could not concentrate on their work or studies as news was being circulated on social media that the coronavirus had reached the shores of Jamaica. Social media users, especially on Twitter were very irresponsible in passing on what we now know was not factual news. THE University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) has de...

Tuesday, January 28, 2020 started out like any other day, however, the events of the day would turn out far from being routine as the afternoon descended and the populace went about their daily schedule. Jamaica lies in an earthquake belt and occasionally the island experiences earth tremors and earthquakes. However, today was a bit different; an earthquake struck Jamaica at approximately 2:10 p.m. According to the US Geographical Survey a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and Eastern Cuba at approximately ten minutes after two. The earthquake was centered 139 kilometers (86 miles) northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 140 kilometers (87 miles) west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba. It hit at 2:10 p.m. (1910 GMT) and the epicenter was a relatively shallow 10 kilometers (6 miles) beneath the surface. The quake also hit the Cayman Islands, leaving cracked roads and what appeared to be sewage spilling from cracked mains. The earthquake was felt as fa...

“Great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.”- Martha Graham The institution of slavery in the Caribbean is largely and singlehandedly responsible for shaping post slavery societies throughout this Hemisphere. The remnants of slavery and the slave experiences are still with us many years after slavery was abolished in 1838. One such example of this is seen through the creative arts, namely dance. According to the article “The Social World of the Slaves” published in Encyclopedia.Com, "although house servants lived under the constant supervision of their masters, field hands on large plantations and the slaves on smaller farms did have some time on Sundays and late at night to themselves. They then could gather in the slave quarters, the center of their social life, and share stories, dance, play music, sing, and perform “shouts,” descendants of African tradition in which dancers formed a circle and chanted." It is widely...

“Don’t give up the fight, Stand up for your rights.”- Bob Marley How many of you have ever heard of the country Malawi? Malawi is located in southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south and west. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people who first inhabited the area. Recently, Malawi made the news after the courts upheld that Rastafarianism is a religion and ruled that banning dreadlocks, a Rasta religious symbol is unconstitutional. Many Rastafarians believes Selassie was a prophet descended from the biblical King Solomon, sent by God to liberate black Africans from colonialism.   Interestingly, Rastafarianism developed in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1920s and 1930s. This period in history was characterized by great poverty, depression, and racism and class discrimination. During this time the Rastafarians developed a distinctive style of language, hairstyle,...

"History teaches us that unity is strength, and cautions us to submerge and overcome our differences in the quest for common goals."- Haile Selassie  The greatest obstacle to Caribbean unity and integration is the lack of a Caribbean spirit; sadly this is facilitated by our politicians’ despite the Region’s shared history of enslavement and colonialization. The recent remarks by the Prime Minister of Barbados and Chairman of the 15 member CARICOM bloc, Mia Mottley have once again exposed the unhealed wounds from the failed attempt at Federation among CARICOM states. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), originally the Caribbean Community and Common market, was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas which came into effect on 1 August 1973. The first four signatories were Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. CARICOM’s main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared...

All eyes were on the town of Port Royal as The Marella Discovery 2 with over 2,000 passengers became the first cruise ship to dock at the newly developed Port Royal Cruise Port. The town of Port Royal, Jamaica has had a storied history.   Most of us learnt about Port Royal in primary school as the sunken city. The town was once described as the wickedest city in the Western Hemisphere. Port Royal is located on the southern coast of Jamaica. Port Royal was initially colonized by the Spanish Crown; however, in 1655 the town was attacked and captured by the English. The town of Port Royal soon became a haven for pirates and buccaneers; Sir Henry Morgan is perhaps the most infamous of all pirates to have emerged from the town.   After 1670, the importance of Port Royal and Jamaica to England was evident due to trade in slaves, sugar, and raw materials.  The town became the mercantile center of the Caribbean, with vast amounts of goods flowing in and out of its harbor as ...

“Personality is like a charioteer with two headstrong horses, each wanting to go in different directions.”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Have you ever come across someone who behaves as if the world revolves around them? I bet you have. There is a tendency for us to judge individuals by the personality they display. It is important to note that we all possess varied personalities; some of us are introverted while others are extroverted. We all know of that person who smiles with the entire office and behind the backs of the individuals they cut their throats. Such individuals are not trust worthy and are to be avoided. The Judas Iscariot Effect is alive and well after more than two thousand years. The narcissist will sup with you and throw you under the bus the first time of asking. Unsurprisingly, many of these individuals hold supervisory and management positions in the workplace; narcissism is more popular than we are led to believe. Many of us can identity one or more individuals w...

" Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr To a great extent the Jamaican society has become desensitized to the evils around. The evils which come readily to mind are crime, violence and gender-based violence. However, last week the society was jolted by the murders of two young women by their male partners in a 24 hour time period. Sadly, domestic violence is not new to the society. Gone are the days when intimate partner violence was rooted only in the lower-socio economic background;it cuts across ethnicity, race, religion and educational levels. On closer examination of these disturbing and shocking crimes we now realize that violence against women knows no boundaries. The statistics available from the police points to intolerable levels of violence against women and girls in the Jamaica society.   It is estimated by the United Nations that 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienc...

“Black men struggle with masculinity so much. The idea that we must always be strong really presses us all down, it keeps us from growing.”- Donald Glover Our males are in a crisis. It appears we have seen this headline before. Indeed we have, however, not much have been done to provide our boys and young men with the necessary tools to equip them to become contributing members of the society. Already the society is reaping the negative consequences.   Sadly, this lack of empowerment of our boys and young men continue to have negative and debilitating consequences to the Jamaican society. Perhaps, now is a good time to ask the question whose responsibility it is to save our young males from the crisis they find themselves? Is this the responsibility of the family? The Jamaican family for the most part is also in a crisis. The society continues to witness a high percentage of single female-headed households.   The narrative is getting old but; the men have abandoned their ...

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (St. Matthew 5:4). Perhaps you are too young to remember or maybe you were not born as yet. In 1988, the US Navy (accidentally) shot down an Iranian passenger jet, Iran Air, Flight 655 killing all 290 civilians on boards. On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines, flight 17 (MH17) a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down while flying over eastern Ukraine, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. Fast forward to January 2020 and a Ukrainian Airline passenger plane which was en route to Kiev in the Ukraine crashed in Tehran, Iran killing all 176 passengers. Interestingly, the crash of the Boeing made Ukrainian airliner came only a few hours after Iran bombed bases in nearby Iraq which houses US troops. The plane's operator, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), said 167 passengers and nine crew members were aboard when the plane took off from Tehran International Airport e...

Ever since Iran invaded the United States Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and took 66 diplomats hostage both countries have become sworn enemies. The attack on the US Embassy was the precursor to the Iranian Revolution in which the government of the Shah; Iran became an Islamic State. Over the years Iran became a leading military power in the Middle East. Her powers extend to Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Iran with her vast oil wealth tried to control other countries in the Region. We have all seen the pictures from Iran. Iran is a Muslim society in which women are voiceless and powerless. Occasionally, the country uses hostages as bargaining chips to try and get from the United States some concession. Iran has had a rich history. In Biblical times Iran was referred to as Persia. There are two main sects within Islam. These are Sunni and Shia. The majority of the populations in Iran and Iraq are Shia Muslim. On the other hand in more than 40 countries; Sunni Muslim dominates those populations fro...

I am a lover of chicken. Everyone who knows me can attest to this. Like most Jamaicans I grew up eating meat; whether it was roasted beef around Christmas time, some curried mutton or stewed chicken, meat had to be on our plates at dinner time.   Chicken is rather versatile and can be prepared in so many ways; my favourite way of having chicken is roasted, baked chicken is a close second. Having said that there are many persons who are vegetarians and their diet consists mainly of plant based foods, nuts, peas and beans. There is a growing trend in some parts of the world, especially in Europe, Canada and the USA where people are consuming more plant-based meats. However, the jury is still out regarding how safe plant-based meats are for humans given some of the questionable ingredients which go into the final product. Recently, I heard in a radio interview that some of the ingredients used in the production of meatless meats are also used in the production of fire extinguishers,...

I did not sleep last night. My lack of sleep had nothing to do with the viral infection I am currently battling. Instead, thanks to my neighours who have been playing outrageous music from 2019 I did not get to sleep. Not much has changed in the New Year 2020 regarding the night noise which is seriously impacting and disturbing my sleep and that of my parents. I am having a headache as I put pen to paper. My headaches have become more frequent, so too my strange sleeping pattern. I have had to modify my sleeping patterns, so too my parents. Sadly, we now live in an era where the rights of law-abiding citizens are secondary to the rights of those who are bent on having fun and enjoyment at any cause. Nothing of course is wrong with having fun, especially for those of us who work hard during the work week. However, it cannot be that every Friday night, the promoters of night noise are allowed to play lewd and vulgar lyrics until the wee hours of the morning. The music was turned off ...

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."- Martin Luther King Jr. The beginning of a new year is special for so many reasons. A new year can be the start of a new job or a promotion. For others the start of a new year can be the beginning of a new relationship such as a marriage. Yet for others the start of 2020 can mean a commitment to lose weight. While for others the New Year can be synonymous with an addition to one’s family. We all look forward to the new year whether we are superstitious or not. Each society has superstitions and cultural practices. The calendar year 2020 is a leap year. As a result many people are already very wary of bad things happening. I suspect in the same way some of us believe in horoscope or palm readings which are other superstitious beliefs. However, I throw cold water on these things. One cannot be identified as a child of God and hold on to these fallacies which are not of God....