Jamaica celebrated its 60th Independence as a commonwealth sovereign August 6, 2022, and there was a feeling of what is the status of Jamaica today. How far did the tiny nation of Jamaica’s three billion plus sustain itself since it gained Independency Status in 1962?
Written By: Editor C. Harrison | Wed | created Sept 20, 2022 | Post Oct 19, 2022 |
New York, NY…The tiny Island of Jamaica West Indies gained Independence Status as a commonwealth nation in1962. The first elected Prime Minister of Jamaica was Alexander Bustamante. August 6, 2022, the Island celebrated its 60th year of Independence. The question implemented was, how far did Jamaica reach collectively, since that first taste of freedom in 1962. Bundiblog.com ventured to find out.
Bundiblog.com: I send out queries to find out just those questions. I got back some very interesting intel from some prominent Jamaican New Yorkers, who did not hold court or their tongues.
Bundiblog.com: WHY SHOULD JAMAICANS BE GRATEFUL?
Dave H: I believe it’s the idea of not being controlled or dependent on another. We can thrive on our own as a country.
Junior Nakiaski: Undeniably on a world scale, Jamaica is by far not the worst-off country in the world.
Eric Stevenson: We should be grateful first for life and the opportunity to reside in the kingdom of the almighty. Secondly, grateful for the long path of history that our ancestors had to travel for us to have today, after the hard trials and contributions.
Randy Fagan: I don’t really see a true reason to be grateful.
Richard Lue: There is no answer for it, what we have are all symbolisms.
Neil Curtis: We should be grateful for the unadulterated ability to rise up and demonstrated that a small island can have such a large footprint globally. “Independence” allow us the ability to tell our stories without filtration or having someone else take the credit for our accomplishments.
Bundiblog.com: WHAT SHOULD WE BE CELEBRATING?
Dave H: Emoji
Junior Nakiaski: We should be celebrating the real meaningful accomplishments that our country has accomplished and not be blindsided about the negative things.
Eric Stevenson: We should be celebrating the fact that Jamaica is independence of its oppressors even through becoming independent we had a rough start because of the lack of a strong economy. Jamaica was given its independent with nothing in its hands to run the country. This caused Jamaica to get assistance from the IMF, which was nothing but a snake to Jamaica.
Randy Fagan: The end of slavery
Richard Lue: WE have remained a functioning Democracy. I am grateful for this because we have not had a nondemocratic society.
Neil Curtis: We should be celebrating our freedom. The removal of the microscope and transition to the telescope. Although we are still being watched it’s not as scrutinized, which gives us the ability to be ourselves. That’s something to celebrate based on where we’re coming from.
Bundiblog.com: DID WE OVERCOME?
Dave H: Not really. I think as a country, we rely heavily on outside help instead of our own resources.
Junior Nakaski: We are still trying to overcome. We definitely have no doubts, and like any other country in the world, we are all still trying to overcome.
Eric Stevenson: We did not and will not overcome until Jamaica is truly free from European nations who do nothing but bleed Jamaica of its resources.
Randy Fagan: We really did not overcome. We were granted independence.
Richard Lue: We are a strong democracy with all the trials and tribulations. We reign consistency on the world stage. We are a country. Jamaica has given us freedom to chart our own way. We did not overcome but, we were never an oppress people. We still have a color divide. We need to overcome that.
Neil Curtis: We did overcome because we can now make decisions instead of having the slave masters sitting in the decision seats.
Bundiblog.com: DID JAMAICA ACHIEVE ITS GOAL OF BECOMING INDEPENDENT?
Dave H: Not completely at all.
Junior Naaski: To a certain extent, there is still a lot of infrastructure needed in all aspects as it relates to the needs of the people.
Eric Stevenson: We achieved our goal of becoming independent on a crutch. The reason is because there wasn’t enough money taken in to run the country causing Jamaica to lean on loans from the IMF and support from European nations. So, in reality we started on a rough road.
Randy Fagan: No, we did not, we had political violence.
Richard Lue: We are surviving. We are existing as hard as it is, compared to other countries, we ‘re ok.?
Neil Curtis: I believe we achieved the foundation goals of independence but, there is much more to achieve, we’ve only chipped the tip of the iceberg.
Bundiblog.com: IS JAMAICA AN ADVANCE SOCIETY
Dave H: For the Caribbean, I think we are.
Junior Nakiaski: In relation to many countries in the world…we up dey big an-proud.
Eric Stevenson: We are an advance society in our God given knowledge and blessings…such as knowledge of natural health and healing herbs and fruits. Even though we aren’t as technologically advanced as America or Europe because of us being held back due to finances. Our hospitals need up to date equipment and medical supplies. Our schools as well.
Randy Fagan: We have made advancements.
Richard Lue: Technologically, Jamaica is an advance nation. We had the first railroad. We maintain a pretty good standard of education even through some are left behind. We are not advance for a civilization.
Neil Curtis: We are not an advance society. We are a society that is stuck in 1962, with 2022 facades, to make us believe that we have progressed. The West minister System designed it so that we would keep the founding principles and “Their” antiquated methodology as the operating system of the country. Technology keeps society up to date otherwise we’d be way behind time.
Bundiblog.com: WHAT SECTOR OR WHAT AREA IS JAMAICA STILL MAKING MISTAKES?
Dave H: In my opinion I think there is too much fraud & corruption in all sectors. There is a need for integrity and security.
