The debacle finally ends
They say it is the hope that kills you. The hope that something amazing will happen, that a miracle will take place, that a wrong will be righted, it is the hope of something better that makes the inevitable disappointment sting. Hope kills even more so when you understand that this is the last bite of the cherry, that you find yourself in an undeserved spot to do things over and do it right. Those scenarios are even more painful when the hope bucks up against the cruel thing called reality.
Jamaican football fans recently experienced this hope followed by swift disappointment as they lost to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the World Cup qualification playoffs. They found themselves in this do or die setting after they failed to beat Curacao in regional qualifiers, and they failed the make-up exam.
If we are honest, they did not deserve to qualify. The whole campaign has been a bit of an embarrassment, and it is probably a good thing that this bunch do not go to the big show and embarrass us on the world stage.
The JFF has failed in its main objective, seeing the men’s team qualify for a World Cup, and the success of the other programs, such as the women’s and youth, does not hide the failure and should not be used to paper over the cracks, especially as the women’s game remains the red-headed stepchild of football despite its global success.
A new broom is needed, new leadership with fresh vision and the ability to get all the areas of the game running efficiently and with adequate funding. It is obvious that, as things stand now, the game in the country is stagnating at best and going backwards in certain areas, and a new way of tackling the issue is needed.
Cuban medical brigade
As things stand now, all the members of the Cuban medical brigade have returned to Cuba. Those who have recently left, along with the scores who have worked in the Jamaican system, must be thanked for the work they have done, working in parts of Jamaica that local doctors and nurses won’t go to and doing the specialised work which we are unable to carry out with local medical staff, as those skilled practitioners have migrated.
It has been reported that one hospital, the Cornwall Regional, is set to lose up to 22 specialised nurses, and this highlights just how impactful the Cubans have been and just how missed they will be. The health minister, while announcing the intake of almost 30 nurses, admitted they were not there to replace the Cubans, as the new hires are not specialised.
It is the poorest who access our public hospitals the most frequently; it is they who will feel this impact the most, and the reasoning given for ending the agreement still does not add up. One person commenting on the matter to a local paper contradicted themselves by saying that the Cubans are scared to talk because of spies, then turns around and says they do not want to leave Jamaica because they have tasted freedom. While not coming from the government, it is obvious that they are speaking with the permission of the government, and the excuse makes no sense.
We have sacrificed the health and well-being of our citizens, we have sacrificed a decades-old agreement and sacrificed the bonds of friendship, all for the promise of not harming us from a country that has shown its promises are not worth the paper they are written on.
Plans to hire staff from India and African countries will possibly see us paying even more for staff, as those workers invariably earn more, and their dollar is stronger than that in Cuba.
As weeks turn into months, we will continue to hear more stories of the impact of the medical brigade’s leaving, and it will be the people who suffer as the government dances around the issue.
Political cesspit
Politics in its current form is a dirty game; we all know that. But the game seems to attract some of the most reprobate people, people you would not want to be a dog catcher, let alone a representative. Both parties have members who have been fingered in allegations of impropriety, and both parties have done everything in their efforts to minimize and deflect from these issues.
Be it allegations of corruption or of a sexual nature, you can be sure that the major parties will do everything in their power to make it look like nothing has happened and that their opponent has done things just as bad, so we should turn a blind eye to their issues.
With a 30 per cent turnout at the last election, it is obvious that the people have been turned off by the actions of their representatives and the parties they represent. They are tired of the excuses for bad behaviour, and tired of the broken promises of accountability, which, at the end of elections, end up in the trash heap along with manifestos.
People are not silly or blind; they see and are aware of the many allegations against politicians of all stripes, and while they may not all be true, the refusal to investigate them has allowed all politicians to be tarred as a corrupted lot, good only to blow hot air and enrich themselves.
If they do not want to empower agencies to investigate allegations of wrongdoing, they can at least strengthen their internal mechanisms to punish those who they find guilty of wrongdoing. A naive ask I know, but still, it is better than what we have now.
