Jamaica: Economic and Social Statistics

Political Party Performance At a Glance

• Election History By Year
• Economic Indicators
  • Balance of Trade
  • Net International Reserves
  • Population below the Poverty Line
  • Unemployment Rate By Year
  • Inflation Rate By Year
  • GDP Real Growth Rate
  • Exchange Rate By Year
  • The National Debt
  • Tourist Arrival By Year
  • Total Agricultural Output
• Murder Rate
  • Policing Killings By Year
  • Year To Date Murder Rate
  • Total Murders By Year
• Political Party Scandals By Year
• Social Activism,Organized Protest & Rallies

Election History

Year	Winner	Notes
1944	JLP	The JLP won the election with 23 seats, PNP won 4: ***Universal Adult Suffrage***
1949	JLP	The JLP won the election with 17 Seats, PNP won 13 seats
1955	PNP	The PNP won the election with 18 Seats, JLP 14 seats
1959	PNP	The PNP won the election with 29, JLP won 16 seats in a 45 seat house
1962	JLP	The JLP won the election with 26 seats and 50.04% of the votes: ***Independence***
1967	JLP	The JLP won 33 constituencies with 62.3% of the votes while the PNP took 18 with 37.7% of the votes
1972	PNP	The PNP with 69.8% of the vote to the JLP's 16 seats with 30.2% of the votes
1976	PNP
1980	JLP	The JLP took 51 seats with 85% of the votes while the PNP won 9 seats with 15% of the votes
1983	JLP	PNP boycott the election
1989	PNP	the PNP with 45 seats and 75% of the votes to the JLP's 15 seats and 25% of the votes
1993	PNP	The PNP secured 40.07% of the votes, the JLP 26.28% of the votes
1997	PNP
2002	PNP
2007	JLP
2011	PNP

Economic Indicators

The National Budget (JA$ Billion)

Year	Expenditure	Revenue	Notes
2009-2010	$593		The country's public-debt obligations (principal and interest) amount to nearly 56 per cent of the total Budget while interest obligations amount to nearly 45 per cent of the 2009-10 recurrent Expenditure Budget
2010-2011	$503.9		Debt servicing is now 47 per cent of the total budget. This Budget started low but was hit by a number of Supplemental Budgets.
2011-2012	$536
2012-2013	$612		More than 54% of $612 billion Budget to service loans and interest
2013-2014	$520.88

Trade Deficit

• Jamaica's trade deficit swelled to more than 3 Point 2 Billion U.S dollars (US$3.2 Billion) over the January to August of 2011 period while the import bill which reached over whopping US$4.3 billion dollars, exports earnings was only US$1.1billion dollars
• Jamaica’s trade deficit with the US and other nations declined to US$1.349 Billion in 2009 from US$2.745 Billion in 2008

Trade Surplus With CARICOM: 2010

• Antigua and Barbuda (US$4.9 million)
• Grenada (US$1.8 million)
• Montserrat (US$500,000)
• St Kitts (US$3.2 million)
• St Vincent (US$2.4 million)

Trade Deficit With CARICOM

• In 2011 between January and August Imports from CARICOM reached over US$766 Million
• In 2011 between January and August Exports to CARICOM was valued at US$45 million.
• In 2010 between January and August the trade deficit grew by 320-Million U.S. dollars.
• Between 2009-2010 Jamaican exports to Caricom markets grew by more than 70 per cent, to US$209.1 million ONLY!!
• In 2008 Jamaica’s trade deficit with the Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) ballooned to US$1.6 Billion Dollars

Balance of Trade with Trinidad and Tobago:

• In 2008 Jamaica Imported US$1.4 Billion worth of goods from Trinidad and Tobago
• In 2008 Jamaica Exported US$19 million to Trinidad and Tobago
• In 2009 Jamaica's trade deficit with Trinidad and Tobago stood at US$616 million
• In 2010 Jamaica's trade deficit with Trinidad and Tobago stood at US$702 million

Jamaica Import Source

• In 2008, 40 per cent of Jamaica’s import was from the United States,
• 17.6 per cent came from Trinidad
• 11.7 per cent from Venezuela

Balance of Trade (US $Dollar)

Year	Balance	Import	Export	Notes
2006	$-3,666,525	5,650,427	1,983,902
2007	$-4,587,771	6,892,971	2,305,200	3 Months After Election
2008	$-5,666,718	8,162,874	2,496,156
2009	$-3,738,260	5,057,631	1,319,371
2010	$-3,889,391	5,226,763	1,337,372
2011	$-4,990,459	6,614,757	1,624,298	Election: December 29th
2012	$-3,606,082	4,844,233	1,238,151	Jan-Sep 2012*

Net International Reserves (NIR: U.S. Dollar Billion)

Year	Amount	Notes
2006	$2.35b	Record High
2007	$2.067	Month Before Election
2007	$1.877	3 Months After Election
2008	$1.49
2011	$1.96	Election: December 29th
2012	$1.77	3 Months After Election
2013	$890.43	As of Sept...

Population below the Poverty Line

Year	Percent	Notes
1990	28.4
1992	34.2
2002	19.7
2003	14.8
2007	9.8	Election: Spetember 3rd
2009	16.5
2010	20.3
2011	???	Election: December 29th
2012	???

Unemployment Rate By Year:

Year	Percent	Notes
2000	15.5
2001	15
2002	14.2
2003	11.8
2004	12.2
2005	11.2
2006	10.3
2007	9.8	Election: Spetember 3rd
2008	10.5
2009	11.4
2010	12.4
2011	12.9	Election: December 29th
2012	12.8	Down from 14.1%
2013	16.30	As of: April 2013

Inflation Rate:

Jamaica's Financial Year is from March to March

Year	Rate	Notes
1987	11.2
1988	8.6
1989	16.12	Election: February 9th
2000	8.142
2000	8.142
2001	6.881
2002	6.991
2003	14.6
2004	11.6
2005	11.3
2006	5.6
2007	9.306	Election: Spetember 3rd
2008	22.016
2009	9.569
2010	11.7
2011	6.0	Election: December 29th
2012
2013	7.64	As Of: Sept, 2013

2012
8.0
source: digjamaica.com

GDP Real Growth Rate: Constant Prices

Year	Percent	Notes
1987	7.7
1988	-3.993
1989	4.7	Election: February 9th
1990	4.875
1991	1.032
1992	1.743
1993	1.7
1994	0.9
1995	2.521
1996	-0.243
1997	-1.595
1998	-1.011
1999	1.048
2000	0.97
2001	1.345
2002	0.97
2003	3.502
2004	0.97
2005	1.444
2006	2.991
2007	1.432	Election: September 3rd
2008	-0.915
2009	-3.046
2010	-1.217
2011	1.5	Election: December 29th
2012	???

The Jamaica Gleaner DigJamaica Statistic Portal, Jamaica’s Real GDP % “Growth”

Exchange Rate:

Year	Rate	Notes
2006	65.76
2007	69.03
2008	72.23
2009	87.89
2010	87.41
2011	86.34
2012	92.65
2013	105.58	As of Nov 11th

The National Debt

World Economic Forum Global Competitive Index for 2011 indicated that Jamaica had dropped 12 places in the ranking of 142 regional economies. Jamaica had a ranking of 107 among the142 nations included in the 2011 Index.

