Our Jamaican Columnist Sends His Report Island to Island
By Ralston Blair

Late Arrival

As the old saying goes, better late than never. Once again, here for its third season (as we mark this period of Jamaican Independence celebrations) is your lively and informative Jamaican/ Mackinac Island column written by yours truly. Before you get the impression that I am on Mackinac Island, however, let me say that I am still firmly back home on Jamaican soil.

I’m just one of the many casualties of the recently imposed U.S. visa cap, which unfortunately affected seasonal workers this year. Naturally, I would have loved to have been there with you, but, instead, I guess you’ll have to settle with me being there in literary spirit. I can still share some of the interesting happenings and tropical highlights from this popular island of Jamaica with you. And, if, as the saying goes, “you can’t keep a good man down,” then this man will usually try his best to find a way to satisfy the appetites of both the Jamaican and U.S. readers of this column. So read on and enjoy.

Frankly speaking, I don’t think many of us, employers and employees alike, saw the seasonal visa cap coming. So when it did come in January, it caught most of us off guard. I can easily imagine how it might have had employers mentally scurrying to put in place various contingency plans to fill their work gap in case the ban was not lifted. And I certainly know that in the case of many Jamaicans, who look forward to this recurring seasonal employment, it did cause a lot of apprehension and uncertainty.

Well, lifted it was, but not without some effect on the final selection process by some employers who, for one reason or another, made the choice to probably stick to the certainty of their earlier contingency plans, and as a result, many Jamaican workers either came up very late or not at all. Hats off to those ardent employers who swam against the tide and put alternative steps in place to try and ensure that their workers could be made available to them. I’m sure those workers can be in no doubt as to the perceived sense of worth and value that these employers have toward them.

The big question is, does this mean that we’ll have to look out for something similar next year? Who knows. But nevertheless, it gives us one more challenging thing to think about.

Down in Jamaica

At this point, I feel it’s time I gave you some information on a mixed bag of upbeat Jamaican happenings which occurred recently.

July is always a much anticipated period for reggae music lovers worldwide. This means the annual staging of the highly-acclaimed festival, Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest, which was held at Catherine's Hall in Montego Bay Sunday, July 17, through Sunday, July 24.

The lineup of musical performers not only included the usual famous names in reggae, but had the addition of U.S. Hip Hop and R&B performers. This time around, these included names like Akon, Ciara, Fabulous, and American Idol winner, Fantasia. It once again proves that there is now a definite musical marriage between the urban sounds of the Jamaican Dance Hall brand of reggae and its U.S. counterpart.

Speaking of which, two big names in Jamaican dance were noticeably absent, Beenie Man and Bounti Killa, but that did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the capacity crowd. Some of the younger generation of artists gave very good performances, such as Sizzla (who did give a sizzling performance), Chuck Fender, Ritchie Spice, the fireman, Capleton, and Bob Marley’s son, Damian Marley. Alongside them, however, were stalwarts for the more mature generation, such as Luciano, Ini Kamoze, Sanchez, and the most recent Grammy Awards winner in the reggae category, Toots Hibbert. These long-standing stars all showed that their aging process is as excellent as that of fine wine. All in all, a wonderful and enjoyable eight-day experience.

The astonishing 53rd staging of the Dendigh Agricultural Show (I use the term astonishing, because that means it actually got started eight years prior to Jamaica getting its independence from Great Britain in 1962) was once again held at the Dendigh Agricultural Show Grounds in May Pen, Clarendon, Saturday, July 30, through Monday, August 1.

As usual, in keeping with the heavy emphasis on agriculture in most islands of the Caribbean, there were attractions ranging from agricultural displays, livestock competitions, the crowning of the National Farm Queen, a gospel concert, as well as exposure of contestants from the island’s Rising Stars Talent Competition. Along with all this there was lots of fun and games for the children. The event is put on annually by the Jamaican Agricultural Society and The Ministry of Agriculture.

There’s one recently encouraging piece of news which I applaud because it shows great consideration toward our young school students.

This is the case where after all the scheduled festivities of August have come and gone, 17 lucky Jamaicans will look forward to an alleviation of their tuition fees by receiving paid scholarships for their upcoming back-to-school period in September.

This gesture was spearheaded by the popular Jamaican radio station Hot 102 FM in partnership with the Ida Rose Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The initiative came out of appeals by many listeners to Disclosure, a talk show aired on the station. In this year’s effort, the memorial fund has given out the whopping sum of $1.5 million to assist needy students in realizing their opportunities for further education.

What a great way to keep hope alive in the minds of our children.

Well, those are some of my interesting pick of things which took place in Jamaica over the last week. Each week, I’ll keep you abreast of similar stories.

Emancipation

August 1, each year, is celebrated in Jamaica as Emancipation Day. This marks the passage of 167 years since the abolition of slavery in Jamaica.

During the 1800s, talk of freedom for those in slavery was rife, but when it was first officially legalized in 1834, it was not as genuine in its application. It came in the unfair form of a mandatory Apprentice System, which was more a means of placating the former slave owners for their loss of the slaves than it was about true freedom for the slaves.

