The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Strength to Love, 1963
I have been reading with interest the case of policeman Lyn-Shue and his confession of submitting falsified evidence to the court in the murder trial of 20 year old Jason James. The reactions coming in have been interesting and the matter of evidence presentation was a bit a surprising to me. I did not know that it was possible to submit evidence against a person without the identification of the source. However, according to the Jamaica Observer “Section 31D (e) made provision for statements to be admissible in criminal proceedings in certain circumstances, where the witness cannot be present in court, such as in death, grave illness, if the witness cannot be found after all reasonable steps had been taken to locate him or her, or if the witness had been kept away by threats of bodily harm and no reasonable steps can be taken to provide protection.”
As the human rights groups have stated, this is a wide open doorway for incidents of this kind to occur. The possibility of falsification of evidence is greater when no-one is held accountable for what is said. Evidence can always be presented by “someone” who cannot be identified or cross examined. I believe this seriously breaches a defendant’s right to be able to defend himself against allegations made against him and no doubt have already resulted in the miscarriage of justice.
The officer, Lyn-Shue was commended for his honesty by officers at various levels of the JCF and was declared to be an example for others to emulate. He was also given a suspension of two months from duty and an inquest has been opened up to review cases in which he was involved. Some officers have complained that this sentence is too harsh and sends a negative message to those who would come forward to do the same. Others are asking for an amnesty period so that others similarly inclined may come forward. I can see the merit of this amnesty in allowing the correction of injustice. It may encourage more persons to come forward, but my ambivalence derives from the fact there will be no consequences for such confessors. Maybe I should consider the greater picture that it will help the country move ahead and present an invaluable opportunity for openness in the reform of the justice system.
Yet, I continue to reflect on the fact that Officer Lyn-Shue, sworn to uphold the law, serve and protect Jamaican citizens, went to court and lied on an innocent man in a murder trial in an effort to get him wrongly convicted to Jail. It’s hard to move beyond these facts. Yes Officer Lyn-Shue is to be commended for doing the right thing but he should also face serious consequences for his action. The sentence against him should match the gravity of the offence. Strong disciplinary measures are needed to deter police officers, soldiers and others involved in the Judiciary system from such forms of conduct. We only need to look at the number of extra-judicial killings to see this. If this strong discipline was already being enforced our judicial system would not be in the mess that it is now in. Nonetheless, I unequivocally condemn those other officers who have accused Officer Lyn-Shue of being a traitor. They are the real traitors…traitors to their country and its people. Aristotle says “it [is] the mark of a brave man to face things that are, and seem, terrible for a man, because it is noble to do so and disgraceful not to do so.” Their disgrace is not speaking the truth.
PM Golding is to be commended for his order to have a review of the Evidence Act. The Jamaica Observer of January 22, 2008 has said that Golding has asked Attorney-General Dorothy Lightbourne to "advise on measures that may be necessary to prevent the perversion of justice by the admission into evidence of statements, the authenticity of which may be open to question but the authors of which are not available to be examined".
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Half Way Tree Transportation Centre - A fi wi! We mus tek care ah it.
I am a bit late on this note but must commend the Jamaican government, both current and previous for the new Transportation Centre in Half Way Tree. The $4.7-billion, double-level centre has passenger holding areas and several bus bays. The facility also boasts 17 commercial shops; a 900-foot food court; four commercial kiosks; 17 public toilets with two equipped for the disabled; an office building to accommodate staff from the Jamaica Urban Transit Company, and an office for officials from the Port Authority of Jamaica, which will be managing the terminal. I am also very pleased to hear of their plans to construct a similar centre Downtown.
The centre sounds beautiful and the service appears to be online to meeting some very high standards. I sincerely, hope that this high quality in both the physical appearance and service is maintained. Yet the challenge of this has already begun less than a week after its opening. The ubiquitous sidewalk vendors are already encroaching on the premises. We all know what this type of unregulated commerce can do to a place and it should not be tolerated. I remember when Mandela Park was opened in Half Way Tree. It was beautiful with the fountain and cool shaded spots in the park. It was a pleasure to walk through the park on my way to school at St. Andrew High, just down the road. My cousins and I spent many evenings and Christmas eves hanging out there and it was clean and safe. Not too long after vendors took up residence and the criminal elements soon followed. The park reeked with garbage, urine, criminals and bothersome vendors. The one retreat for young people like myself was lost. We should not allow that to happen again. Jamaica, this is what your money bought you. It is ours, take care of it and help the authorities to enforce the no-vending regulations by boycotting these undisciplined individuals.
My other concern is why weren’t the concessionary stands opened at the same time as the center? I think some foresight and diligence in planning would have avoided the center being opened and operating at a loss with subsequent subsidies in revenue by government. Get your act together Jamaica. We can’t afford to keep funding inefficient operations. Air Jamaica, JUTC and the Sugar Industry are already too much.