As Of:	Total Debt	Notes
2007	$850 Billion
2011	$1.6 Trillion	130% of GDP (Nov 2011)
2012	$1.7 Trillion
2013	$1.8 Trillion	As of: Oct, 2013

Jamaica External Debt (Billion US$):

Year	Rate	Notes
2000	3.8
2001	4.7
2002	5.2
2003	5.3
2004	4.96
2005	5.96
2006	7.16
2007	7.38	Election: September 3rd
2008	9.66
2009	10.2
2010	10.56
2011	12.66	Election: December 29th
2012	14.7

Tourist Arrivals

Total Visitor (Stopover + Cruise Passengers) arrivals by air and sea hit a record 3.07 million in 2011, an 8.4 per cent hike year-on-year, which beat the previous record set six years ago.

While to the numbers look good, I would like to know how it translate to Gross and Net hard earnings, having large number means nothing if the money generated is air lifted/repatriated back to the home country of the hotel owner, not to mention these big hotel mostly exist in a tax free world. An Idea of what we earn vs. what we could earn would be nice, anyway something better than nothing.

Minister of Tourism Ed Bartlett said that many destinations are retaining as low as seven cents of every dollar tourists spend, noting that much of the tourist dollar "goes back to where it came from". He pointed out that research has shown that only about three per cent of the produce from the agricultural sector currently goes into tourism "We quarrel about export issues and trade issues and competition in the global market for our commodities and agricultural produce, and we're sitting right here with an export industry that has the capability to absorb every kilo of our supplies, every unit, and we ignore it,"

An independent study by Wealthy Foreign special interest Lobbyist of the Jamaican Tourist Industry proclaimed that tourism contributes 19.5 per cent of GDP, generates one in four of all jobs and is the leading export industry as oppose to the STATIN figure of 7.3% GDP contribution. These people do not want to pay their fair share of taxes and would like nothing more than to continue enjoying the good life at our expense. So they commission a bogus study to Big Up themselves, trying to tell us that STATIN in wrong and they are right. These Foreign owners have been exporting their super profit for decades and would like nothing more than to continue doing so while making marginal contribution to the Jamaican economy. They feel that if they throw the words “Oxford and Economist“ around enough then we will be so impressed and believe every word. It is only when the Government started to look at their low contribution that they now see fit to commission this study in order to protect their interest.

Stop Over Visitors (Only) By year

Year	Total	Notes
2003	1,350,285
2004	1,414,663
2005	1,478,663
2006	1,905,678
2007	1,700,785	Election: September 3rd
2008	1,767,271
2009	1,831,097
2010	1,921,678
2011	1.95 Million	Election: December 29th
2012	1.97 Million

Jamaica Total Agricultural Output (Tonnes)

Year	Total	Notes
2003	491,473
2008	400,110
2009	489,672
2009	489,672
2010	500,305
2011	??	Election: December 29th
2012	??

Crime Statistics

Yearly Death By Police

Year	Murders	Notes
2002	133
2003	113
2008	224
2009	253
2010	382	73 People was Killed in 2 days during the Dudus Affair. Between years 2000 and 2010 there was 2,220 fatal shootings by police but only 2 police officers have ever been charged.
2011	213	Election: December 29th
2012	219	nearly 30 of them was killed in March alone

Murder By Month By Year

Month	2012	2011	2010	2009
Jan - Mar	272	242	428	359
April	070	093	137	123
May	119	102	184	155
June	088	089	098	123
July	087	104	086	163
August	102	103	082	143
September	093	094	078	134
October	077	100	108	178
November	086	101	128	149

Jamaica Total Murders By Year:

Year	Murders	Notes
1998	953
1999	849
2000	887
2001	1100	BBC Estimate
2002	1045
2003	975
2004	1471
2005	1674
2006	1340
2007	1583	Election: September 3rd
2008	1618
2009	1683	A new record highest ever with 13 persons killed in the first 48 hours of 2009.
2010	1428
2011	1124	Election: December 29th
2012	1087	Total Number of Jamaicans murdered Between 1998 to 2012 ...18,817

Jamaica Political Party Scandals By Year:

