Memories Of The Country

 I remember when I went to visit my family in St Elizabeth. My mom used to take me almost every weekend as a child and I remember running around for miles with all the little kids in the neighbourhood going from one mango tree to the next just eating mangoes all day! When I grew up I remember one time I was at UWI and it was mango season, and I sat down and thought of all the mangoes on the trees in the country so I decided to take the bus to visit my family in St Elizabeth. Of course my Auntie Katy (may her soul RIP) was so happy to see me and from the moment I got there she did not stop feeding me. She took one look at me and said you poor thing, you are so skinny, all the degrees you are studying and you still don't know how to take care of your body... and she shook her head in pity. What was she talking about? Anyway , then she said, when you are ready to take a shower, I went to the tank (about a mile away) to draw some water for you. The water is in the bucket by the side of the house. WHAT? I was so excited to eat mangoes and some good healthy food, some ackee and saltfish and yam and green banana and dumpling! I forgot about other things like taking a shower and going to the bathroom. She said, why dont you go bathe now before it gets dark. So I said, but Auntie where is the bathroom? She said, You can just bathe by the side of the house where I left the bucket and a soap and rag for you in the basin...and you can use the outdoor latrine. I left some toilet paper in there for you. My mind went WHAT? So anyway, I went to the side of the house and I made sure I chose a spot where I was sure no one would see me. If anyone was coming they wouldn't see me naked at the side of the house and behind me there were bushes so I was safe. When I had soaped up all the way from my head to my toe and was about to reach for the bucket of water, out of nowhere I heard a voice say, HEY NICKY !!! GOOD TO SEE YOU!!!!.... WHAT? I scrambled for my towel which decided to fall off the bush where I left it and was now on the ground. When I looked up, I saw the whole village returning from the farm waving to me in my birthday suit with soap all over and shouting how it was great to see me and I should come to visit my Auntie Katy more often! I didnt even know that there was a path on the hillside above the house where everybody in the whole village could pass by and see me IN MY BIRTHDAY SUIT!!! I felt so humiliated and embarassed but the cousins (everybody in the whole village were related in some way) all waved and wished me well and went on their way as if it was the most normal thing to walk by and see someone taking a shower by the side of the house. ANYWAY, when I was leaving the WHOLE community brought me about one month worth of fresh fruits, vegetables, ground produce and of course LOTS AND LOTS of MANGOES!!! Those people are some of the most hardworking, kind, generous and caring people in the world. they don't have a lot of money but they will shower you with love...and food. That's why I can't forget my family in the country. I wish you could all meet them. They are amazing!

P.S.

Twenty (20) years later my cousins now have indoor bathrooms.

Jamaica Will Never Be Gaza

Listen up Jamaicans... he who has an ear to hear. Let them hear. He who wants to stay in denial tan deh. Orange man nuh like you. Him ah look some oil fi pay off him Trillion dollar debt. Him nuh care bout who go suffer. In all of this, remember that the Jamaican diaspora is still strong. They are coming with help. They are packing their bags right now. They are on the way. Keep your faith and spirits up. We are a resilient people. The diaspora won't let Jamaica end up like Gaza. Portia Simpson formed an alliance with the Chinese before she left office. The Chinese are already heavily invested in Jamaica's resources and will do what they need to do to protect their investments, hence Jamaica still has HUGE Negotiation power. The main food sources of Jamaica, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland, the major tourism revenue areas, St James, Hanover, Trelawny, St Ann have also been attacked using a weather weapon of mass destruction. They tried to wipe out the major Caribbean islands with the pandemic in 2020, it didn't work. 5 years later, here they come again this time with a man made hurricane. The resilient Jamaicans will recover from this weather attack. With the major islands scrambling for their lives, Haiti. Jamaica, Cuba robbed of their basic needs like shelter, food, water and vulnerable to diseases like dengue, malaria, typhoid, expect an attack on Venezuela to steal their oil any day now. Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba won't be in a position to help Venezuela. Alliances we have had for many years with Venezuela broken in a few months because of a greedy orange man. Where is the loyalty? Anyway, lets stay powered up to help our families recover and lets stay vigilant to protect our country from this guerilla warfare. Remember Jamaica will always have HUGE negotiation power and as long as the people recognize this, they will prevent Jamaica from ending up like GAZA.