Under the apprentice system, the ex-slaves were expected to return to work for a continued work period of between four to six years apprenticeship and were subjected to equally brutal and oppressive methods as those of the previous slaverysystem. A description of the apprenticeship system is one in which persons subjected to it were not bonded, yet they were also certainly not free. In many cases, it only legalized the type of torture the ex-slaves had previously undergone.

However, after much resistance by the ex-slaves to this continuing form of oppression, as well as the pressure exerted from those persons in Britain lobbying against the inhumane system, the real emancipation came four years later, on August 1, 1838. Roars of jubilation and celebratory joy rang out from the ex-slaves as they hailed themselves as being full free.

Today, therefore, this day is now a public holiday, one that encourages all inhabitants on the island to reflect on that past period with the full significance of maintaining the progressive spirit it created. A variety of cultural events are kept around the Island, along with lively depictions of native dances and customs.

For this year, more than 750 tourists from the U.S. and elsewhere chose to experience the exposure to this form of heritage tourism over the usual sun, sand, and sea-type holiday and got the opportunity to see these displays first-hand. Many expressed great fascination at the events which they witnessed.

Place and Profile

Last season, I delved deeply into many historical aspects of Jamaica and its culture, so for all my readers who expressed appreciation for the information, welcome back to history class. This season would be as good a time as any to introduce my U.S. readers each week to some of the popular towns found dotted around the 14 parishes into which Jamaica is divided. Naturally, I’ll start off with some of the more popular ones, and in saying so, I immediately think of Montego Bay, which is the capital of the Parish of St. James on the northwestern tip of the Island.

Montego Bay has earned itself the name “the friendly city” and, for the most part, has kept that title. It is Jamaica's second city (Kingston being the first, of course). Its international airport is called The Sangster International Airport (named after Donald Sangster, one of Jamaica’s past Prime Ministers) and if you’re the kind of person who likes a not-too-laid back resort, yet one that is not too over the top, then Mobay (as it’s also affectionately called) will probably be the ideal spot for you. It has an active night life but also has some very breathtaking natural scenery, and you can just as easily get there by sea as by air. Cruise ship arrivals actually jumped 16 percent in May.

The word Montego comes from the Spanish word manteca, meaning lard, and in the old days, those ancient Spaniards used to butcher wild hogs in the mountains and ship the lard from this port.

Montego Bay’s tourism dates to 1924 when its first hotel was built. Without a doubt, it has really come a long way since then and you can now choose from a score of moderate to extremely high-quality hotels.

At the center of the town you will find the busy Sam Sharpe Square, where the slave rebellion leader of the same name was hanged, along with hundreds more, in 1832. He was later made a national hero. It was that harsh response to that uprising by the colonial government that led England to abolish slavery two years later.

The stretch of the town’s famous beaches begins just north of the town at Walter Fletcher's Beach (now known as the Aquasol Theme Park and Beach). Further north you find others like Doctors Cave Beach, Cornwall, and Chatham Beach. More hotels extend east from the airport. South of the town, you will find the Freeport, a predominantly industrial area. Travel yet another five miles southwest of Montego Bay and you will find the Rockland's Feeding Station, where a wide variety of birds can be observed and where bird feeding takes place.

Romantic rafting down the Marthe Brae River is an unforgettable experience, while an evening torchlight canoe ride up the Great River is even more so. For the historical at heart, you could visit Greenwood Great House, which was built in 1790 by Richard Barrett, a relative of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and for the brave-hearted, a visit to the infamous Rose Hall Great House (which is said to still be haunted by the ghost of the wicked mistress of the house, who is said to have murdered her three husbands) should give you the kind of thrill you desire.

Golf is popular and perfect for this area, which also boasts a number of championship courses. Add to that the usual offering of water sports, restaurants, appealing craft works, and entertainment, and you can be sure you will enjoy Montego Bay’s very disarming and charming atmosphere.

Well, before I feel tempted to give up writing and to become a travel agent, I’ll leave it to you to discover the rest of this cosmopolitan town for yourself sometime.

An Old Jamaican Saying

“Fire deh a muss muss tail, im tink a cool breeze”

Translated, it means: “While fire is at the mongoose’s tail, he’s thinking that it’s a cool breeze.”

In the past, mongooses were brought into the Island to kill out the scourge of rats plaguing the canfields, but after having done so, the mongoose themselves became a problem, and so the remedy of burning the fields with mongooses in them was probably the basis for the origin of this old time Jamaican saying.

Well, I’ve probably said a mouthful, so I guess it’s time to let you relax and digest it all. But since I’m not there on Mackinac Island, in person, I invite all those who wish to give me their feedback, suggestions, and comments, to send your messages to me at my personal e-mail address: blairnyou@hotmail.com

Next Week: From Emancipation to Independence.

Until then, Stay Irie!!

Ralston Blair is a Jamaican writer and journalist who has worked the past several summers on Mackinac Island. He is writing this year from Jamaica. Ideas and comments about his column can also be delivered in care of the Town Crier.