Year	Scandal	Notes
1989	The Zinc Scandal ($500 million)	In the zinc scandal of 1989, some $500 million of hurricane relief zinc from overseas destined for poor people were diverted to political favourites and never reached the intended beneficiaries.
1991	The Furniture Scandal ($10.6 million)	The furniture scandal which involved more than $10 million being spent to furnish, among other places, a town house for the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Ben Clare.
1991	The Shell Waiver Scandal ($29.5 million)	PJ Patterson was the responsible minister who had authorized a $29.5 million waiver on duties to the Shell Company in 1991. This led to the resignation of then Finance Minister P.J. Patterson from the Cabinet
2001	The NetServ Scandal ($220 million)	The NetServ scandal, where the Government paid out more than $200 million to the failed IT company despite due diligence reports which warned against doing business with the firm.The scandal led to the loss of $220 million after investigations revealed that its operations were no longer viable. The company started operations in June 2001 with high expectations of creating some 3,000 jobs in the same year and 10,000 jobs by 2004.The company failed to get anywhere near those goals and went into receivership in December 2001 with only 209 employees. The issue resulted in calls for the removal of Minister of Commerce Phillip Paulwell, but the Prime Minister downplayed criticism of the minister calling his actions "youthful exuberance".
2002	NHDC and Operation Pride ($5.5 billion)	NHDC and the Operation Pride housing projects that it administers. There are allegations of corruption and mismanagement at the NHDC, where there was a $35 million overpayment on a Operation Pride housing project. Racking up a massive $5.5 billion in misappropriated funds, investigations showed the funds were due to cost overruns that surmounted the original cost in 10 of 100 Operation Pride Projects between 1997 and 2002. The person who figured prominently in the scandal was Dr. Karl Blythe who later resigned as minister.
2006	The Trafigura Scandal	Rocked the PNP in 2006 after it emerged that the then governing party accepted a $31-million gift from the Dutch firm Trafigura Beheer which, at the time, had an oil-lifting agreement with Jamaica. The party has since said the money was returned.
2006	Solid Waste Scandal ($2 billion)	After investigations into the awarding of contracts to some consultants and maintenance service providers showed that certain procedures pertaining to the awarding of contracts had not been followed. In a damning report to Parliament, Contractor-General Derrick McKoy noted that $1.4 billion was for the collection of sweeping contracts; $401 million for maintenance services; $35 million for motor vehicles and $25 million for consultancy services. The eruption of the scandal led to the resignation of that board and the installation of a team led by former Town Clerk Errol Green.
2006	The Whitehouse scandal ($2 billion)	The Whitehouse scandal followed afterwards as investigations revealed that cost overruns during the construction of the 400-room hotel amounted to US$45 million. The scandal erupted in calls for a forensic audit into the construction of the hotel. Government named president of the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association, Don Mullings, Head of a team in October, but Mullings resigned a month later following accusations by the JLP that he was tied to the PNP. The JLP argued that Mr. Mullings received $2 billion in Government contracts through his company, M&M Jamaica Limited, and as such was not qualified to lead the team. Another team, to be led by Desmond Hayle, president of the Jamaica Institute of Architects, was subsequently named by the Prime Minister. Mr. Hayle was a member of the team that was to be led by Mr. Mullings.
2007	Cuban Light Bulb Scandal	The project involved the distribution of four million free Cuban light bulbs island wide and allegation was made that $114 million was improperly spent on the distribution of four million energy-saving light bulbs donated by the Cuban Government to the people of Jamaica by Kern Spencer. In January 2008, the auditor-general reported that about 176,380 of the four million bulbs, costing approximately $92 million, could not be accounted for.
2009	The Dudus Scandal	In August 2009, the JLP-formed government received what would turn out to be a tenure-defining extradition request. The delay in signing the extradition warrant sparked much controversy, one can clearly say that all hell broke loose when the Bruce Golding led Government decided to take on the United States of America and put Jamaican’s US visas at risk. This resulted in the mother of all standoff between the JLP Government and the mother of all Garrisons, the JLP's strong hold and constituency Tivoli Gardens. The army incursion into Tivoli Gardens resulted in 73 civilians killed in 2 days, 2 policemen and 1 soldier dead, and numerous others injured. Armed gangs performed military style coordinated attacks on police stations and which left 2 of them on fire. Certain sections of the corporate area became a war zone all because the Prime Minister and the Government tried to prevent the extraction of one of their Activist/Gunman/warlord/gang leader/enforcer and financial backer
2009	The Manatt, Phelps & Philips Scandal	The Manatt, Phelps & Philips scandal was spawned by the Christopher 'Dudus' Coke extradition request. The Manatt mess, as it is called in some quarters, is undoubtedly the biggest scandal to hit the ruling JLP since the party came to power in 2007. It was reported that the JLP Government paid an American law firm to lobby the US Government to drop the extradition request, this was denied by the Government over and over and over again and the then Prime Minister over and over until finally the Prime Minister admitted that he had in fact paid the law firm but when he paid the law firm he did so as leader of the JLP and not the Prime Minister… (I could not make this stuff up even if I tried ... That was the mother of all excuses)
2009	Mabey and Johnson Bribery Scandal	The infamous Mabey and Johnson bridge-building bribery case that implicated former State Minister in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Joseph Hibbert. In July 2009, the British engineering company, Mabey and Johnson, confessed that it had tried to influence officials in Jamaica and Ghana to get public contracts. However, the JLP reiterated its belief in Hibbert's innocence.
2009	Hon. Mike Henry: House Purchase/Upgrade Scandal	In August 2009, Mike Henry, minister of transport and works, was hauled over the coals after a Sunday Gleaner investigations, revealed that a total of $50 million had been spent for the purchase and upgrade of the minister's state-owned house. In an attempt to put the prickly issue to bed, Henry told the media that he would address it in Gordon House. The Sunday Gleaner's revelation of the Port Authority of Jamaica's purchase and refurbishment of the house, which was part of the assets of the defunct Jamaica Omnibus Service, triggered a firestorm of criticisms. Henry reportedly justified the expenses as he suggested that the house was in poor condition and he was not accustomed to living in squalor.
2009	Tourism Minister Office Scandal	In October 2009, another Sunday Gleaner investigation revealed that the New Kingston-based headquarters of the Ministry of Tourism spent $8.4 million to retrofit the minister's offices between May 2008 and March 2009, in the midst of the severe economic downturn and significant shortfall in funding for the agency. In January 2008, months before the completion of this project, Prime Minister Bruce Golding issued instructions for Cabinet to curtail expenditure. But this did not seem to apply to the tourism ministry.. he too it seemed was not accustomed to working in squalor.
2011	Hon. Mike Henry: JDIP Scandal	In a nut shell, money that was to be used for infrastructure development was used to purchase furniture because Mike is not accustomed to living or working in squalor. In one of her findings, Monroe Ellis said contrary to the provisions of the Government’s procurement guidelines, the NWA used the sole source method to award a contract to China Harbour Engineering Company for approximately $102 million to refurbish its corporate offices, without the required approval of the National Contracts Commission. That issue was raised yesterday at the PAC which also heard that five 40-foot containers of furniture valued at $62 million were discovered by Contractor General Greg Christie yesterday on the premises of the NWA and that they had been procured using funds allocated for the Palisadoes Shoreline Protection and Rehabilitation Works Project. Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry submitted his resignation to new Prime Minister Andrew Holness, NWA CEO Patrick Wong was also forced to resign.
2011	The Denial Of US help and Spy Plane Scandal	When news broke in America that the Jamaican Government requested the United States help during the Dudus extradition saga and the incursion of Tivoli and that a spy plane was used, the Jamaican Government went into the mother of all denial. When quizzed about the issue, the then Minister of Information Daryl Vaz, had denied Jamaica had received any external help. National Security Minister Dwight Nelson said he checked the records at the ministry and the Jamaica Defense Force and found no request for assistance from the United States. These bold face denials went on for days. An investigative piece in the American magazine, The New Yorker, revealed that despite the Jamaican Government saying otherwise, a U.S. spy plane did in fact take surveillance imagery of Tivoli Gardens on May 24, 2010 during the security operation. The Department of Homeland Security incident report and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Authority have confirmed that the plane assisted the Jamaican Government during the Tivoli operation. It also said that the P-3 Orion passed information to U.S law-enforcement officers stationed at the U.S. embassy, who then provided that information to Jamaican authorities. Like a Jedi Master performing the Jedi mind trick National Security Minister Dwight Nelson said “There was no spy plane”, "... but di trick neva work". The P-3 Orion was witnessed by people on the ground and pictures of it above Tivoli was taken and distributed. The then Prime Minister Andrew Holness was forced to admit that the country entered into an agreement with the United States government to carry out surveillance during the security operations in Tivoli Gardens, West Kingston. The thing is all of this smoke and mirror lies was not necessary as most Jamaicans not only welcome but wanted help From the United States to deal with the situation and did not see the big deal or any reason to lie about it, asking for US help in this case was a good thing. The lie was not called for and so an unnecessary scandal was created for no reason at all. Wired: Jamaica Massacre
2012	Desecration of the Jamaica Flag Scandal	The scandal involves the swearing in ceremony of the Montego Bay mayor, during the ceremony it was noticed that the Backdrop which was to depict the Jamaican flag was missing the colour green which is also the colour of the opposition Jamaica Labour Party. It seemed that some low class dirty, moron decided to instruct the contractor to leave out the green from the backdrop, it was the most low class, disgusting and arrogant thing to do. Now instead of analyzing and investigating the situation before responding the PNP Government came out with a number of conflicting responses/bold face lies. (1)The Contractor ran out of Green (yeah right) (2) We do not know who told the contractor, (3) That person named by the contractor does not work for the office of the Prime Minister, we do not know who that person is, (4) The Swearing in ceremony was planned by the outgoing JLP administration and (5) The person who do not work for us and who we do not know have now resigned (6) We will launch a full investigation. Initially, Mayor Harris had apologised for the debacle and said that he had nothing to do with the decoration, which featured a huge black cloth with a gold soltire in the form of the Jamaican flag. Yesterday, Minister Arscott apologised for what he termed “the inadvertent misuse of the colours of the Jamaican flag” at the swearing-in ceremony. Local Government Minister Noel Arscott said that special assistant Courtney Hume, who is alleged to have instructed the decorator to leave the green out of a stage backdrop designed to depict the Jamaican flag at the March 29 swearing-in ceremony of new St James councillors, has resigned. The PNP issued an official apology and the Opposition demand that the Mayor resign.
20??	????	It is not if but when ...It Is Inevitable, the political class is genetically predisposed to Scandal

Mass Social Activism/Movements,Protest and Rallies:

All progressive societies have dynamic and well organized groups designed to push progressive Nation Building Agendas. These progressive societies understand that the people are an integral part of Government, a vital part, a valid branch of Government. It is not vote and forget but vote and engage, they understand that the concept of Government is not limited to the elected officials alone but extends to the entire population who must communicate their desires, their intentions and displeasure by organized mass protest and rallies designed to send strong messages to the Elected Officials, kind of like guiding sheep in the right direction.

When I say protest and mass rally I am not talking about the infrequent block road by 20 people because police killed one of their loved community murdering dons/warlord. I am talking about organized protest and Mass rallies that transcend the political divide, transcends race, transcends education level and transcends class. Rallies and Protest so big that it shuts down an entire country or a Capital City and says to a Government we are mad as hell and not taking it anymore, do your job OR no, no you are heading in the wrong direction this is the direction we want to go OR address these issues now!