 I am not going to live above my means to impress people on social media. I receive clothing offers from companies all the time on Instagram but I don't take them because I would have to do a video showing the outfit and that is not my focus right now. I wear make up sometimes but the last time I put on some lipstick my lips were so swollen the next day they looked like daisy duck because they injected some type of chemical in the lipstick that is supposed to make your lips bigger. Then I said to myself, God already made me with beautiful lips, why am I paying for this poison ? I tried to purchase the makeup made from natural products but they cost more. Ever since my oldest sister told me how she loved her natural hair and another friend encouraged me to wear my hair natural, I stopped using relaxers and paying for wigs and weaves. Some of those hairdressers cost you the same as a mortgage payment. I cannot afford those hairstylists. My focus right now is to finish my Chiropractor program so I had to cut out a lot of unecessary expenses. I am not going to live above my means to impress people on Facebook or Instagram. So for those people who think because I prefer the "natural" look, that means there is nothing going on for me, your opinion of me doesn't pay my bills.

How Jamaicans Got Robbed Of their Resources and Identity

 Most Jamaicans are some of the most friendliest, happiest people on the planet who are just passionate about life and are bursting with energy and good vibes! This type of energy is so infectious that once foreigners step foot on the island and interact with the people they are mesmerized and don't want to leave! And I am not saying this because I am a Jamaican,  this is our natural nature. We are a free spirited people that just love life and want to share it with everyone we meet.  When I meet other Caribbean nationals and  people from African countries like Ghana and Nigeria they exude this same positive vibe which is where we Jamaicans some of us have our ancestors from these African countries.  Some foreign women immediately fall under the spell of the Jamaican man and never go back home. Now imagine when you take away the source of income of these happy, friendly, energetic people. You inform them that they can no longer use the beaches to go fishing in order to feed their families. What you create are angry, hungry, desperate people who will fight to feed their hungry kids BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. Some may resort to stealing, scamming even killing. Suddenly, the gorgeous people described earlier are now referred to as criminals and the crime rates start to increase. Montego Bay used to be called " The Friendly City". Now it's known as "Scamtego Bay". Suddenly these people are described as hogs and goats. But who forced them to be this way? And who is spreading the narrative about who these people are? This is why it is important to know yourself. Because if you know yourself, then when someone is describing you as hog and goat, you immediately REJECT that narrative! Don't let people come to your own country and project their fears and insecurities on you. I have a theory and my theory is rather in order to reduce crime in Jamaica,  the government needs to put in place laws that mandate that foreign  companies that are coming to Jamaica to " invest" must share the resources and profits with the locals. Greedily shutting off people and stealing their main source of feeding their families will cause them to behave like animals when they see tourists. The harassment,  the overwhelming pressure on the foreigners to buy something,  the crab in barrel mentality, those are all behaviors created by the type of environment in which they are forced to live. Jamaicans should love themselves enough to stop accepting mediocrity and demand what's rightfully theirs.

