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

“At the time, enslaved Black people could find little respite from ever-present surveillance, even in practicing their faith.” - National Museum of African American History and Culture. The legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade continue to reverberate decades after the abolition of slavery. The United Nations states that the enslavement of over 13 million Africans during the Transatlantic Slave Trade was driven by the racist ideology that these women, men and children were inferior because of the colour of their skin. The African Holocaust or Maafa involved numerous European powers such as England, Spain, Denmark, and The Netherlands who were all responsible for the trafficking of our ancestors. In the British West Indies the slavery system was referred to as Chattel Slavery. This was a system whereby the slaves and their offspring were enslaved during their lifetime and were the sole property of the owner. The slaves were bought and sold as commodities. Thank God we made it. It i...

“In the case of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, history will judge us harshly as to how we answer this billion-person question. It may also look back in anger at policy-making amounting to institutionalized manslaughter.”- Professor Julian Kinderlerer- President of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE). Vaping is a relatively new phenomenon. However, this practice has caught on like wild fire in many parts of the world. Vaping devices are popular among pre-teens and teenagers. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse vaping devices are the most commonly used form of nicotine among youth in the United States. Some research shows that many teens do not even realize that vaping cartridges contain nicotine, and assume the pods contain only flavoring. The attractiveness of vaping is rooted in: the easy availability of these devices, appealing advertisements, various e-liquid flavours, and the belief that vaping devices are safer than cigarettes. Additiona...

"We must choose dialogue over confrontation and peaceful settlement of disputes over unilateral acts of imposition."- Nguyen Phu Trong. We all have grown accustomed to read about conflicts in faraway lands. In fact, there are many of us in this part of the Hemisphere who were unaware that there was a conflict brewing between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo Region. The disputed Essequibo Region was at Caricom’s backdoor. However, we can all breathe a sigh of relief as both parties have indicated their willingness to a peaceful resolution. The Venezuelan Boundary Dispute officially began in 1841, when the Venezuelan Government protested alleged British encroachment on Venezuelan territory. In 1814, Great Britain had acquired British Guiana (now Guyana) by treaty with the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the treaty did not define a western boundary, the British then commissioned Robert Schomburgk, a surveyor and naturalist, to delineate that boundary. His 1835 survey resul...

“On International Migrants Day, we highlight the urgent need for safe migration governance rooted in solidarity, partnership, and respect for human rights."- António Guterres- The Secretary-General of the United Nations. From the annals of our history migration has played and continues to play an integral role in the growth and development of societies. People over the years have had to move for various reasons. This phenomenon continues to shape the world in which we live as more individuals seek better opportunities not only for themselves but also their families. Many individuals in an effort to escape hardships, conflicts, violence, climate change, and environmental degradation have had to risk limbs and in some instances lives. In recent times the topic of migration has become a political football of sorts especially at the level of the presidential elections in the United States of America as Republicans and Democrats have weaponized the issue of migration and immigration to...

Here lie the remains of literacy. The writing has been on the wall for quite a while. The interventions have been varied and many; however, the education system continues to fail our boys. Sadly, the society is paying dearly for this consensual failure. The phenomenon of boys’ poor reading skills is a global concern. Literacy is much more than the calling of words. The failure to which reference is made stems from a background that many of us have detached ourselves from reading. The proliferation of social media has also added nail in the coffin of literacy. Unfortunately, too many of our students continue to struggle with the basics, such as filling out a job application form or even to construct a simple sentence. We cannot solely place all the blame on the students. It is rather unfortunate that the positive behavior to which our students should aspire is not seen a lot. Our students do not have enough examples of adults reading in order to model such behaviors and this is sympto...

“Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity.”- Mother Teresa. We often speak about human rights in a loose manner. Perhaps, this is from a perspective of being ill-informed as well as being victims of injustice of one sort or another. Additionally, human right is oftentimes juxtaposed with justice. It is our ignorance of our human rights coupled with a culture of fear and intimidation that facilitates the continued abuse of our human rights. The Constitution of Jamaica guarantees the Jamaican citizen a number of rights: The right to life, liberty and security of person except in the execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offense of which the person has been convicted. Additionally, human rights are: The right to freedom of thought, conscience, belief and observance of political doctrines the right to freedom of expression, the right to equality before the law, the right to free...

“If we are to achieve a richer culture, we must weave one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.”- Margaret Meade. The annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on 3 December was proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. The day also highlights the importance of inclusivity, accessibility, and equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities, while also celebrating their achievements and contributions to society. The day is about promoting the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities at every level of society and development, and to raise awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of political, social, economic, and cultural life. However, given the multiple crises we face today, oftentimes the rights...

“Slavery is both a historic horror and a contemporary outrage.”- António Guterres- Secretary-General United Nations. You are not alone to question why there is a need for us to have an International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. For many of us as far as we know slavery was abolished. However, the manifestations of slavery still exist. Slavery has been repurposed and repackaged. Slavery takes place daily in the spaces we occupy, yet we are clueless to this human rights violation. The popular narrative is for us to think of slavery in some far away land, where the language is different from what we speak and where the cultural differences are many. However, as human beings regardless of our language, educational background, skin colour or religious beliefs we share a common heritage. The Transatlantic Slave Trade was profitable, so too modern day slavery. The fact is slavery is a big business; the financiers of slavery will do anything to ensure that this scourge against humanity...

“World AIDS Day arrives at a defining moment. AIDS-related deaths have fallen by almost 70 per cent since their peak in 2004, and new HIV infections are at the lowest point since the 1980s. But AIDS still takes a life every minute. We can and must end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.”- António Guterres- Secretary-General of the United Nations. Did you know that over 3 500 people acquire HIV daily? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), since the beginning of the epidemic, 85.6 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 40.4 million people have died of HIV. Globally, 39.0 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2022. Every year on December 1st, the world unites to commemorate World AIDS Day. This annual event serves as a reminder of the global struggle to end HIV-related stigma, an opportunity to honour those we have lost, and a rallying cry to continue working toward a day when HIV is no longer a public health threat. World AIDS Day i...