Politically motivated protests are almost always organized with the intention of destabilizing the country and the existing Government so as to propel the opposing party into power. It is almost never organized for the greater good of the country but for the selfish needs of that party for power. Progressive Pro-Active organized groups do not care about which party is in power, there purpose is the same regardless of party because their sole intention is to force the Government of the day to do the right thing by the people.

Year	Mass Rallies	Notes
1979	Gas Riot	Not a socially conscious Mass Rally but a smash and grab organized by opposing the Political Party, VIOLENT PROTESTS, looting and shootings triggered by a hike in fuel prices brought Jamaica to a standstill rioters started fires, looted shops and set a large sugar cane plantation ablaze. Block roads and charge motorist a fee to pass.
1985	Gas Riot	Not a socially conscious Mass Rally but a smash and grab organized by opposing the Political Party, VIOLENT PROTESTS, looting and shootings triggered by a hike in fuel prices brought Jamaica to a standstill rioters started fires, looted shops and set a large sugar cane plantation ablaze. Block roads and charge motorist a fee to pass.
1999	Gas Riot	Not a socially conscious Mass Rally but a smash and grab organized by opposing the Political Party, VIOLENT PROTESTS, looting and shootings triggered by a hike in fuel prices brought Jamaica to a standstill rioters started fires, looted shops and set a large sugar cane plantation ablaze. Block roads and charge motorist a fee to pass.
2011	Occupy Half-Way-Tree	Only a handful of Persons turned out(20) for the Occupy Half-Way-Tree protest organized by Child rights group “Hear the Children's Cry” and the “New Nation Coalition” who chained themselves to a median near the historic clock in Half-Way-Tree Square in protest against what they say were "Inequities and Injustices in the Jamaican society".
2012	Police Corruption and Killings	Jamaicans for Justice Called for a mass protest but ONLY 60 People turned up.
	Government Corruption, Lies and Empty Promises	No Mass Rally or Protest have ever been organized to send a strong message to the Government that this is a serious issue and needs to be addressed A.S.A.P. Both the people, Political Parties and the Government continue to “Pay Lip Service” to this matter in order to score political points. I do believe that even if a Mass Rally or a Protest was organized that only a hand full of people would bother to show up, unless off course you get a sound system, some semi-literate DJ’s and hand out free rice from the back of a truck.
	Increasing Murder/Crime Rate	No Mass Rally or Protest have ever been organized to send a strong message to the Government that this is a serious issue and needs to be addressed A.S.A.P. Both the people, Political Parties and the Government continue to “Pay Lip Service” to this matter in order to score political points. I do believe that even if a Mass Rally or a Protest was organized that only a hand full of people would bother to show up, unless off course you get a sound system, some semi-literate DJ’s and hand out free rice from the back of a truck.
	Economic Mismanagement and Hardship	No Mass Rally or Protest have ever been organized to send a strong message to the Government that this is a serious issue and needs to be addressed A.S.A.P. Both the people, Political Parties and the Government continue to “Pay Lip Service” to this matter in order to score political points. I do believe that even if a Mass Rally or a Protest was organized that only a hand full of people would bother to show up, unless off course you get a sound system, some semi-literate DJ’s and hand out free rice from the back of a truck.
	Crumbling and/or missing infrastructure	No Mass Rally or Protest have ever been organized to send a strong message to the Government that this is a serious issue and needs to be addressed A.S.A.P. Both the people, Political Parties and the Government continue to “Pay Lip Service” to this matter in order to score political points. I do believe that even if a Mass Rally or a Protest was organized that only a hand full of people would bother to show up, unless off course you get a sound system, some semi-literate DJ’s and hand out free rice from the back of a truck.
	Child abuse on rise in Jamaica	No Mass Rally or Protest have ever been organized to send a strong message to the Government that this is a serious issue and needs to be addressed A.S.A.P. Both the people, Political Parties and the Government continue to “Pay Lip Service” to this matter in order to score political points. I do believe that even if a Mass Rally or a Protest was organized that only a hand full of people would bother to show up, unless off course you get a sound system, some semi-literate DJ’s and hand out free rice from the back of a truck.

More about → Jamaica: Economic and Social Statistics

Community Vigilante Jungle No-Justice…

This is not the type of blog that I wanted to write but I cannot ignore the white elephant in the room, especially when some groups are calling for Justice, let's not be selective, lets demand 100% pure Blind Justice from each and every member of the Jamaican society.  

Let us not forget this favorite Jamaican past time, playing Judge, Jury and Executioner on those they suspect of committing a crime. We are outraged when the police do it, but cheer when we read that members of a community took it upon themselves to carry out their own brand of justice. You cannot want proper Justice sometimes but not at other times, you are sending mixed messages to an already confused society.

Growing up in Jamaica I have had the misfortune to witness Community Vigilante Jungle Justice up close on a number of occasions, it is something I am trying to wipe from my mind, humanity at its very worst. I remember two of these occasions very well, I was in my teens and on my way from school.

On the first occasion my friends and I entered the Plaza just when the chase phase of Jungle Justice was coming to an end and the beating phase was about to commence, yes sometimes the chase and beating phase are rolled into one but that is only when the victim refuses to stop running but is not running fast enough, this time the victim was cornered and beaten for the crime of being gay. He was beaten by an angry mob who shouted “beat di batty boy!!”… he managed to escape to the laughter and merriment of the mob.

Acting like Animals!!

Was this video viewed by the Police?

Did they try to identify the attackers?

Did they issue warrants for their arrest?

On the second occasion my friends and I was in Half Way Tree hanging out with some Holly Childhood girls waiting for the bus home when a woman accused a man of trying to take money from her hand bag. It seemed she felt someone going into her bag, looked up and accused the man standing behind her. The cry of pick pocket went out and an angry mob quickly surrounded the man, who was protesting his innocence, one man grabbed him by the shirt collar while the accuser continued to accuse.

We all knew what was coming, he knew what was coming as there is no reasoning with these people, not when they are in this mood, it was only a matter of time before the first kick and punch landed. He managed to break free and made a run for it but that was short lived as the crowd in Halfway Tree turned into Vigilantes as sidewalk sellers ran from their stalls to take up chase. That man was beaten to no end, he was kicked and punched and on one occasion a higgler woman decided to use her knife with great skill and efficiency like Edward Scissorhands.

After quenching their thirst for revenge and blood the mob slowly depart, leaving the motionless body of the man in the street, he seemed dead to me but at the tender age of 16, I did not know what being dead is supposed to look like. Amazingly during all this another man was trying to get the crowd’s attention it seemed he saw the initial incident, he said he saw the man who was trying to go into the woman’s bag and it was not the man who the angry mob was beating, but no one would listen, he said the guilty person made his escape during the diversion. This ladies and gentleman is why I do not support “Community Vigilante Jungle Justice”… I could have been that person standing behind that woman at that time and I would not be sitting here writing this.

There has been a recent increase in the number of reports regarding “Community Vigilante Jungle Justice” in action to the cheer and support of the online crowd. Several men was suspected of Praedial Larceny (Theft of agricultural produce), beaten and chopped up by the community, man suspected of stealing blackberry, beaten by community and the news goes on and on but where is the outrage? I am not saying that we should hug and kiss people suspected of a crime, far from it but we have a system of Justice in this country that requires our full support, we have laws, a court system, a Ministry of National Security and Justice, a police force and a military, so why is it left to the man in the street to play, Judge, Jury and Executioner?