On a nostalgic and optimistic note I hope the Mandela Park green space and the park Downtown will also be returned to their former glory as part of the effort of urban renewal and development. I think green spaces like these parks and public services like the transportation centre contribute to a more peaceful country by providing outlets for stress reduction and removing hassles in the conduct of what should be routine business. These are worthy investments.
The centre sounds beautiful and the service appears to be online to meeting some very high standards. I sincerely, hope that this high quality in both the physical appearance and service is maintained. Yet the challenge of this has already begun less than a week after its opening. The ubiquitous sidewalk vendors are already encroaching on the premises. We all know what this type of unregulated commerce can do to a place and it should not be tolerated. I remember when Mandela Park was opened in Half Way Tree. It was beautiful with the fountain and cool shaded spots in the park. It was a pleasure to walk through the park on my way to school at St. Andrew High, just down the road. My cousins and I spent many evenings and Christmas eves hanging out there and it was clean and safe. Not too long after vendors took up residence and the criminal elements soon followed. The park reeked with garbage, urine, criminals and bothersome vendors. The one retreat for young people like myself was lost. We should not allow that to happen again. Jamaica, this is what your money bought you. It is ours, take care of it and help the authorities to enforce the no-vending regulations by boycotting these undisciplined individuals.
My other concern is why weren’t the concessionary stands opened at the same time as the center? I think some foresight and diligence in planning would have avoided the center being opened and operating at a loss with subsequent subsidies in revenue by government. Get your act together Jamaica. We can’t afford to keep funding inefficient operations. Air Jamaica, JUTC and the Sugar Industry are already too much.
On a nostalgic and optimistic note I hope the Mandela Park green space and the park Downtown will also be returned to their former glory as part of the effort of urban renewal and development. I think green spaces like these parks and public services like the transportation centre contribute to a more peaceful country by providing outlets for stress reduction and removing hassles in the conduct of what should be routine business. These are worthy investments.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Mental Wranglings
Wednesday January 16, 2008
I spoke with my potential employees in Jamaica on Monday and ended up feeling really disappointed and angry. The salary offered was the same that someone I know who is working in the telemarketing business makes as a supervisor. She has very limited experience and three or four CXCs. I have a Master’s degree and over 10 years experience in various business fields. I wasn’t really angry about the salary itself just that there seems to be no effort to compensate people for the time and effort put into qualifying themselves to be high productivity employees. The question arose – How can Jamaica expect to attract the best and brightest minds in a competitive market with high labor mobility? The answer - they can’t and that is why the country continues to be in this mess.
I recently read a series of letter to the Gleaner and Jamaica Observer from young people who had gone to the US to study and in the interest of serving their country and being back home have been seeking jobs in Jamaica. Long and short of it is that they have met with no success and the compensation is just not competitive. These young people, like me, are torn between service to their country and family and their own personal success. It’s a dilemma many young Jamaicans like myself face.
Even more interesting in this tale, was the behavior of the Human Resources Manager. She was so negative about me returning to Jamaica and even cautioned me that the small salary offered was nothing compared to what I could earn elsewhere, even in the private sector, and that it would be insufficient to live on unless I was going to live my parents and didn’t have the expense of rent and utilities. I haven’t lived with parents or roommates for six years, and that really isn’t a viable option anyway. Aye, dios mios! I thought HRs job was to sell you the job as something you would want to do, but nothing really works the way it should in Jamaica anyway. Nonetheless, I can appreciate her honesty and what I guess were her attempts at full disclosure in order to ensure that I make the right decision for me and the organization.
I went on to spend the rest of the week wrangling and going over the pros and cons of my choices – Japan vs Jamaica - with this in mind. I finally had enough today and decided to put this out of mind till next Monday. Not even five minutes later my Mom calls to ask how I was doing with these wranglings. It was prophetic, I believe, that my wisest adviser and the person who knows me best would call at this precise moment. A sign you think? Anyways at the end of this conversation, I feel really assured that I have a good support system and as usual realized that I let these kinds of things stress me out too much. As she said, “Don’t worry. Go for what you want and it will work out.”
So that is what I will really (try to) do. I’ll keep you posted.
I spoke with my potential employees in Jamaica on Monday and ended up feeling really disappointed and angry. The salary offered was the same that someone I know who is working in the telemarketing business makes as a supervisor. She has very limited experience and three or four CXCs. I have a Master’s degree and over 10 years experience in various business fields. I wasn’t really angry about the salary itself just that there seems to be no effort to compensate people for the time and effort put into qualifying themselves to be high productivity employees. The question arose – How can Jamaica expect to attract the best and brightest minds in a competitive market with high labor mobility? The answer - they can’t and that is why the country continues to be in this mess.
