Schools are back, uptown city dwellers are back from their holidays and back on the roads (and downtown ones never went anywhere). The rains are steadily receding. Life is back to “normal.”
Nicholas Deane (right) is moved to tears as he speaks about his son Mario, who was mauled while in the custody of the Barnett Street police last month. Deane died three days later. Looking on are United States-based attorney Jasmine Rand and local attorney Bert Samuels. (Photo: Michael Gordon/Jamaica Observer)
The pathologist and the lawyer: We had two visitors from the United States this week. Both of them were here because of Mario Deane, who was allegedly beaten at the Barnett Street Police Station one month ago. Attorney Jasmine Rand, who was on Trayvon Martin’s legal team, came in support of local lawyers representing Deane’s family. She is not qualified to practice law in Jamaica. But I rather like the shared concerns over such cases between Americans and Jamaicans – many of whom have followed events in Ferguson and related matters with great interest. Solidarity is good. But I felt Ms. Rand’s comments about the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) were a little off the mark – I detected a lack of faith in the Commission, which I think is unwarranted. As the Gleaner noted today, “We trust INDECOM.”
Mario Deane’s mother Mercia Frazer (centre) and her daughter Sadikie Deane (left) listen as United States-based pathologist Michael Baden addresses members of the media outside the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James, yesterday, about the autopsy performed on the body of Mario Deane, who died last month while in the custody of the police. (Photo: Phillip Lemonte/Jamaica Observer)
Dr. Michael Baden, the pathologist who presided over the autopsy on Mario Deane along with Jamaica’s Dr Murari Saranji yesterday, looks like an absent-minded professor. Deane could not have survived the terrible beating he received, said Dr. Baden; he died of his injuries on Independence Day, August 6, after three days in hospital. It appears that Mr. Deane was repeatedly punched and his neck was squeezed; also his cheekbones were broken. There were marks on his wrist. He died from his head injuries. But of course, question is: Who was exactly involved, and how?
And suddenly, “human rights” is the buzzword: Even politicians, such as National Security Minister Peter Bunting, are talking about it. For many years now, human rights lobby groups such as Jamaicans for Justice have been sneered at for “defending criminals,” ridiculed and/or ignored. Successive administrations have happily gone along with this. The Jamaican Government has, for many years, allowed Jamaicans who aren’t thinking very hard to continue believing that “human rights” is a foreign concept, forced on us by outsiders (rather than universal). That way, they didn’t have to do anything, and could continue more or less ignoring the numerous annual reports by the U.S. State Department, Amnesty and others on the very issue of prison conditions.
Protesters outside the Barnett Street Police Station after Mario Deane’s death. (Photo: Gleaner)
Now since the Mario Deane case, politicians seem anxious. Perhaps it is that the local media have not let this one go; perhaps it is the interest from overseas. Perhaps, even, the eagle eye of the IMF. On social media, #JusticeForMarioDeane and similar hashtags are still circulating. So Minister Bunting has set up a committee to look into conditions in prisons and lock-ups. This administration loves setting up committees. We shall see.
Does anyone remember the case of Agana Barrett? In October 1992, a 21-year-old apprentice carpenter from Grants Pen, Agana Barrett died of suffocation, along with two others (Vassell Brown and Ian Forbes), in the Constant Spring lock-up. They were crammed into a small cell with 18 other men and beaten by other inmates and/or police. The men were denied adequate food and some were forced to drink their own urine and sweat to quench their thirst. A court determined that Agana’s wrongful death was worth less than J$2 million. There was a huge fuss about it for a couple of months but were the policemen in charge at the time punished? Five policemen were charged after being held responsible for the deaths by a Coroner’s Court; but were acquitted in 1996. Oh, Mr. Barrett and his cellmates had just been picked up off the street for “processing,” by the way.
Javed Jaghai graduated from Dartmouth College in 2012. He is a sincere, smart, articulate, kind and sensitive young Jamaican.
Lord Anthony Gifford has lived in Jamaica for many years and has steadfastly advocated for Jamaicans’ human rights. I must support every word of his op-ed in today’s Gleaner, praising the courage of Javed Jaghai, who has reluctantly withdrawn his lawsuit challenging Jamaica’s antiquated law against buggery. Lord Gifford points to two key obstacles for Javed: Firstly that, being a gay man in Jamaica, he and his family suffered threats of violence. Secondly, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has a savings clause “which said that nothing contained in any law relating to sexual offenses, obscene publications and abortion, which was in force at the time the Charter was passed into law, should be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of the provisions of the Charter.” Thanks to the religious zealots of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, who had strong input into the legislation.