Junior Nakiaski: Corruption & crime
Eric Stevenson: We are still making mistakes in Government and the type of people we elect to run Jamaica. We are also making mistakes. in believing that the government is going to be our savior. Mistakes are also being made in being disunited as a people which weakens and allow others to come in and deplete our resources, leaving us in shambles.
Randy Fagan: I don’t really know what all the mistakes are but, I believe the main one was adapting the British Parliamentary system.
Richard Lue: We are still making mistakes in every area. There is nothing that works in Jamaica. We still get power outage, water lockoff,s and we still live in garbage dumps.
Neil Curtis: We are making mistakes mainly in the area of government, as we have done nothing to advance or amend the colonial construct left to govern our people. The most important sector, agriculture, is the least important amongst officials and their priorities. The colonial system needs to be updated so that the system runs closer to what is happening in the modern world, i.e. judicial banking, etc.
Bundiblog.com: ARE WE READY FOR THE FUTURE COMING OUT OF THE 21ST CENTURY?
Dave H: I am not sure we are ready because we are too reliant on others.
Junior Nakiaski: Jamaican’s are always on top of the worldly trends and our society demands keeping up to the times. We ready every time.
Eric Stevenson: More preparations are needed and the merry of the almighty. we are behind in many ways.
Randy Fagan: I don’t know if we are ready for the next century. that’s a projection I am unable to make.
Richard Lue: No, we are not. We are not caught up not even for the 21st century. We are too depending on oil, so are limited. I don’t really celebrate.
Neil Curtis: We are not prepared for the future based on our priorities and current infrastructure across the board. The young Jamaicans mind are prepared, and ready but antiquated ideals and methodologies will remind us that “children are to be seen and not heard,” part of the colonial principles that’s confounded.
Bundiblog.com: HOW FAR HAVE WE COME INTERMS OF WHERE WE WERE BEFORE OUR INDEPENDENCE?
Dave H: Emoji
Junior Nakiaski: As a country we can compare ourselves as a progressive independent developing country and I am sure if we are ranked #1 in our category worldwide…I am sure we in the top 10.
Eric Stevenson: It seems that Jamaica’s economy, got weaker and weaker with its independence. When England pulled its money out, it left Jamaica struggling as the European’s just continued to rob Jamaica resources.
Randy Fagan: We have not come far since our independence.
Richard Lue: We have fallen back as a society…We have digressed
Neil Curtis: We have come a long way from before our independence {progressed}. My only concern is that we have taken the reins from the “masters” but along with it came the whip! 90% of the country is of African descent and still have not gotten a chance to elevate. Darker skinned Africans are still treated less than lighter ones. Independence is a word that must be used to create just that for people, so to create a better society overall.
Bundiblog.com: ARE WE READY AND PREPARED FOR THE NEXT GENERATION?
Dave H: No.
Junior Nakiaski: The next generation is our country’s strength, and we need major investments to ensure we develop a blueprint to nurture and grow our raw Jamaican Youth’s talents.
Eric Stevenson: We really not. A lot of work and preparation needs to be done in order for our next generation to succeed and to come out of poverty.
Randy Fagan: I think there are serious weaknesses evident in this generation.
Richard Lue: Absolutely not, no; we have not progressed as a society.
Neil Curtis: The current Jamaica is not ready for the next generation. We don’t regard our youths as important individuals in Jamaican society. We are not preparing to pass the baton for them even to receive it. They are not being Shepard and so the flock is going astray.
Bundiblog.com: WHERE DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF JAMAICA?
Dave H: I see it having alot of foreign investors dictating how and what the government should do to or for the country.
Junior Nakiaski: A country that will always be an example to the world in categories that we undeniably excel in with as sports, music, food, alcohol, academics etc. And we still continue to add our accomplishments.
Eric Stevenson: Jamaica is…has been and will always be a blessed nation. It’s only by God’s grace and protection that Jamaica stands. Look at Port Royal, in Jamaica where all of the wicked Pirates killed off and enslaved Jamaicans, raped women and killed them with children. Look at how the almighty rocked them with an earthquake and destroyed them. That’s an example of how Jamaica is God’s land, and he upholds his protection over it. So, the wicked will pay for any harm it commits on or against Jamaica. One other point on independence, is that …during the time of Prime Minister Michael Manley…he stated that…Jamaica never should deal with the IMF because of the harsh terms for black nations… They came in and try to destroy the local farmers produce by forcing Jamaica to accept in their agreement for funds; to allow foreign countries to send in their produce to sell at a cheaper rate than local farmers rate, thus… allowing local produce to spoil and the outsiders to succeed in Selling. We need new leaders with the mind set of Michael Manley.
Randy Fagan: I see potential, but the implementation needs work.
Richard Lue: The future of Jamaica can be very bright. Old people must step aside and give the young people a chance in terms of politics. They can take more care of poor people. Jamaica right now is one of the scamming capitals of the world. I think it’s great Grace Kennedy LTD, is celebrating their 100th anniversary in business.
Neil Crutis: I see the future of Jamaica being dominated by foreigners that have recently arrived and are starting families with a future motivated of becoming leaders. These people will have the same objective of keeping the original 90% of Jamaica as customers and not business owners. But now they will also be the heads of state. The country will grow economically and generate good income for those position. The lowly will continue to strive through entertainment and sports and maybe we will begin to be known for a few specialties like organic food (Farm Up Jamaica), but otherwise Jamaicans don’t like change, so all of what I see is gradual without too much excitement in the process. I love Jamaica but our diaspora needs to help to do more for our people.
