Dear Editor,
It is from a saddened position that I write this letter due to the plight of some of our less fortunate countrymen, especially at this time which ought to be designated for caring and sharing.
On Christmas morning at approximately 8:35, I was driving down from a friend's house in the Red Hills area. As I pulled out on to the main road, a man stretched out his hand asking me for a lift off the hill to the bus stop at Price Right. I hesitated for a while but my hesitation was not without merit based on the fact that the vehicle did not belong to me and the crime situation in Jamaica is appalling, and furthermore you have heard of so many horror stories about people offering rides to strangers which turn out to be very costly or in many cases, fatal.
The man who was in his late 40s seemed very desperate as if this was his only chance of getting a ride to his destination. As soon as he entered the car he thanked me profusely and then immediately broke down in tears, stating that he was dealt a bad hand by an employer who refused to pay him his honestly earned money. He said he was employed to do some painting at a house in Red Hills and since completion of the job he has not received payment for it.
He said on Christmas Eve (Monday night) he was at the premises waiting up on until midnight and his employer did not turn up to pay him. He returned early the following morning and was there from approximately 6 am and the owner refused to answer him. He continued calling, trying to get some attention by shouting, and the neighbours were now being alerted. After about an hour, the helper then opened a window and said her employer was not there, so the painter walked away with a heavy heart.
While sobbing, he went on to further state that had he known he was not going to get his money, he would have stayed with his children and gone to church rather than leaving Spanish Town with not even bus fare to return home.
He never had any money to buy gifts for his kids on the previous shopping day so he was depending on this to take them out on Christmas Day. Now all he can think about is going downtown to get a gun, and this was a life he had walked away from for about 15 years now. He was even contemplating going to the Constant Spring police station and asking the police to return with him to the employer's house.
I had no money on me at the time so I called my wife and told her to meet me outside with some money that I had received the previous night. Upon approaching the Boulevard and Molynes intersection, I gave him some of the money and a brand new football I had in the car along with one of my albums. By this time my wife kept calling me constantly to find out if I was okay after seeing me with a stranger in the car and then driving off without telling her where I was going. One can just imagine the anxiety and concern she was feeling. On exiting the vehicle, the man once again thanked me and offered to paint my house free of cost, to which I said no. If he had to do something for it then it was not a gift, and furthermore he had done enough already. Being encouraged not to turn to crime to get what was rightfully his, he stared at me with tear-filled eyes and once again said thanks.
I cry shame on some of us who drive a big car, live in a big house and much like the politicians, continue to use and abuse those who might not be of the same social standing and are not considered equals.
God is watching how we treat the poor.
Melvin Pennant (MAP)
warriorsunleashed@gmail.com
How we mistreat those who work for us
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It is from a saddened position that I write this letter due to the plight of some of our less fortunate countrymen, especially at this time which ought to be designated for caring and sharing.
On Christmas morning at approximately 8:35, I was driving down from a friend's house in the Red Hills area. As I pulled out on to the main road, a man stretched out his hand asking me for a lift off the hill to the bus stop at Price Right. I hesitated for a while but my hesitation was not without merit based on the fact that the vehicle did not belong to me and the crime situation in Jamaica is appalling, and furthermore you have heard of so many horror stories about people offering rides to strangers which turn out to be very costly or in many cases, fatal.
The man who was in his late 40s seemed very desperate as if this was his only chance of getting a ride to his destination. As soon as he entered the car he thanked me profusely and then immediately broke down in tears, stating that he was dealt a bad hand by an employer who refused to pay him his honestly earned money. He said he was employed to do some painting at a house in Red Hills and since completion of the job he has not received payment for it.
He said on Christmas Eve (Monday night) he was at the premises waiting up on until midnight and his employer did not turn up to pay him. He returned early the following morning and was there from approximately 6 am and the owner refused to answer him. He continued calling, trying to get some attention by shouting, and the neighbours were now being alerted. After about an hour, the helper then opened a window and said her employer was not there, so the painter walked away with a heavy heart.
While sobbing, he went on to further state that had he known he was not going to get his money, he would have stayed with his children and gone to church rather than leaving Spanish Town with not even bus fare to return home.
He never had any money to buy gifts for his kids on the previous shopping day so he was depending on this to take them out on Christmas Day. Now all he can think about is going downtown to get a gun, and this was a life he had walked away from for about 15 years now. He was even contemplating going to the Constant Spring police station and asking the police to return with him to the employer's house.
I had no money on me at the time so I called my wife and told her to meet me outside with some money that I had received the previous night. Upon approaching the Boulevard and Molynes intersection, I gave him some of the money and a brand new football I had in the car along with one of my albums. By this time my wife kept calling me constantly to find out if I was okay after seeing me with a stranger in the car and then driving off without telling her where I was going. One can just imagine the anxiety and concern she was feeling. On exiting the vehicle, the man once again thanked me and offered to paint my house free of cost, to which I said no. If he had to do something for it then it was not a gift, and furthermore he had done enough already. Being encouraged not to turn to crime to get what was rightfully his, he stared at me with tear-filled eyes and once again said thanks.
I cry shame on some of us who drive a big car, live in a big house and much like the politicians, continue to use and abuse those who might not be of the same social standing and are not considered equals.
God is watching how we treat the poor.
Melvin Pennant (MAP)
warriorsunleashed@gmail.com
How we mistreat those who work for us
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