New Leadership Required For Jamaica's Government

 Anytime you have a set of leaders that are always preaching scarcity and lack, you know it is time for them to GO!!! God promised that he will always provide for his children. God will always provide for the people of Jamaica because Jamaica is a God fearing nation. People are not stupid. With the advent of social media people can see that the leaders of the Jamaican government are LYING to them. There is no money to pay doctors and nurses, no money to pay teachers, no money to pay civil servants, no money to fix and build new hospitals, schools and clinics. LIES, LIES, ALL LIES!!! There is however luxury 5 star hotels charging $USD600 or more per night, there were 4.3 million tourists who visited Jamaica last year, that is more than the population of 2.8 million. Many affluent Jamaicans drive the latest luxury cars, live in mansions, take trips to the most luxurious destinations and live a better quality of life than even many people in so called first world countries. Yet there is no money to pay doctors, nurses, teachers and other civil servants. This blatant mismanagement of Jamaica's financial resources must stop. The leaders with the tunnel vision preaching scarcity and lack to poor people have got to GO!!! In the year 2025, when there are so many opportunities for Jamaican citizens to earn income from the global community using modern ways like e-commerce, telemedicine, stocks and investments, FOREX trading remote jobs, there is no excuse for the government to develop programs to train people to adjust to the world in which we now live. They have to start by getting rid of the old colonial British system which has been in place for 400 years which was established to supress black Jamaicans. Also get rid of all the people who cling to that system of government and refuse to embrace fresh young talented leaders with the ideas and knowledge for Jamaicans to survive in 2024. Jamaica being the largest English-speaking island in the Caribbean strategically located on the route for international travel among all the major continents will always be a major destination. Jamaica is also the largest ENGLISH SPEAKING island in the Caribbean that has major international airports and shipping ports to facilitate international trade. People flock to Jamaica's shores for relaxation and rejuvenation so to blatantly LIE to people that there are no funds to give the locals basic necessities, healthcare and education is just WRONG. Where are all the young educated Jamaicans? The time to help your country is NOW. Time to step up and lead. Because your communities deserve more.

Message to all UWI Alumni

 Oriens Ex Occidente Lux (latin) – A Light Rising From The West...the school motto of the University Of The West Indies. Where are all the UWI alumni? STAND UP!!! You know all the training they gave us? It's time to use it! You know how your parents sold the goat, the cow, the car, the house and land to pay your UWI Tuition? It was not for you to sit down on all that knowledge! It's time to use it! If you see something to be done in your community and you passionately feel there needs to be a change, maybe the reason you feel so passionate about it is because you were given the unique skills to make that change. Take the initiative! Stop waiting on the government or else that change will never happen. If there is a law holding you back, CHANGE IT! Are you waiting on a sign? Are you waiting for thunder to clap and lightning to strike? Are you waiting for a messenger to fall out of the sky like in Hollywood movies? Well it's not going to happen. This is your message right now. Yes I am talking to you reading this message. STAND UP!!! SHINE YOUR LIGHT!!!

What Cruise Ships Tell The Tourists About Jamaica

 True Story: I was going on a trip with a group of friends and one of her friends brought another friend I had never met before. When this new friend found out I was from Jamaica

she was so excited and started to tell me about her cruise to the Caribbean. She told me her cruise was one of the most exciting trips she ever did and she proceeded to describe every single detail of her trip. The most interesting part was when she talked about her visit to Jamaica. She said the Cruise Ship issued out the following warnings:

1. Guests should never leave the group and venture on their own!

2. All guests should keep their tour bus windows closed at all times!

3. Guests should not interact with Jamaicans without the tour guide! By the time she told me the rest of the warnings issued, I began to wonder if she was talking about a trip to an African safari to see some lions tigers bears monkeys and other ferocious animals. Surely she cant still be talking about a trip to Jamaica ? Not to Montego Bay, the friendly city on my beloved island Jamaica ? And why shouldn’t they interact with the people? Are they some savages? Are they animals?

First let me say, Montego Bay has become very crime ridden and I do see why it is important to caution the guests. But the irony of the situation is that the government of Jamaica, the management of these Cruise ships and all-inclusive hotels have created a situation where Jamaicans are forced to desperately rush after tourists to try to “hustle” and sell them their wares. Because thats what we’re seen as. No more than savages. No more than animals. Fast forward to this Brain Drain issue currently being discussed in the news. Since some of the teachers have decided to migrate in search of better wages for their talent, it is implied that surely, the only people left are the savages with no education. We are talking about people who have graduated from UWI, UTECH, NCU, Sam Sharpe Teachers College, Mico Teachers College, Moneague College, GC Foster College, Montego Bay Community College who are sitting ar home with no jobs and no means to migrate. Surely their brains must not be worth more than the animals.