If the Justice System is broken then fix it dear Liza but like everything else in this country we managed to find a way around everything, we never fix anything, we just find a different path. Water problem? then buy water tank, light problem? buy generator, road problem ? then buy big SUVs and problem with security? Carry out our own brand of jungle justice. I have yet to hear the powers that be set some standard and speak out against this with one voice this is because they know that if the Jamaican people choose the alternative then they will not put any pressure on the Government to fix anything, the Government gets an easy ride and I have yet to see "Jamaicans For Justice" organize to send a message to the people that this is wrong, no rallies, no protest. The name "Jamaicans for Justice" should cover every form of injustice not just injustice by the police, Community Vigilante Jungle No-Justice is not justice it is injustice and should be rallied against just like Police corruption and Crime and while we are at it lets also rally against Politician corruption and Crime, another class of Jamaicans who are so above the law.

In 2003 students of The University of Technology beat and murdered a man accused of breaking into cars on campus, the man jumped into a waste water pit as he attempted to escape after being cornered by an angry mob, the students lit fire to dry grass surrounding the pit to prevent the escape of the accused.

This is a perfect example that children live what they learn, I am sure like me most of these young adults have been witness to public beatings and execution and now thinks that this is how they should behave, this is normal behavior to them. One must also look at what percentage of these young adults were barrel pickney, children whose parenting and love came only from the occasional barrel and western union money their parents who have all but abandoned them and migrated to foreign to start a new life and family. A study must be done on the effects migration had on the kids that were left behind.

A small number of people spoke out against this type of behavior but on a whole public beatings and executions are accepted behaviors. The political class will pay lip service against this only if they think they can score political points from it. In most other countries the level and amount of condemnation would be consistent and persistent as various political and social leaders/groups visit the site of the murder and address the nation stating that this type of behavior was not accepted and against the law. That those who were involved would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, various rewards would have been offered for information and videos of the beating examined to identify those involved, they would have been rounded up, questioned and guilty party charged but not so in Jamaica where Jungle Justice is an accepted form of crime and punishment, accepted by the Police, Public , the political class and the proud dancehall DJ’s as stated by that semi-literate DJ Bounty Killa “ah dat fi happen to petty tief, beat up him bloodclaat”.

Read More: Cesspool death at UTech

Tuesday, repeating the mantra of the World Health Organisation (WHO) that "there is no health without mental health", Dr Hickling said other research work carried out by himself and a colleague in Jamaica showed that four out of every 10 Jamaicans have some form of personality disorder. "That's 40 per cent of our population. It's a serious issue and of course there is a corollary to that, that 60 per cent of us are without a personality disorder and in fact are resilient and productive," he said.

Read More: 'Psychopaths' - beheaders have severe personality disorders

THE MOB killing at the University of Technology (UTech) and the anti-social behaviour of some tertiary students, in general, have drawn further scrutiny and condemnation from another section of the society. Professor Barry Chevannes, Dean of the Social Science Faculty at the University of the West Indies, and Dr. Benjamin Chavis Muhammad, American civil rights activist, have added their voices to the debate on the behaviour of tertiary students.

Read More: Chevannes slams UTech mob killing

Young Animals!

An angry mob chopped to death three men accused of stealing a goat in Westmoreland in a bloody weekend which saw at least 10 Jamaicans being killed.Reports from the police are that, about 8:30 Saturday night, the three men were seen with a goat in a Toyota motor car on a farm in Fort William district. An alarm was raised and residents converged on the scene, beating and chopping the men to death.

Read More: Mob massacre - Alleged goat thieves savaged in Westmoreland


Update: April 2nd 2012 - Jamaicans For Justice Response:

Visit site: Jamaicans for Justice

Thank you for sharing your blog. Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) agrees that “community vigilante justice” is not justice and opposes all acts of violence that contravenes the rule of law. The rule of law is based on standards and important procedures to which all citizens, are subjected. No matter what crime a person is alleged to have committed, he or she should be brought to book, for the law to take its proper course.

Therefore, as a citizens’ rights organisation advocating for good governance and state accountability and transparency, JFJ sees “community vigilante justice”, as undermining the functioning of the rule of law and the proper systems put in place to achieve justice. We have indeed spoken out against vigilante acts. We have made appearances in the media and have written press releases condemning mob violence (please see below a sample). In spite of this, much more needs to be done to bring an end to the increasing incidence of the use of it across the country.

We are glad to see that another well-thinking Jamaican as you, taking up the mantle to end this chaotic and destructive force.

PRESS RELEASE
For release Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Mob Violence Abhorrent and Unacceptable
Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) is deeply disturbed by yet another incident of mob violence directed at persons who are alleged to be gay. This latest incident is particularly abhorrent because it occurred during a funeral service on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007, at a church outside Mandeville. It is alleged that members of a mob surrounded the church and hurled missiles through a window at the back of the church, directed at persons in attendance who were alleged to be homosexual. This latest incident reflects intolerance, ignorance and a blatant disregard for human rights and the rule of law, behavior that is unacceptable in a democratic society.
The Easter Sunday incident follows an assault on allegedly homosexual men attending the MoBay Nite Out Carnival on April 2, 2007, as well as another very public incident of mob violence against alleged homosexuals, which occurred in Kingston in February of this year. JFJ condemns the use of violence in any situation, against any group of people living in Jamaica and is particularly concerned that incidents of violence against gay men are shamefully pervasive and appear to be increasing in frequency.

Much more must be done to bring an end to the increasing incidence of the use of mob violence across the country. Mob violence is destructive and abhorrent in a democracy supposedly built on the rule of law. A great deal of work must also be done to ensure the dignity and equality of all human beings, including sexual minorities, and leaders in all sectors of society must loudly and publicly condemn the use of violence as a means of problem solving in any situation. It is long past time for Jamaicans to acknowledge that all people, without any exceptions, must be treated as human beings whose dignity and equality should be respected.

We call on the police to investigate the matter speedily and professionally and on the leaders of church, state and the private sector to raise their voices loudly in condemnation of mob violence in any circumstance and in support of the rule of law.

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I cannot Stress enough the importance of Public Advocacy Groups like “Jamaicans for Justice” and   “Jamaica Environment Trust” we the public must support these groups and get behind them in their fight for equal rights and justice and for the protection of the environment, at the end of the day when our backs are against the wall it is these groups who will defend the rights of man. We must empower these groups since they are trying to protect our interest. There power comes from the support of the people, they are the force that will stand between us and tyranny, they are not trying to tear down Jamaica, they are in fact trying to create a solid foundation from which we can build a proper just society.

Clovis Toon: Mob Killings

More about → Community Vigilante Jungle No-Justice…

Jamaica Election, Police Killings and JFJ Protest

Jamaica Election 2012: The Second Worst Election Campaign I have ever seen

Whoever is in charge of Andrew Holness’s Public Relations and Election campaigns should be fired. Mr. Holness is fast becoming a mediocre politician after bursting on to the scene with so much promise and hope. Only his diehard supporters still believe in him, with the same level of faith a religious nut believes in Religion. To me Andrew Holness was suppose to be the idealistic 21st Century Leader, young, vibrant and innovative the kind of person that would kick open the old ancient doors of Jamaican politics and let some fresh air and light into that frowzy halls of power, the Mark Zuckerberg of Jamaican politics but instead I keep hearing same old, same old. If I close my eyes and listen to Mr. Holness, I would think Mrs. Portia Simpson-Miller or Bruce Golding or PJ Patterson was speaking, yes people, nothing new here, nothing to see, move along, the old guard is alive and well in Mr. Holness who has failed to redefine Jamaican Politics and Politicians.

