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This enabling society - 'Things will not change until we change'
published: Wednesday | October 15, 2008
I AM WHAT I THINK
We were all consumed with the brutal killing of children over the past few weeks. I think most well-thinking people in this country were traumatised. As a society, we have failed to ensure the safety of innocent children. But what is the big fuss about? This is not the first time this has happened and it certainly will not be the last. Soon, the conversation will shift to the killing of old people and then women and then pregnant women and so on.
I am no longer surprised. The fact is that this country is perfectly designed to achieve all the things we are currently experiencing. Things will not change until we change. Jamaica has to go through some fundamental changes.
What's wrong with Jamaica
This is a country with great potentials. We see it every day and our athletes have certainly demonstrated this. Unfortunately, some things have gone wrong.
What's wrong with Jamaica is simply this - we have become an unlawful, disorganised, unstructured, loose and permissive society. Everything goes and our response to everything is, 'ah no nutten'.
Let us look at our society. Our people are allowed to build in river beds and, when their homes are washed away, they expect the Government to provide aid. Politicians have allowed people to squat and settle wherever they want to. They destroy the watershed as they wish and, when the communities are flooded, cry for help.
We are allowed to walk the streets, litter the place as we like and discard our garbage wherever we care to. Is this the sort of country we want to live in? We urinate wherever we want to and spit wherever we want to. We are seen as a nasty and unhealthy set of people. Is this how we want to be seen?
We have a poor public transportation system that allows drivers and conductors to play lewd music and make offensive and inappropriate sexual advances on our children. The general public is allowed to play loud and offensive music at anytime, anywhere and without respect for each other's rights.
Churches are allowed to build structures wherever they want to and are also allowed to disturb neighbours, as much as the sound system man. Also, the rich are allowed to build their houses wherever they choose, without paying attention to town planning laws.
Regulate the country
I could continue on and on with this list. But, the grim reality is that if we do not start to regulate this country and make it more ordered, structured and lawful, we are doomed. The politicians are to be blamed because many of them have allowed this state of affairs to continue to facilitate voting pockets. They may remain in power but at the expense of a country that has fallen apart.
Politicians need to govern
For too long they have been running the country to win elections. Our politicians need to run this country so that we can have an ordered and lawful society. Only then will Jamaica experience growth, be better able to contain the monster of violence and be a safer place for our children.
So, while I sympathise with the murder and mayhem and while I condemn the killing of our children, I am saying that things will not change until we restore the society to order and a state of lawfulness. This has to be a society where the rights of everyone are respected and one that is not permissive and loose.
These are some of the things that must change.We have to decide what we want.
Dr Wendel Abel is a consultant psychiatrist and head, Section of Psychiatry, Department Of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
According to Dr Abel, 'We have become unlawful and disorganised'. - File
published: Wednesday | October 15, 2008
I AM WHAT I THINK
We were all consumed with the brutal killing of children over the past few weeks. I think most well-thinking people in this country were traumatised. As a society, we have failed to ensure the safety of innocent children. But what is the big fuss about? This is not the first time this has happened and it certainly will not be the last. Soon, the conversation will shift to the killing of old people and then women and then pregnant women and so on.
I am no longer surprised. The fact is that this country is perfectly designed to achieve all the things we are currently experiencing. Things will not change until we change. Jamaica has to go through some fundamental changes.
What's wrong with Jamaica
This is a country with great potentials. We see it every day and our athletes have certainly demonstrated this. Unfortunately, some things have gone wrong.
What's wrong with Jamaica is simply this - we have become an unlawful, disorganised, unstructured, loose and permissive society. Everything goes and our response to everything is, 'ah no nutten'.
Let us look at our society. Our people are allowed to build in river beds and, when their homes are washed away, they expect the Government to provide aid. Politicians have allowed people to squat and settle wherever they want to. They destroy the watershed as they wish and, when the communities are flooded, cry for help.
We are allowed to walk the streets, litter the place as we like and discard our garbage wherever we care to. Is this the sort of country we want to live in? We urinate wherever we want to and spit wherever we want to. We are seen as a nasty and unhealthy set of people. Is this how we want to be seen?
We have a poor public transportation system that allows drivers and conductors to play lewd music and make offensive and inappropriate sexual advances on our children. The general public is allowed to play loud and offensive music at anytime, anywhere and without respect for each other's rights.
Churches are allowed to build structures wherever they want to and are also allowed to disturb neighbours, as much as the sound system man. Also, the rich are allowed to build their houses wherever they choose, without paying attention to town planning laws.
Regulate the country
I could continue on and on with this list. But, the grim reality is that if we do not start to regulate this country and make it more ordered, structured and lawful, we are doomed. The politicians are to be blamed because many of them have allowed this state of affairs to continue to facilitate voting pockets. They may remain in power but at the expense of a country that has fallen apart.
Politicians need to govern
For too long they have been running the country to win elections. Our politicians need to run this country so that we can have an ordered and lawful society. Only then will Jamaica experience growth, be better able to contain the monster of violence and be a safer place for our children.
So, while I sympathise with the murder and mayhem and while I condemn the killing of our children, I am saying that things will not change until we restore the society to order and a state of lawfulness. This has to be a society where the rights of everyone are respected and one that is not permissive and loose.
These are some of the things that must change.We have to decide what we want.
Dr Wendel Abel is a consultant psychiatrist and head, Section of Psychiatry, Department Of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
According to Dr Abel, 'We have become unlawful and disorganised'. - File
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