We must be inventive
Published:Saturday | March 23, 2013 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
For decades, Jamaica has been known as one of the top tourist destinations in the world. It is also true that Jamaicans are the most ingenious, helpful, friendly and hard-working set of people. This can be proven by the reports of documented history that our music, education curriculum, Creole, historical sites, food and the greatest resource, our people, far outweigh the negative propaganda about us.
The reports are in and already Jamaica and Jamaicans have started to get global negative publicity. I would, in no way, want to defend that these things are not so, but to look at this from two points of view:
1. Accept the fact that these things are so (lotto scam, et al) but that they do not define who we really are. It is unfortunate that some of our peoples have taken up bad practices, which others seem to use to define us. I want to encourage the powers that be to use all resources possible to highlight the beautiful and positive things about Jamaica.
2. It takes 'creative genes' for one who has never gone abroad, but raps with tourists constantly to learn the nuances of a language and bribe people out of their fortunes. It shows how brilliant Jamaicans are. Therefore, I want to further encourage parents, peers, teachers, employees and all to capitalise on the 'Jamaica ingenious spirit', instead of allowing our people to regurgitate information semester after semester, year after year, batch after batch.
It is often agreed that 'necessity is the mother of invention', and right now I am seeing that we have needs, and our people know how these needs can be met positively. All is not lost; our young people are pregnant with ideas, inventions, and solutions. Let us, therefore, deliberately create the platform that will see a meeting of the minds (senior and junior) to spur us into the next century as positive models for our Caribbean neighbours and the world at large.
What good, therefore, can we see in all that seem to be bad with Jamaica?
EVERTON TYNDALE