Don’t get me wrong, Andrew Holness will be Prime Minister again, if his party does not get rid of him first, he will be Prime Minister not because of his message but because it is the nature of Jamaican Politics, for the people to get fed up with whoever is in power and replaces them at some point. He will also be elected Prime Minister because of the future failures of the current PNP Government, Holness will be selected by default, then unselected at some point and reselected again, which is how things run in Jamaica. The people want true leadership, they want a leader to deliver hope and a change they can believe in but both the PNP and the JLP are incapable of delivering this, both are unwilling to break the old party mold and deliver something new and why should they? The old ways have been working for the political class for quite some time now and Jamaicans are not a proactive people, we are incapable of engaging the political class on any level, social and political activism is not our strong point that part of us died when we became independent, we are failures in the Nation Building Process.

Better things to do than vote and Protest 

By far the stupidest excuse for losing an election is low voter turnout…. I do not know who came up with that rubbish, but anyone who use it sound like an idiot. The fact that the people who voted favored one party over the other means the democratic process worked, since no one prevented the people who did not vote from exercising their democratic rights, they just had things that was more important to them to do. Lots of countries have low voter turnout but I have not heard them use this excuse to console the loser, as if to say well if more people voted we would have won, what complete and utter rubbish, maybe you would have lost by a bigger margin.

Jamaicans only go out to vote if their backs are against the wall, they only vote when they are in trouble, so Jamaica clearly does not have any problems, well no problems serious enough that require voting, as per the people, by their actions. The clubs are open, there are dancehall events every night, fashion show are a plenty, jazz festival, wine and cheese tasting and skeet shooting have all gone on as scheduled. If the Government had wanted Jamaicans to vote they would have kept a dance at every polling station or in every town square and hand out free rice from the back of a truck or try to ban the dancehall, lock clubs and restrict merriment, then they would rise up.


Police Killings and a call for mass Protest

Since the start of the year 2012, 50 people have been shot and killed by the police, nearly 30 of them was killed in March alone. As a result Jamaicans from all walks of life, from various geographic locations took to the internet to register their total and utter disgust. Well to tell the truth, the outrage was based on which political party you supported it was in a sense a pretend outrage since police shootings is not new to Jamaica.

In 2011 about 213 people were reportedly killed by the police and 382 reportedly killed in 2010, 73 of which was killed in 2 days, in 2009 saw a 58% increase in in the first 5 months of that year over 2008 in which a total of 224 people was killed by the police but there was no outrage then, no call for protest, at that time the Police it was said was being "Tough On Crime". Between years 2000 and 2010 there was 2,220 fatal shootings by police but only 2 police officers have ever been charged.

I do not have a problem with “Jamaican for Justice” call for protest against police brutality; in fact I support it since police brutality and extortion (drinks money or ticket money) is a problem and warrants our attention... However I refuse to play politics with regards to this matter, if you are against police killings and corruption then which political party is in power should NOT change your position on this, it should be a matter of Principle over Politics. However looking at the murder rate in Jamaica for the past decade it is clear that we have a bigger more deadly problem facing us with over 1000 murders per year and these murders are getting more gruesome as the criminal gangs unite, expand and become more depraved.


The Rally Against Crime and Criminals:
A mass Island wide rally against gangs, criminals and murderers is required to send a strong message to the terrorist criminal elements among us. A message that we are sick of it, we are tired of it and we are not taking it any more, to show them that our Resolve is Strong, we want our country back, we are ready to take it back and we support the police and the military to do what is required to eliminate them. SO where is the general outrage, where is the uptown outrage, where is the downtown outrage, where is the overseas outrage, we get nothing but lip service.

It is also said that "Jamaican for Justice" is an affiliate of the opposition Jamaica Labour Party, since they were very active in the run up to the 2007 elections and became very quiet after that party came to power even though the amount of police killings and corruption was sky high. I hope this is not true, since this group is in the perfect position to bring about change if they are in fact non-aligned because if they are aligned to a political party then their words means nothing, they become part of the failed political class, talking out of both sides of their mouths, trying to score political points. Social Advocacy groups must detach themselves from the political parties and embrace the people, they can only have true power if it comes from the people. Jamaica would not have achieved Workers Rights and Universal Adult Suffrage if the leaders and the groups of that time did not draw their support and power from the people.

So in light of the current police killings "Jamaicans for Justice" called for a mass protest, which was held in front of the Ministry of National Security, as an outlet for all the rage against the police. The aim of the protest should not be to bring down and demoralize the security forces nor is it supposed to be a partisan political movement design to score political points for the JLP but should be done in the best interest of Jamaica. You cannot support police brutality when your party is in power calling it “being tough on crime” but denounce them as soon as your party is out of power. I am however worried that we are very quick to organize against the police but do nothing but pay lip service against the Gangs of Jamaica.

In any case after weeks of outrage and online protest only 60 people managed to turn up on the day of the gathering, I am not just disappointed with the turn out, I am completely disgusted by it. I have always said that nothing is too important to Jamaican people except merriment. In Jamaica If you want a lot of people to support your cause then keep a dance in the middle of the street and hand out free rice. The same reason why they do not turn up to vote is the same reason they will not join any protest.

The clubs are open, there are dancehall events every night, fashion show are a plenty, jazz festival, wine and cheese tasting and skeet shooting have all gone on as scheduled. Not to mention it is car show season and the new 2012 Mercedes Benz ML-250 is on show for all to see, apparently..."an evening of elegance at the South Camp Road office of Silver Star Motors", with a starting price of just $9.15 million Jamaican dollars($105,066.33 USD), you too can drive around in a car that is valued as much as a Condo in Florida ... So what’s the problem? Yard Nice!

New York nice but ina di summer time

Canada nice but ina di summer time

London nice but ina di summer time

Jamaica nice all di time.

Police Statistic 2007-2012
Number of persons murdered in Jamaica by gunmen - 5,829
Number of persons shot and injured by criminals - 8,574
Number of major crimes committed by persons using guns - 25,448
Number of illegal firearms seized by the security forces - 3,102
Number of rounds of ammunition seized from criminals - 48,868
Number of civilians killed during police-criminal clashes - 1,260
Number of police personnel killed on duty - 62
Number of police personnel shot and injured by criminals – 127


Number of Jamaicans Murdered By year
1998 - 953
1999 - 849
2000 - 887
2001 - Page not found on JCF, the BBC says estimated 1,100
2002 – 1045
2003 – 975
2004 – 1471
2005 – 1674
2006 – 1340
2007 – 1583
2008 – 1618
2009 – 1683: Jamaica records highest ever murder rate in 2009
2010 - 1442
2011 - 1124

More about → Jamaica Election, Police Killings and JFJ Protest

Neutrality and the Diehard Party Supporter

Neutrality does not mean docile, or that you should not have an opinion, it is the opposite really, it means you can have any opinion your want, you can come out of the corner swinging left right and center, you have no allegiance to anyone, any group or any party. It is freedom from the shackles of conformity, from those who are fighting you to conform,to live life on their terms. Because one declares one shelf to be Politically Neutral does not mean that one have given up ones rights to be a Political and Social Activist, it just means I am Free, to be the Political and Social activist on my terms.

"Peoples Hernandez: You're not a cop anymore.

John Shaft: Do you think that makes me less dangerous, or more dangerous?"

Given the choice between parties who are equally bad, I means really bad, with politicians who are just bold face dirty, liars and thieves, I mean nasty piece of work, how can people who claim to be educated and have common sense chose between them and support them? Unless the people who support them are idiots or have some personal interest, I am not saying I would never support a party the problem is I see none that fits into my view of the world and worthy of my support.

While I do follow Jamaican politics, I am beginning to believe that we are in fact a doomed people simply because we believe that everything in our society has a political cause and a political solution. I grow tired of partisan politics and the entrenched minds of the diehards who support them. They have no understanding of neutrality, they cannot comprehend it and to them you must fit into a partisan bucket. Neutrality is the ability to say what you want, when you want to and how you want to, neutrality frees me from the constraints of the party and the party supporters or the beliefs of any other groups or persons. I do not have to fit into any pre-conceived mold, it is not about what you think of me, it is about what I think of myself and I feel better for it.

