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Man a plan and God a wipe out! Hurricane Dean was yet another demonstration of this maxim. All our carefully laid plans kaput, changed, postponed. Not least among them the greatly anticipated General Election. Well!
What still puzzles some people is this; why has Jamaica been spared from a direct hit and broadside once again. What do you believe will determine the answer? For some, it’s simply luck, while others will proffer a scientific explanation and still others will say divine intervention. For what it’s worth and knowing full well that a ‘gwine stir up ants nest’, I spoke with someone who believes in ‘prophet’ Phillip Phinn, just a few hours before Dean was scheduled to hit, as I was curious about whether he had made any pronouncements about the hurricane. He had. Jamaica would not experience a direct hit from Dean. So mi get eh, so mi sell eh.
With so many Jamaicans severely affected — Portland Cottage, Old Harbour Bay, Caribbean Terrace, again, to name three, I am unable to fathom the level of devastation that would have been wreaked had Dean been a direct hit. Think of a complete wipe out. And my prayers are with those who have been so badly affected.
Dean has not only caused us to abandon many plans and events, but its passage also introduced new variables, chief among them being the introduction of a ‘State of Public Emergency’. The Prime Minister said that her concern for the security and safety of lives and property informed her decision. Considering that the national power grid had been shut down before the hurricane hit — a wise decision — Simpson Miller acted on information and advice she got from the security forces about planned undesirable nocturnal activities, such as wide-scale looting.
Out of a press conference held by the Jamaica Labour Party on Tuesday, August 21, party leader, Bruce Golding, intimated that the Commissioner of Police was not in agreement with the declaration of a State of Public Emergency. Who or what could have informed the Prime Minister? I know as Minister of Defence, any Prime Minister of Jamaica takes counsel from those who are at the helm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Jamaica Defence Force. Any departure from this would be moronic and suicidal.
Puzzled, I called and spoke with the Commissioner of Police, Lucius Thomas. He told me that those statements attributed to him by Golding were not so. He went further to say that he not only spoke with Golding on the phone, but also both Derrick Smith and Bruce Golding visited with him. Commissioner Thomas told me that after consultation with his key operational officers on the ground, he was convinced that a State of Public Emergency was indeed necessary for Kingston & St. Andrew and St. Thomas. Why then didn’t Golding report the commissioner accurately? Mek mi tell di whole a onnu suppn. Stop play politics wid people life!
I expect anyone who is offering himself or herself for the leadership of this country, to honestly and fairly represent and report on what has been said to him or her. Let me declare my hand. I was one of those who supported Golding when he formed the National Democratic Movement. I was/am sick and tired of the old, destructive politics and I found favour with the positions and policies he posited and seemed willing to pursue.
My reason was that I desperately wanted to be part of a new way of thinking, doing and being. So can you imagine my utter disgust, disappointment and disbelief, to know that someone I respected and believed in would behave in a less than honourable way?
As I had occasion to tell my colleague and professional friend, Cliff Hughes (by the way, when Cliff’s ‘Nationwide’ was started, I was co-presenter along with him for nearly three years, with the support of a small production staff), all I am asking him to do is be fair, balanced, honest and professional. I now say the same thing to Golding.
Whatever the results of the elections, Jamaica will always be my home. As embodied in the words of the National Pledge, my allegiance is first and foremost to this country, not to any political party or leader. And it will remain this way. I need to know that I can TRUST whoever is Prime Minister and whatever my Prime Minister says. I need to know that there are no omissions, half-truths, embellishments or misrepresentations.
By the way, how much effort was made by journalists to get the commissioner of police to verify the veracity of the statements attributed to him?
Another curious matter is the position taken by some media houses and groups regarding the declaration of the State of Public Emergency. As violently opposed as these persons are to its introduction, the majority of Jamaicans seem passionately in agreement and thankful for it.
How then did these media houses and groups arrive at their positions? It cannot be that all wisdom and sense reside only in them. I have heard persons in the past suggest that ‘ordinary’ Jamaicans are not capable of thinking for themselves. Let me tell you all this.
