Dear Editor,
The is an open letter to the Government of Jamaica.
I was born in the mid-60s, and while growing up I could hear my elders talk about the difficult and challenging time they were facing. They lamented about the bleak future for the country and especially for the young people.
Each year, around April, when it was time for the Budget presentation, there would be a lot of anxiety in and around the community.
Every year we would be told of the hard times and how the county is being called on to hold strain or 'ban our belly'. Political parties would take advantage of the situation in order to gain State power.
Let's fast-forward to the present situation. What has changed? The message is still the same. I am now saying the same things my parents and their colleagues used to say. I am lamenting the state of our county and what future there is for our children and their children.
My parents used to say that our future is mortgaged, but they hoped that by the time we were adults things would improve. Sorry to say, they hoped in vain.
Hopelessness is a terrible thing, and as we age we are able to look back and forward at the same time. Looking back we see what could have been, and looking forward we come to realise that there are no differences in the direction of those directing us now.
The present situation has rendered us hopeless. I can only hope for better in the afterlife. And I can only pray that our children will have the strength of character to not be overcome by the false hope, selfishness, greed, and corruption of those who claim to govern us.
Due to the fact that my income is fixed, and I have no 'subjects' to call upon to provide me with additional income, in addition to my inability to cut back on anything else, I can only do one thing -- that is to continue to pay the same rate of property tax that obtained from last year.
I certainly cannot make blood out of stone and, even if I could, it would be wasted like the last 50 years. I do hope those in Government can find it in their hearts to understand, the same way we as citizens have over the years.
D Harriott
dkeith@cwjamaica.com
Hopelessness is a terrible thing
-->
The is an open letter to the Government of Jamaica.
I was born in the mid-60s, and while growing up I could hear my elders talk about the difficult and challenging time they were facing. They lamented about the bleak future for the country and especially for the young people.
Each year, around April, when it was time for the Budget presentation, there would be a lot of anxiety in and around the community.
Every year we would be told of the hard times and how the county is being called on to hold strain or 'ban our belly'. Political parties would take advantage of the situation in order to gain State power.
Let's fast-forward to the present situation. What has changed? The message is still the same. I am now saying the same things my parents and their colleagues used to say. I am lamenting the state of our county and what future there is for our children and their children.
My parents used to say that our future is mortgaged, but they hoped that by the time we were adults things would improve. Sorry to say, they hoped in vain.
Hopelessness is a terrible thing, and as we age we are able to look back and forward at the same time. Looking back we see what could have been, and looking forward we come to realise that there are no differences in the direction of those directing us now.
The present situation has rendered us hopeless. I can only hope for better in the afterlife. And I can only pray that our children will have the strength of character to not be overcome by the false hope, selfishness, greed, and corruption of those who claim to govern us.
Due to the fact that my income is fixed, and I have no 'subjects' to call upon to provide me with additional income, in addition to my inability to cut back on anything else, I can only do one thing -- that is to continue to pay the same rate of property tax that obtained from last year.
I certainly cannot make blood out of stone and, even if I could, it would be wasted like the last 50 years. I do hope those in Government can find it in their hearts to understand, the same way we as citizens have over the years.
D Harriott
dkeith@cwjamaica.com
Hopelessness is a terrible thing
-->