Conformity

I will express any concepts, any ideas I feel is right and if what I expressed resembles the views of any party, then that is just coincidental, since I do not consider the party but my own Principles and Policies, which is all I have to go by, to live by and will never compromise who I am and what I am for anyone. I consider it demeaning, pathetic and shallow if I derive my Principles and Policies from a party or any other group, it means I have lost control of the ability to define me. They fit themselves to me, I do not fit to them, they must conform to my views I will not conform to theirs, they must sing my song, I will not sing theirs. If person A in party B says X and I agree with it, it is not because person A said it or it came from Party B, it is because Person A and Party B said something that I already believe in, something that is already a part of my core belief, they said something that fits into my view of the world.

Which is not how the diehard views the world, if person A in the party the diehard supports, party B says “X”, he will agree with it and defend it to the very end but if person A in the opposing party C says “X” he will oppose “X” to the very end, “X” is no good even when he was a defender of “X” the night before the election.I do not understand blind allegiance to any group or party or persons, it is a concept that is totally foreign to me, where did we get this blind religious like faith in the party from, this may explain the fact that I also do not understand the blind allegiance/faith to a Religion, I am just not wired that way.

I think Jamaicans for the most part are blind partisans and tribal and will never see our way out of any situation because of this. Partisan Politics is use to pass on the Nation Building responsibilities, away from ourselves, it is not me but them, yes those people, that party is the problem. We are not a pro-active society, we are not an organized society and we are for the most part a greedy shellfish one dimensional society, we stand up for nothing but our own self interest.

Partisan Diehards see Jamaica’s progress as depending on a party, I see Jamaica’s progress as depending on the Jamaican People regardless of Party. Even if the Party you support is not in power you are suppose to be guided by a bigger principle, a bigger force, that is the nationalist, patriotic Nation Building force, you should give 100% to Jamaica and nothing to the Party.

More about → Neutrality and the Diehard Party Supporter

Jamaica: Tourist and Local Harassment

I will never defend those worthless individuals who leave their farms, work, school, family and homes behind to walk the streets of Tourist Country, trying to sell both themselves and drugs to every Tom and Jane tourist that set foot on the island.

Both the sellers and the buyers are the reason why I have a Self-Imposed Exile in place, in my own country, I will never stay willingly in Tourist Country and try very hard not to visit it or stay longer than I have to. I do not like what goes on between some local Jamaicans and some tourists and as such I have decided to leave onto Cesar the things that are for Cesar, I will go even further to say they are a perfect match for each other.It is not really that I do not like it, it is more like I do not care what takes place between two consenting adults, the problem is when it goes wrong then the foreign media and tourist have a tendency of painting everyone in Jamaica with the same brush, they never say some Jamaicans, they say Jamaicans are, as if the entire population spends their days outside airports and piers  waiting for the tourist.

Of late I have been reading various travelers review forums and media outlet and the number one complaint some of these tourist have, is that the minute they step off the plane they are confronted by harassment from local Jamaicans. Constantly they are being asked to buy drugs or offers from local men and women selling their services as “tour guides”.

I wonder what would drive local Jamaicans to behave like this, to think that selling themselves and drugs was a lucrative business, more lucrative than staying in school and getting an education, more lucrative than developing the farm, more lucrative than to stay at home and be fathers and mothers to their offspring. Could it be that the demand for their services from the type of tourist coming to the island is so great, that prostitution and drug selling is a lucrative business made profitable by the willing and eager tourist looking for sun, sand, weed and a rent-a-dread with the big bamboo? If the demand was not there to begin with then there would not be a need to supply a product no one wants, I am going to be so bold and declare that 7 out of 10 visitors to the country’s tourist hot spots are willing and eager participants in the market of drugs and rent-a-dread. Jamaica is known for some of the best weed in the world and many of our visitors come to Jamaica to enjoy this product. Some visitors to our shore have defined an authentic Jamaican vacation as one that includes smoking large quantity of weed and sex with locals.

When reading feedback on various travel sites you will always find several post on tourist harassment and various reports of women claiming they were taken advantage of, how they were promised love but all that these rent-a-dread wanted was money. Jamaican men are being described in some publications as predators, on the prowl looking for sweet innocent white women to take advantage of, stripping them of money and breaking their poor little hearts. Surely you cannot be that naive, that stupid to think you are going to enter the market place of rent-a-dread and drugs and come away with a lifelong loving partner, are you mad? Some of the woman or man who hangout outside the hotels and bars that tourist frequent offering themselves as “tour guides” are there to sell themselves to any fool who would have them and willing to pay for it. There are loads of legitimate travel grievances that I would agree with, from rude hotel staffs, to hotels not to your liking, terrible service, being asked over and over to buy the same stuff, to valuables stolen but having your heart crushed by an ambition-less Rent-a-Dread is not one of them.

When will you take responsibilities for your actions, my grandmother had a saying “Water finds it own level” and that is exactly what is happening here, you are no different from these worthless men, both pathetic in your own way, does the sun and sea have such an effect on your brain, Suppressing the part that controls good decision making? You are not the innocent party in this transaction, you are the willing party but you like to portray yourselves as the innocent, poor little girl who was used and taken advantage of by those wicked disgusting natives, talking about he said he loved me …What!!. “Hahahaha I laugh in your face”… yes you and everyone stupid enough to believe a man who sleeps with tourists for money. Trust me these men and women while at the airport departure lounge will put on an Oscar performance wiping tears from their eyes, looking up to the heavens then the minute you are out of sight they walk over to arrivals for the next willing partner/buyer.

With such a high rate of demand for love, sex and drugs it is then understandable why locals cannot tell the difference between a tourist looking for drugs and sex and those who just want to be left alone to enjoy their vacation in peace. If lets say 7 out of 10 times they get a positive response and are financially rewarded then the odds are in their favour.

Spring Break is upon us again and those innocent young people from first world countries are not afraid to get naked, get drunk and perform public sex acts in front of minors at the drop of a hat. Spring Break and the Jamaican dancehall are two of the most disgusting things to take over Jamaica in recent times. It says more about us as Jamaicans, how low we will go to earn a dollar. The demand for Jamaican weed and the Rent-A-Dread will be at its highest during this period, sellers from other slow tourist locations with flock to the big tourist country areas as they fight to keep up with demand from the spring breakers and make the almighty Yankee dollar, as drunken vomiting spring breakers try to make this the Spring Break to remember. What upsets me is that they come away from the experience with their reputation intact as it is not the buyer who gets negatively stigmatized, they get a pat on the back, wicked vacation but it is the locals who come away looking dirty in the eyes of the world, with the world thinking those people will do almost anything for a dollar.

Falmouth was once a wonderful quaint little town until the pier, cruise ship and tourist arrived then like locus the hustlers descended on the town. Like roving band of bandits they turn up at various piers on the day the cruise ship arrive, trying to sell everything including themselves, the kitchen sink and their mothers.






There is a reason why countries like Jamaica only measure and report on Gross Earnings of the tourism sector or the number of stop over visitors and that is because it is embarrassing to measure Net Earnings and tourism contribution to the development of Jamaica. Having large Stop Over numbers mean nothing if the money generated is air lifted aka repatriated right back to the home country of the resort owners, not to mention most of these large hotel chains pay little or no taxes, they exist in a tax free world. When it comes to tourism or foreign investments in general we enter into deals with the idea that a little something is better than nothing, every “mickle mek a muckle”. Former Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett recently said that “many tourism destinations are retaining as low as seven cents of every dollar tourists spend”, noting that much of the tourist dollar "goes back to where it came from".

