Letter of the Day | Being easy going is foolish and dangerous

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Character, they say, is who you are when no one is watching. As Hurricane Beryl passed the island, anyone reflecting on the attitude of Jamaicans toward the storm could opt to add to that definition the qualifier even in the face of death. Jamaicans have the reputation of not taking life too seriously. “Everything Irie”, is our answer to Kenya’s “Hakuna Matata” and even in the face of a category-five hurricane, the Jamaican character of being unbothered shone through.

When local and international media heralded the devastation to our Windward neighbours, detailing harrowing accounts of the loss of life and property, the refrains from some Jamaican social media users ranged from arrogance to downright folly, as they chimed in “God love wi too much, it nah come”, one user even asking if the hurricane force winds would make his car “skate pon de toll”.

As the prime minister appealled to the good sense of the Jamaican public, urging those living in low-lying areas or having unstable housing to seek higher ground or head to the shelters, the mentality that all that was irie would remain so, saw countless people staying in vulnerable areas, in what the religious would call ‘blind faith’ and others would call delusion. While some prepared as best as they could, remembering the devastation of Gilbert in 1988 and Ivan in 2004, those too young to remember the aftermath of those events went a step beyond nonchalance into realms of mockery, posting comments and status updates of “Mek it come!” and “Mi wan likkle excitement!”

The morning of the hurricane was to be no different as, despite the imposition of an islandwide curfew, some people were operating as if it were business as usual. Market vendors sat by their stalls, children went out to play football and there was even a dancehall party in the rain. In a word, Jamaica’s response to one of the strongest recorded hurricanes in years was brazenness.

While our laid-back character has aided our global persona, the underbelly of this easy-going nature is foolish pride. Alas, it was not be the day Jamaica learned that pride goes before a fall, as while there was loss and damage to property, but we emerges largely unscathed. Sticky fingers have already begun to taunt the Jamaica Meteorological Service, seemingly not understanding that being prepared for the worst and not having it come is ever so much better than not being ready when calamity strikes.

What will it take for Jamaicans to be serious in the face of danger? Everything is ‘irie’ until it is not. Let’s hope our luck doesn’t run out before then.

OLIVIA VALENTINE