Kingston isn’t Jamaica !

As a country girl growing up, I often not only heard the term “Kingston is Jamaica” but also saw it in action and was always incensed.  

We had to become accustomed to being left behind, for that is how most of our governments operated. 

In short, we were ‘back a bush’ so had to be satisfied with ‘what lef’ or nothing!

So, we never even saw street lights or asphalt roads  much less sidewalks, until we went to the great city.

Seeing the immediate reaction by many to the devastation left by Beryl, just reminded me how we country folk used to feel being left out of the picture.

To be clear, I am no longer a Jamaican country person or even a Jamaican resident anymore. But it really hurt when for days I got news from home that hurricane Beryl had only been a little breeze blow which had only done minimum damage.

Ok, admittedly, many of those who referred to it as a little ‘breeze blow’ had survived Gilbert and it’s aftermath which had caused them to be without electricity for weeks on end and had  known many roofless friends and neighbors.

 So they having expected a very bad experience  based on Beryl being  prophesied to be worse and it sure wasn’t in their neighborhoods, can be excused. 

But not the media which downplayed the island wide damage or couldn’t wait till they had the facts.

 So they carried stories of comfort, based on the situation in most of Kingston.

Yup. In their minds, Kingston is still Jamaica apparently!

It was only about two days after Beryl had totally wrecked sections of Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth, that the rest of the country and indeed world, started to recognize that there was more to Jamaica than Kingston!

I eventually learned that the devastation in my parish, St. Elizabeth, had really been severe, with a vast number of persons left totally homeless or severely exposed to the elements.

The destruction in these country areas are not only parochial problems though as it is these three parishes that mainly supply a significant amount of not only the fruits, foods and vegetables to the entire country of Jamaica, but poultry and fish as well.

Let’s hope when it comes to rehabilitation and helping people to get their lives back on stream, the Kingston is Jamaica philosophy will not prevail. As everyone is a taxpayer (even if it’s only GCT)  and should not be treated as lesser beings, simply by virtue of not having been born ‘under di clack’.

And this means in terms of having essentials like light and water restored!

We also all need to be vigilant to ensure that the billions to be spent to repair infrastructure is properly accounted for and quality work done, for remember this is just the first hurricane of what is predicted to be an active season.