Dear Editor,
On August 1, 1838, Jamaica was emancipated from British masters as slavery was abolished. Though marginalisation still occurred, where the whites in the country and those with "high colour" had more opportunities than those with dark skin, we were made "free". Fast forward to August 1, 2013, 175 years later.
Yes, nobody can own another as a slave anymore, and there's no more hanging and rape by our masters. People are free to go to the schools they want -- save for the Ministry of Education determining for some people, and even then they can transfer. Slavery as it was in the 1800s exists no more, but we still aren't truly free.
Until we learn to use the power we as a people possess, and help those with a darker skin tone to get past the mentality that they need to be 'brown' (or white) before 'sum'n can gwaan fi dem', we are still slaves. We are also still slaves to the whims, corruption and bureaucracy of the Government. At times, our only democratic freedom seems to be electing who we want in office. After which we are forced to take whatever they say, be it a sudden toll increase, a poorly thought-out smoking ban, or watching them waste $100 million on 'Jamaica 51' celebrations.
I still wonder what Jamaica would be like had we stayed a British colony for a while longer. Perhaps we'd have something similar to Cayman's economy -- we can only speculate. But until we get everyone educated and thinking critically, we are still yet to be free.
Ponder this thought posted by my friend: "It is said that slavery was abolished but...it's a lie. Money is our slave master [sic] and the corrupt Government is the whip. The whip (is) called Tax."
Alwayne Allen
allenalwayne@gmail.com
Are we really free?
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On August 1, 1838, Jamaica was emancipated from British masters as slavery was abolished. Though marginalisation still occurred, where the whites in the country and those with "high colour" had more opportunities than those with dark skin, we were made "free". Fast forward to August 1, 2013, 175 years later.
Yes, nobody can own another as a slave anymore, and there's no more hanging and rape by our masters. People are free to go to the schools they want -- save for the Ministry of Education determining for some people, and even then they can transfer. Slavery as it was in the 1800s exists no more, but we still aren't truly free.
Until we learn to use the power we as a people possess, and help those with a darker skin tone to get past the mentality that they need to be 'brown' (or white) before 'sum'n can gwaan fi dem', we are still slaves. We are also still slaves to the whims, corruption and bureaucracy of the Government. At times, our only democratic freedom seems to be electing who we want in office. After which we are forced to take whatever they say, be it a sudden toll increase, a poorly thought-out smoking ban, or watching them waste $100 million on 'Jamaica 51' celebrations.
I still wonder what Jamaica would be like had we stayed a British colony for a while longer. Perhaps we'd have something similar to Cayman's economy -- we can only speculate. But until we get everyone educated and thinking critically, we are still yet to be free.
Ponder this thought posted by my friend: "It is said that slavery was abolished but...it's a lie. Money is our slave master [sic] and the corrupt Government is the whip. The whip (is) called Tax."
Alwayne Allen
allenalwayne@gmail.com
Are we really free?
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