There are no ordinary Jamaicans as you are want to label us. We are all EXTRAORDINARY people. Schooling, class and colour are no guarantors of intelligence. Nuh tek people fi fool!
Truth be told, the proclamation of a State of Public Emergency should have been made before the power grid was shut down. That way the police would also have been given the regulations they needed and the public would not have been left in the dark. In clear and simple language, we should have been told what to expect. Many believe that a State of Public Emergency is just another name for ‘Curfew and/or Cordon’. Others associate it with the 1976 State of (Public) Emergency.
I have been reliably informed by none other than Dr. Lloyd Barnett and David Coore, that a State of Public Emergency and a State of Emergency are one and the same. Of course, depending on the circumstances, the regulations will be different. (See the Emergency Powers Act (June 6, 1938 and the Emergency Public Securities Act, August 2, 1939).
It is also important to know that it has been discussed by the Constitutional Commission that a distinction should be made between a State of Public Disaster and a State of Public Emergency. This should in all probability form part of the amended constitution. Remember that curfews can be introduced on their own or during a State of Public Emergency. A curfew (and cordon) prescribes boundaries, dates/days and times.
Here is another important piece of information. A State of Public Emergency DOES NOT restrict movement, whereas a curfew does.
Finally, in past articles I have pleaded with speakers on political platforms to mind dem mout; tink before dem speak and think of the consequences of their utterances. Can anyone tell me what possessed Peter Fakhourie when he chose to describe his opponent, Lisa Hanna, using the following adjectives; “fool, ediat, duppy, punk”?
Once again I appeal to the leaders of both political parties; let your team members know that abuse, personal attacks and churlish behaviour will not be tolerated.
My column is published every other week, soback with you on September 9, DV. Walk good!
Fae Ellington is a broadcast journalist, lecturer in radio and a communications consultant. You views and comments are welcome. Send them to fae@mail.infochan.com truth?
Man a plan and God a wipe out! Hurricane Dean was yet another demonstration of this maxim. All our carefully laid plans kaput, changed, postponed. Not least among them the greatly anticipated General Election. Well!
What still puzzles some people is this; why has Jamaica been spared from a direct hit and broadside once again. What do you believe will determine the answer? For some, it’s simply luck, while others will proffer a scientific explanation and still others will say divine intervention. For what it’s worth and knowing full well that a ‘gwine stir up ants nest’, I spoke with someone who believes in ‘prophet’ Phillip Phinn, just a few hours before Dean was scheduled to hit, as I was curious about whether he had made any pronouncements about the hurricane. He had. Jamaica would not experience a direct hit from Dean. So mi get eh, so mi sell eh.
With so many Jamaicans severely affected — Portland Cottage, Old Harbour Bay, Caribbean Terrace, again, to name three, I am unable to fathom the level of devastation that would have been wreaked had Dean been a direct hit. Think of a complete wipe out. And my prayers are with those who have been so badly affected.
Dean has not only caused us to abandon many plans and events, but its passage also introduced new variables, chief among them being the introduction of a ‘State of Public Emergency’. The Prime Minister said that her concern for the security and safety of lives and property informed her decision. Considering that the national power grid had been shut down before the hurricane hit — a wise decision — Simpson Miller acted on information and advice she got from the security forces about planned undesirable nocturnal activities, such as wide-scale looting.
Out of a press conference held by the Jamaica Labour Party on Tuesday, August 21, party leader, Bruce Golding, intimated that the Commissioner of Police was not in agreement with the declaration of a State of Public Emergency. Who or what could have informed the Prime Minister? I know as Minister of Defence, any Prime Minister of Jamaica takes counsel from those who are at the helm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Jamaica Defence Force. Any departure from this would be moronic and suicidal.
