Garth Rattray | Independence dream became a nightmare for many

Jamaicans celebrated Emancipation Day on August 1 and will celebrate Independence Day on August 6. I vividly remember August 6, 1962. The much-anticipated day had finally arrived. I recall the various keepsake items. I remember the colours of our flag and the decorations everywhere. It was a party atmosphere. People were filled with hopeful expectations, and, most of all, there was unity.

Before Independence Day, it felt as if we were on a huge ship on which we were the workers and the passengers. But it was a ship that was owned and managed by very powerful foreigners that were based very far away. They set the rules, took care of our needs and protected us. It felt as if the ship was technically ours, but legally theirs. However, things changed on Independence Day.

Suddenly, for the most part, we were in charge. Our future and fate were in our hands. We still held our former managers in high esteem, and we did not trust ourselves entirely. The United Kingdom remained our legal and ethical standard-bearers and the final arbitrators in our internal /local disputes.

On August 6, 1962, the day-to-day management of our people, all 1,683,761 of us, was completely up to our own elected Government. The Government and the Opposition were led by extraordinary citizens who helped formulate the terms of our independence and charted the course for our ship to follow now that we set sail on our adventurous voyage as an independent nation.

Every single one of us dreamt of a peaceful and prosperous nation, where discipline and unity would prevail. We believed that, although some of us would be poor, we would be taken care of and protected by the Government. We expected the people in charge to be honest, efficient, and dutiful. The previous managers had been proficient at their civil duties, and we wanted the same from our leaders.

SLOW SEGUE

The dream began its slow segue into a nightmare for many when the struggle for power raised its ugly head. It was the beginning of divisiveness; a distinct schism made its way along political lines. Little by little, our citizens became less and less human until eventually they only represented Xs beside the head or the bell. Their entire lives, everything that they were was reduced to an X at election time. The quest for power and control were foremost in the minds of our leaders. Every thought, every plan, and every action was predicated on the number of Xs that could be garnered.

At first, the political parties differed starkly in their ideologies. Each felt threatened by the other and each blamed the other for any aggression that occurred. Invisible lines of demarcation sprang up around and in-between many inner-city communities. Although only a few metres apart, family, and friends, playmates, and neighbours became enemies because of the competition for limited funds to support them. The leaders of those political parties were civil to one another, but their followers fought and killed in their name.

Those communities were comprised of the poor and disenfranchised. Dependent and needy citizens are valuable because their survival is determined by their vote. Over time, the needs of the dependents ballooned and outgrew the ability of their political benefactors to support them. Enter the supremacy of dons. They provided support on several levels, but the price was total fealty, commitment and sometimes sacrificing their progeny to them for their pleasure or to become ‘soldiers’ within the community.

OWN LAWS

Those communities developed their own culture, their own mores, and their own ‘laws’. For the most part, the powers that be left them alone because they feared political repercussions. Inner-city citizens could erect shops on the sidewalks. And because the authorities paid little attention to their basic amenities, they ignored the hygiene and safety regulations for their residences and places of business. The survivalist mentality encouraged selfishness, aggression and violence. Such antisocial behaviour eventually leached out of the confines of the inner-city communities and permeated the society at large.

Now, rampant indiscipline, aggression, dishonesty, corruption, and disrespect for one another and for the authorities are everywhere. Systemic corruption has become so concretised that some people are able to do whatever they want, if they have ‘links’ and/or deep pockets capable of buying their way. Some are so well connected that they are literally untouchable. That sect of society runs roughshod over the regular citizen and the relevant authorities do nothing to protect the victims of their greed.

Whereas Jamaica wanted to come into its own, the crass society that we have become, where the cancer of corruption has metastasised far and wide, is not what we wanted. Now, many disenfranchised citizens are left unprotected. They are not receiving the social intervention that they need to turn their lives around, and, by extension, to improve our society on a whole.

Several aspects of our governance are working, but many others cry out for proper management. Corruption and unaccountability allow various government bodies to do or not do whatever they want. Consequently, many ordinary citizens are suffering unnecessarily.

Sadly, independence has not lived up to its promise, let alone its potential. We could have fulfilled the beautiful dream of an orderly, law-abiding, peaceful, just and inclusive society. But our politics has transformed our country into a nightmare for many. I don’t know if we can wake up from this.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com