He also pointed out that research has shown that only about three per cent of the produce from the agricultural sector currently goes into tourism. Not only is profit from tourism being taken out of the country but the sector is also not supporting the other sectors such as agriculture. Normally when I travel to some other country I do not want to consume the things I am used to back home preferring instead to immerse myself in the culture of the country I am visiting, eating what they eat, where they eat but not so for the people coming to Jamaica they want to leave their home land and arrive at their home land, hotels must import and serve the food they are use to. Americans want what they normally eat at home and the British are notorious for making a beeline for little Britain the minute they land, bring on the Full English Breakfast served in a pub run by a Brit, give me the sun, sand and sea but keep your food. In Jamaica we import the food and the chef to cook it, in an attempt to recreate the dishes our visitors are use to. The average vacation is just over a week so I do not understand why they cannot do without the food they have been eating all their lives and enjoy a change, something different are they that shallow?

Before I start jumping through hoops in order to service the tourist, I would first like factual information regarding real contribution of tourism to the Jamaican Economy and people. It is also because of the above fact “seven cents of every dollar” why I only vacation in “Jamaican owned hotels” and refuse to give my hard earn money to foreign entities that are making super profit at Jamaica’s expense and doing nothing to build this country of mine.

With regard to foreign investments, in order to attract these foreign corporations, governments are forced to provide economic perks such as; a tax-free existence, the free movement of all profits back to the home countries and the removal of the trade union and worker rights from employment agreements, in most cases companies are released from all environmental responsibilities, such is the desperation of Jamaica and other poorer countries.

It is as if the populations of these countries are sold as slaves to the foreign investor, for them to do with as they wish or the government of the poorer countries is acting as pimps for their own people. In most cases the impact of this foreign investment on the local economy is minimal. Foreign companies don’t have to invest in the health care of the local workers, they don’t have to invest in the education of the local workers nor do they help these workers to provide for their retirement as they do in their home countries. For most of these companies all levels of managerial staff are imported thus leaving the manual, more mundane, lower paid tasks to the local workforce. Most of these foreign investors have adopted a here today gone tomorrow mentality, since competition between countries is so high it is not uncommon for these companies to be lured away at a moment’s notice, by competitors who are willing to offer more perks and even less restrictions.

Let me make it extra clear that not all tourists come to Jamaica to smoke weed and engage in sex with locals, there are those who truly come to Jamaica for a nice relaxing vacation, they work hard and need some downtime and they do not want every Tom, Dick and Jane bugging them every minute of the of the day to buy rubbish, to them I say a quick stern “no thank you” and walk away normally works and to local Jamaicans harassing these people I say, leave the people alone and let them relax and enjoy their vacation, stop acting like warts on the backside of humanity, the authorities need to do more to rid the streets of this infestation.

Let me also make it extra clear that not all Jamaicans exist to service you, most of us do not sell drugs or sex, we are self respecting people going about our business, trying to take care of our families and are offended when you approach us to ask for drugs. We are always willing to offer help when you need it, direction and advice but treat us with respect and we will do the same to you. We hear a lot about Tourist Harassment by locals but we never hear anything about Local Harassment from the Tourist. Stopping any Jamaicans you see asking about drugs or where you can score some action is not on and part of the reason I have exiled myself from tourist country, between you and the selling locals I do not know which one is worst and it seems both are guilty of stereotyping. Some locals assume every tourist wants drugs and sex and some tourist assumes that every Jamaican sell drugs, sex and wants to rob them. These sets of people are making it very hard for those of us locals and visitors who make no such assumptions and would just like to be left alone.

There are three types of foreigners who come to Jamaica, first there is the tourist (1), the kind that wants to be picked up from the airport in a coach bus and taken directly to their all-inclusive resort and care nothing about leaving the resort, they are also the type that complains on messaging boards if they see any local Jamaicans at the resort where they stay, the only local they want to see is the one serving them the drinks. And at the end of the vacation they want to be taken directly to the airport departure lounge where they can make their escape. The only problem I have with this type of tourist is when they have an opinion about the wider Jamaican society which is almost always negative. They can have all the opinions they want about the condition of the bus use to transport them to and from the resort and about the resort but how can you have an opinion about a country and its people just by looking out your bus window.

Then there is the visitor types (2), they may or may not stay at an all-inclusive resort but will venture out into the society. They want to enjoy their vacation but also want to know more about the country they are visiting.

Then there is the third type, the travelers (3) my favorite type, they adapt to any country they visit like a fish to water, eat local foods, and only rent locally owned and operated hotels. They not only come to the country for vacation but sometimes try to help the wider society, helping out at local schools, join various environmental groups for beach cleaning anything they enjoy or they can do nothing but wonder the country interacting with its people, they have street and travel smarts and will always make the right decisions. When they are ready to give their opinion I listen because in almost all cases their opinion is both open and objective never malicious.

A person intent on vacationing in Jamaica must do some research, you must know what type of person you are and what area of the island fits your personality. Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios are well known worldwide and for good reason. For the most part they offer the generic brand of tourism that appeal to both low, mid and high end tourism in a generic type of way, whatever you want and can afford they will provide, sun, sand, sea, weed and sex but these types of locations attract certain types of locals and certain types of tourist that may not fit your conservative personality and may spoil your vacation experience. If you are offended by public nudity, public sex acts, public drunkenness and weed buying, selling and smoking then maybe this location is not for you. We have loads of different locations which offers different experiences just do some research, ask around.

Assumption is the Mother of all Fk-ups!!!
Long ago, I met some Black Americans after their visit to Jamaica, they complained that they never get the same treatment as white tourist, well after further discussion I realized what they were really saying, which is that Jamaicans do not make the same “initial” assumption about Black Americans tourist as they do about white tourist. The determination as to whether they are tourist or not is only made after speech, they are assumed to be Jamaicans until they say something in an American accent, after which for the most part they are treated like an American tourist but the “initial assumption” can make or break an entire experience.

I had a discussion with some friends of mine and one said it is not possible for a Jamaican to be a tourist, or treated like a tourist in a predominantly white developed country. The general consensus was that Black Jamaicans are never viewed or given the tourist treatment regardless of which country they are in, the assumption is that Jamaicans are assumed to be either impoverished refugees or emigrants who could never afford a vacation. I stated in another blog that the same assumption is made of a black person in a store or supermarket on the upper east side of Manhattan; they never assume you are a fellow shopper but a worker, always asking where is this item or do you have this in Blue. One friend said heck! It is not possible for Jamaicans to be treated like tourist in our own country much less some other country.

A friend of a friend who lives in North America decided to treat his white girlfriend to a vacation in Jamaica, he booked both flight and hotel then decided to surprise her with the grand vacation. They arrived in Jamaica and checked into their hotel, all was well until the next morning when the happy couple went out to enjoy what tourist country had to offer. On their return to the hotel his girlfriend walked past the guard at the gate and she was greeted warmly, followed by her Jamaican boyfriend bringing up the rear with the days shopping. He was promptly stopped at the gate by the guard who refused him access, the guard called back his girlfriend to ask her if this man was in fact with her. The basic assumption by the guard is that this man is not vacationing at the resort and was a rent-a-dread of some sort, his assumption also was that the girlfriend was in fact a valid guess just because she was white. This caused the mother of all confrontation as he was not having any of it.

Hotels need to develop and implement a sterile, standardize way of dealing with everyone regardless of colour, gender, local or foreigner etc. Only when this is done will we avoid making stupid ridiculous superficial assumptions.

   
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