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'You can't treat poor people so'
Published: Friday | October 22, 2010
The Editor, Sir:
The story is told of Sir Alexander Bustamante writing letters in the dailies to highlight the plight of Jamaicans in the twilight years of colonialism.
Today, we hardly have anyone speaking on behalf of the poor. Over the past week, we saw the security forces moving in to clear vendors off the streets and while some laud the effort, perhaps accepting the rationale that it is done for national security, we cannot help but wonder if there were not other ways of doing this.
Each day, I toyed with the idea of penning this letter but hesitated because, I too, like clean and clear sidewalks. However, when I watched the tears of an old lady on the nightly news talking about how her goods were taken away by the police - goods she had accepted on credit - I, too, was moved to tears. Surely, there must be another way to treat with our fellow Jamaicans.
We have to accept that vendors and windshield wipers are not all in those lines of work by choice but because they were forced there by an
education and economic system that had failed many generations of Jamaicans. They are victims of a society that has not done enough over the years to bridge the divide between the rich and the poor through proper education and economic empowerment.
Trying to make a living
The lack of opportunities for individuals cause many to become vendors and hawkers, simply trying to make a living. The simplistic argument which seeks to justify forcing them into markets that the parish councils argue have enough space misses the point. It is degrading to the human person to expect people to sell in markets that are filthy, have leaking roofs and bathrooms that can't flush and have doors that cannot be closed. The Ministry of Health should seriously consider closing some of these facilities as being unsuitable places to sell food. How many self-respecting Jamaicans are willing to go into those markets to purchase food for their children?
We cannot continue to treat our people this way and go on as if it is business as usual. We have to say to the authorities that such subhuman conditions are unacceptable. Members of Parliament, churches and civil society can no longer afford to remain silent. Someone has to be prepared to speak, but the question is: who will stand up and speak for the poor?
I am, etc.,
HAROLD BRUCE MALCOLM
jamaicanlawyr@yahoo.com
St Andrew
Published: Friday | October 22, 2010
The Editor, Sir:
The story is told of Sir Alexander Bustamante writing letters in the dailies to highlight the plight of Jamaicans in the twilight years of colonialism.
Today, we hardly have anyone speaking on behalf of the poor. Over the past week, we saw the security forces moving in to clear vendors off the streets and while some laud the effort, perhaps accepting the rationale that it is done for national security, we cannot help but wonder if there were not other ways of doing this.
Each day, I toyed with the idea of penning this letter but hesitated because, I too, like clean and clear sidewalks. However, when I watched the tears of an old lady on the nightly news talking about how her goods were taken away by the police - goods she had accepted on credit - I, too, was moved to tears. Surely, there must be another way to treat with our fellow Jamaicans.
We have to accept that vendors and windshield wipers are not all in those lines of work by choice but because they were forced there by an
education and economic system that had failed many generations of Jamaicans. They are victims of a society that has not done enough over the years to bridge the divide between the rich and the poor through proper education and economic empowerment.
Trying to make a living
The lack of opportunities for individuals cause many to become vendors and hawkers, simply trying to make a living. The simplistic argument which seeks to justify forcing them into markets that the parish councils argue have enough space misses the point. It is degrading to the human person to expect people to sell in markets that are filthy, have leaking roofs and bathrooms that can't flush and have doors that cannot be closed. The Ministry of Health should seriously consider closing some of these facilities as being unsuitable places to sell food. How many self-respecting Jamaicans are willing to go into those markets to purchase food for their children?
We cannot continue to treat our people this way and go on as if it is business as usual. We have to say to the authorities that such subhuman conditions are unacceptable. Members of Parliament, churches and civil society can no longer afford to remain silent. Someone has to be prepared to speak, but the question is: who will stand up and speak for the poor?
I am, etc.,
HAROLD BRUCE MALCOLM
jamaicanlawyr@yahoo.com
St Andrew