A quote from James Baldwin, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” This quote from James Baldwin is as relevant today as it was in the 1970s when he first wrote it.
It is a message for the situation we must face as a people – globally and individ-
- Advertisement -
ually. Certainly, for Jamaica, this is an alert, a keen alert that we must face difficulties in order to make changes and in order for us to move forward as a country.
This quote from James Baldwin serves as an instruction, we must have the courage to face difficult situations `head on’ in order to be able to make significant changes.
The country of Jamaica is facing many crises that many other countries face, but we are drawn to the situation in Jamaica more and more because of the dangerous direction it seems to be traveling; the growing despair amongst the people, and lack of hope overall.
Young David Salmon is the Jamaica Rhodes Scholar for 2023. In his remarks at the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast, he spoke to the question of Jamaican communities are in crisis, and he said,
“I take this opportunity to charge our leaders to resist the allure of corruption as this rot has undermined our communities and the principles of fairness and justice. If we can maintain this fixity of purpose, then with our battle, we shall see the absolute victory in defeating crime,” said Salmon, who spoke on behalf of youth across the nation.
“We must not be afraid to be standard-bearers of integrity.
“Today, I also charge the youth of Jamaica to live with integrity and promise … Fight to create a new Jamaica …We must also have a consensus on crime and maintain an unwavering commitment to its implementation. Placing our communities at the center of these discussions is essential,” he said.
“To rebuild our communities, we must recognize this simple fact: we are all each other’s keepers. As children of Jamaica, if our brothers or sisters stumble, then we stumble. If they are oppressed, our security isn’t assured. Acknowledging this simple truth is essential to building an enduring peace,” he said.
“Achieving a lasting peace requires a recognition of the importance of placing God at the center of our many choices. It also demands a commitment to treat our neighbors with the respect that they deserve. The scriptures highlight this fact in Matthew 22:37-38 when Jesus shared that the two greatest commandments were to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and secondly, love your neighbor as yourself,” Salmon said.
Salmon ended his remarks by saying that this year’s theme, ‘Strengthening Communities Through Peace, Justice and Forgiveness’, is timely given that several communities across Jamaica are currently in crisis.
The recent development in the financial system has brought a troubling situation to the fore, a situation where savings and investments are fraudulently converted, and a situation where trust has been severely compromised. A country is questioning if it can bank and invest in a system that it can trust. We have seen several individuals from the financial world being arrested and or under investigation. This is in addition to the fraud brought out by the misappropriation of the investment of the athletic star Usain Bolt. Bolt was one of the victims of a fraud ring involving a private investment firm where $12.7 million of his money has gone missing. The fraud lasted 13 years and also ensnared elderly clients and government agencies.
This kind of white color criminality seems to have overtaken the country and the corruption seen in the financial sector is spreading all over the country; in business endeavors, people are frustrated, and doubtful of where to put their trust which leads to despair, there is no safe place for them to conduct business or safely save for the future.
The violent crime rise continues unabatedly, the record number of murders has cast a shadow over the country and fear in communities as to their safety and security. It is a real worry after seeing what crime and gangs did in destroying the country of Haiti, the fear that the gangs and violent crime in Jamaica is heading in that direction is one of great concern.
The guns and drugs in our country is creating a culture of recklessness and disregard to basic human consideration, and it is just drunkenness of power that is driving these activities in Jamaica.
These problems as Baldwin warns must be faced, we cannot make excuses. We cannot look away. We cannot blame others our leaders must lead and must face the situation and make the required changes. In order to change what we now face. Just talking or excuses is not acceptable, the people want real action.
It is the time for us to listen to the old sage and brilliant mind of James Baldwin, and listen to and pay close attention to the young mind, innovative and hopeful, David Salmon.
We must come to grips with what is destroying our country, and we must face it in an upfront manner.
Not even our children are safe as we continue to hear tragic stories of young women being abused by people who should be protecting them.
Yes, our communities are in crisis, and yes, the solution to the crisis resides in our community and the realization that effort has to be paid to get services to our communities to get the engagement of the communities and to make the engagement one of substance where members of the community have a stake in the success of the programs and in the success of the community. We have to bring hope to each and every community because nothing is more dangerous than a man or a woman without hope. We have to be sure that our young people and elderly people are protected.
The government must find the guardrails to bring structure and discipline and resources to our community so that the evil of corruption, violence and crime can be seen for what it is, not as an alternative to good governance and good community development.
The realization that our communities are in crisis is one that must be faced if we are going to solve it. James Baldwin was right then, and he is right now, and it’s for the government to take this into consideration as a way forward is determined.
