»The real dilemma is that no one cares.«

© Peter Dean Rickards

Almost two years after Jamaican security forces assaulted the West Kingston neighborhood of Tivoli Gardens during the »Tivoli Incursion«, Bigblackberry sums up what the events leading up and subsequent to May 24, 2010, taught him about Jamaicans and Jamaica:

One of the things I confirmed was that a significant number of our populace have goals that extend only to eating their next meal. [...]

I also confirmed that the social, political and class divides that Edward Seaga and many others spoke of over four decades ago are as pronounced and perhaps even more rigid than they have ever been, regardless of the superficial proclamations of »Out of Many One People« which has become a meaningless mantra. [...]

But honestly speaking, the most important thing I learnt was the extent to which the value of a Jamaican life is determined by how far above or below HWT one resides.

In addition to his own observations, he publishes part 1 of an interview with a Non-Jamaican journalist who reported his story on »The Massacre in Jamaica« for The New Yorker, Mattathias Schwartz, who is still

frankly surprised how easily the Jamaican public appears to have written off the killing of dozens of Jamaican citizens by their own security forces.

Read the full blog post and interview over at Bigblackbarry’s blog.

 Leave a comment