I recently read a series of letter to the Gleaner and Jamaica Observer from young people who had gone to the US to study and in the interest of serving their country and being back home have been seeking jobs in Jamaica. Long and short of it is that they have met with no success and the compensation is just not competitive. These young people, like me, are torn between service to their country and family and their own personal success. It’s a dilemma many young Jamaicans like myself face.
Even more interesting in this tale, was the behavior of the Human Resources Manager. She was so negative about me returning to Jamaica and even cautioned me that the small salary offered was nothing compared to what I could earn elsewhere, even in the private sector, and that it would be insufficient to live on unless I was going to live my parents and didn’t have the expense of rent and utilities. I haven’t lived with parents or roommates for six years, and that really isn’t a viable option anyway. Aye, dios mios! I thought HRs job was to sell you the job as something you would want to do, but nothing really works the way it should in Jamaica anyway. Nonetheless, I can appreciate her honesty and what I guess were her attempts at full disclosure in order to ensure that I make the right decision for me and the organization.
I went on to spend the rest of the week wrangling and going over the pros and cons of my choices – Japan vs Jamaica - with this in mind. I finally had enough today and decided to put this out of mind till next Monday. Not even five minutes later my Mom calls to ask how I was doing with these wranglings. It was prophetic, I believe, that my wisest adviser and the person who knows me best would call at this precise moment. A sign you think? Anyways at the end of this conversation, I feel really assured that I have a good support system and as usual realized that I let these kinds of things stress me out too much. As she said, “Don’t worry. Go for what you want and it will work out.”
So that is what I will really (try to) do. I’ll keep you posted.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Thinking of going home. I am Legend, Marley and Garvey.
So here I am on a lazy Sunday afternoon just relaxing and trying to get my blog up and going. The stated purpose of this blog is really a statement of intention as to what I would like do once I get home. Yep… that’s right I’m not home yet. I’m Washington D.C. mulling over my choices – Japan versus Jamaica. Each has its pros and cons to be sure, but as of now I’m leaning heavily towards going home.
It’s been about 6 years since I’ve really lived in Jamaica. I came here for graduate school and have continued to stay since that time. It’s hard making up mind to go home when you hear such depressing news about crime, employment and prices. My sister, living in Jamaica says there are serial killers everywhere but I don’t think she really gets the idea of the difficult choice. Nonetheless, she may be right. I miss my home, family, friends and easy lifestyle of Jamaica. Jamaica is home I’m tired of the struggles of making my way in the US. We’ll see how this goes and I’ll keep you updated on my thoughts as the process develops.
On another note I just watched I am Legend yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the many Marley references. It was a good movie, but the music and story of Bob Marley made it that much more enjoyable. It was particularly interesting to hear the reference to the famous Smile Jamaica Peace Concert and the determination of the Legend, Bob Marley, to carry out his mission to be an advocate for peace even in the face of the most difficult circumstances. It was equally heartbreaking to be reminded that this piece of Jamaican history may be lost forever to thievery, inefficiency and poor government regulation as we recently learned that the original recordings of the musical masters, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, were removed from the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation Archives. Garvey said that “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots” and we are now literally losing our history. Shocked at this news crawling across the bottom of the CNN screen I tuned into Wilmot “Mutty” Perkins on Power106 expecting an avalanche of outraged callers. I was instead greeted by an uncaring silence on the issue. Really? Really! No one cares? How long can this tree survive?
Anyways, I felt proud leaving the movie theatre singing out the words of Redemption Song. At least someone appreciates great history.
It’s been about 6 years since I’ve really lived in Jamaica. I came here for graduate school and have continued to stay since that time. It’s hard making up mind to go home when you hear such depressing news about crime, employment and prices. My sister, living in Jamaica says there are serial killers everywhere but I don’t think she really gets the idea of the difficult choice. Nonetheless, she may be right. I miss my home, family, friends and easy lifestyle of Jamaica. Jamaica is home I’m tired of the struggles of making my way in the US. We’ll see how this goes and I’ll keep you updated on my thoughts as the process develops.
On another note I just watched I am Legend yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the many Marley references. It was a good movie, but the music and story of Bob Marley made it that much more enjoyable. It was particularly interesting to hear the reference to the famous Smile Jamaica Peace Concert and the determination of the Legend, Bob Marley, to carry out his mission to be an advocate for peace even in the face of the most difficult circumstances. It was equally heartbreaking to be reminded that this piece of Jamaican history may be lost forever to thievery, inefficiency and poor government regulation as we recently learned that the original recordings of the musical masters, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, were removed from the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation Archives. Garvey said that “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots” and we are now literally losing our history. Shocked at this news crawling across the bottom of the CNN screen I tuned into Wilmot “Mutty” Perkins on Power106 expecting an avalanche of outraged callers. I was instead greeted by an uncaring silence on the issue. Really? Really! No one cares? How long can this tree survive?
Anyways, I felt proud leaving the movie theatre singing out the words of Redemption Song. At least someone appreciates great history.
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