Puzzled, I called and spoke with the Commissioner of Police, Lucius Thomas. He told me that those statements attributed to him by Golding were not so. He went further to say that he not only spoke with Golding on the phone, but also both Derrick Smith and Bruce Golding visited with him. Commissioner Thomas told me that after consultation with his key operational officers on the ground, he was convinced that a State of Public Emergency was indeed necessary for Kingston & St. Andrew and St. Thomas. Why then didn’t Golding report the commissioner accurately? Mek mi tell di whole a onnu suppn. Stop play politics wid people life!
I expect anyone who is offering himself or herself for the leadership of this country, to honestly and fairly represent and report on what has been said to him or her. Let me declare my hand. I was one of those who supported Golding when he formed the National Democratic Movement. I was/am sick and tired of the old, destructive politics and I found favour with the positions and policies he posited and seemed willing to pursue.
My reason was that I desperately wanted to be part of a new way of thinking, doing and being. So can you imagine my utter disgust, disappointment and disbelief, to know that someone I respected and believed in would behave in a less than honourable way?
As I had occasion to tell my colleague and professional friend, Cliff Hughes (by the way, when Cliff’s ‘Nationwide’ was started, I was co-presenter along with him for nearly three years, with the support of a small production staff), all I am asking him to do is be fair, balanced, honest and professional. I now say the same thing to Golding.
Whatever the results of the elections, Jamaica will always be my home. As embodied in the words of the National Pledge, my allegiance is first and foremost to this country, not to any political party or leader. And it will remain this way. I need to know that I can TRUST whoever is Prime Minister and whatever my Prime Minister says. I need to know that there are no omissions, half-truths, embellishments or misrepresentations.
By the way, how much effort was made by journalists to get the commissioner of police to verify the veracity of the statements attributed to him?
Another curious matter is the position taken by some media houses and groups regarding the declaration of the State of Public Emergency. As violently opposed as these persons are to its introduction, the majority of Jamaicans seem passionately in agreement and thankful for it.
How then did these media houses and groups arrive at their positions? It cannot be that all wisdom and sense reside only in them. I have heard persons in the past suggest that ‘ordinary’ Jamaicans are not capable of thinking for themselves. Let me tell you all this.
There are no ordinary Jamaicans as you are want to label us. We are all EXTRAORDINARY people. Schooling, class and colour are no guarantors of intelligence. Nuh tek people fi fool!
Truth be told, the proclamation of a State of Public Emergency should have been made before the power grid was shut down. That way the police would also have been given the regulations they needed and the public would not have been left in the dark. In clear and simple language, we should have been told what to expect. Many believe that a State of Public Emergency is just another name for ‘Curfew and/or Cordon’. Others associate it with the 1976 State of (Public) Emergency.
I have been reliably informed by none other than Dr. Lloyd Barnett and David Coore, that a State of Public Emergency and a State of Emergency are one and the same. Of course, depending on the circumstances, the regulations will be different. (See the Emergency Powers Act (June 6, 1938 and the Emergency Public Securities Act, August 2, 1939).
It is also important to know that it has been discussed by the Constitutional Commission that a distinction should be made between a State of Public Disaster and a State of Public Emergency. This should in all probability form part of the amended constitution. Remember that curfews can be introduced on their own or during a State of Public Emergency. A curfew (and cordon) prescribes boundaries, dates/days and times.
Here is another important piece of information. A State of Public Emergency DOES NOT restrict movement, whereas a curfew does.
Finally, in past articles I have pleaded with speakers on political platforms to mind dem mout; tink before dem speak and think of the consequences of their utterances. Can anyone tell me what possessed Peter Fakhourie when he chose to describe his opponent, Lisa Hanna, using the following adjectives; “fool, ediat, duppy, punk”?
Once again I appeal to the leaders of both political parties; let your team members know that abuse, personal attacks and churlish behaviour will not be tolerated.
My column is published every other week, soback with you on September 9, DV. Walk good!
Fae Ellington is a broadcast journalist, lecturer in radio and a communications consultant. You views and comments are welcome. Send them to fae@mail.infochan.com truth?
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