South Korea Tour | Confidence in the Government lacking, says Jamaican university student
Published:Wednesday | July 4, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Political parties in Jamaica must be willing to sacrifice one-upmanship and join the various sectors and civil society groups in fashioning a framework for the comprehensive reconstruction of the Jamaican society, says Antoinette Harris, a Jamaican student in South Korea.
"Top to bottom, there is need for a total rebuild of what we now have as Jamaica. The Church, education system, civil society, the security forces, must be part of this comprehensive effort in order for us to achieve anything closes to First World status," she said.
Harris, who attends the Kyung Hee University in Seoul, told The Gleaner last week from the South Korean capital that one of the major inhibiting factors for Jamaica not yet realising statistical growth and social cohesiveness is the lack of confidence in the political system and the Government.
"If we believe that our politicians are all acting in our best interests, then no one will have the need to do anything that's not benefiting the country as a whole. When we talk with people from other countries and many Jamaicans abroad, we are asked if the plan is to return home after completing our studies," said Harris.
"Why do they ask this question? Because there's nothing there [in Jamaica], at least that's the view of some of these people. No matter which party forms the Government, one thing is always the same: the people just do not trust them," Harris said, while vowing to return to work in Jamaica after receiving her qualification in industry and trade policy from Kyung Hee University.
Harris said that if there were to be a serious bipartisan approach to governance, with the two major parties putting aside their "selfish and greedy" modus operandi and adopting successful elements from other progressive societies, including South Korea, it could mean the start of the re-engineering of the Jamaican society that she and other youth desire.
She stated that while trust in Government would not, on its own, bring peace and economic stability, it no doubt would aid in the creation of an environment in which the society could once again start to flourish.