A schoolboy story: Overseas there is an interesting case. A former high-profile policeman in west Kingston, “Schoolboy Richie” (Errol Cliff Richards) and a colleague are facing charges of conspiracy to distribute, import and export narcotics into and from the United States. The two are suspected of conducting a multinational narcotics operation across Trinidad, Colombia, Venezuela, Canada, and the United States. Richards was dismissed from the Jamaica Constabulary Force in 1996. He was accused along with another policeman, then SSP Owen Ellington, of conspiracy to defraud an insurance company. SSP Ellington (later Police Commissioner) was cleared of the charge and later sued the Government for malicious prosecution. Mr. Richards goes back to a New York court on September 23.
Chlorine spill: These seem to occur with alarming regularity. What’s with all these old chlorine tanks lying around on government compounds? This time, 45 residents of Morant Bay were overcome with the fumes (this stuff is so poisonous!) and there was panic, with schools and businesses closing (yes, the first day of school was Monday – what a way to start!)
Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill (right), on August 27 commissions into service the Ballater Avenue Well located at 9 Ballater Avenue in Kingston. Looking on is Managing Director, Jamaica Wells and Services Limited, Richard Simpson. (Photo: JIS)
You don’t miss the water ’til… On his excellent new call-in program (which has a good investigative flavor) broadcast journalist Cliff Hughes has been trying to get to the bottom of an issue affecting many inner-city residents – a complete lack of water. Yesterday, Member of Parliament for these areas and prominent Cabinet Minister Omar Davies told Mr. Hughes he had tried, but couldn’t do anything about the lack of water in many parts of his constituency. Minister Davies has represented these impoverished areas for the past 21 years, without much to show for it, but that’s another story.
The well water goes somewhere else: Last week a new well was opened in Kingston (the city’s wells were closed years ago as they were polluted with sewage) – with much fanfare. But it appears the communities the water is intended for will not receive it any time soon. Although the well came on stream on July 1, the National Water Commission has so many technical issues (broken mains, stolen pipes etc) that it will take some time to fix. Meanwhile, Arnett Gardens has had no water since March. How on earth do they manage? This is a major public health issue, bearing in mind these are densely populated areas.
Jamaica’s inflation rate: It is worrying and depressing for most of us to visit the supermarket these days. The price of food has gone through the roof. This is partly due to the drought, and also due to the 24% depreciation in our exchange rate in the past two years. Jamaica’s inflation rate is currently one of the highest in the world, and the highest in the Caribbean (9% in the last year) but is actually an improvement over previous years. The second highest is Cuba, by the way, at 5.5% and Haiti’s inflation is 4.2%. Our inflation for the month of July alone was 1.4%. And yet, Bank of Jamaica Governor Brian Wynter was just last week expressing pride at Jamaica’s “resilience to inflationary shocks,” thanks to the International Monetary Fund arrangements. Well, it’s all relative, I suppose. Mr. Wynter has predicted 1 – 2 per cent growth for this fiscal year.
Jamaica is a little more competitive: Jamaica has improved in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitive Index. It’s at 86th – Jamaica is the second most competitive economy in the Caribbean, after Barbados. Trinidad and Tobago is at 89th position.
“Social Impact” on gleanerblogs.com: That’s my weekly article. This week I am writing about issues for Jamaica and the Caribbean being aired at the Third Annual Small Island Developing States Conference in Apia, Samoa. Here’s the link. Do leave a comment if you would like: http://gleanerblogs.com/socialimpact/?p=2157
Multi-kudos to…
The University Hospital of the West Indies’ Physiotherapy Department for getting our terrific veteran marathon runner, Alfred “Frano” Francis, literally back on track. As the beneficiary of some wonderful physiotherapists here in Jamaica, who brought me from extreme and constant pain to complete normality a couple of years ago, I can only imagine how it feels to have made a comeback from a rather rare and frightening disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome. Now Frano is “up and running” for the Jamaica Gleaner’s 180th Anniversary 5K Run on Saturday, September 13. “In life you need to give thanks,” says Frano. Indeed! Register for the Gleaner 5K here: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/180run/ The Run/Walk is open to all levels and all ages and will also benefit the awesome Peace and Love in Society (PALS) – look them up at http://www.palsjamaica.org/
PALS supporting community policing in west Kingston. (Photo: PALS/Twitter)
Alfred ‘Frano’ Francis of Running Events Jamaica explains how he was assisted by the Physiotherapy Department of the University Hospital of the West Indies after he developed Guillain-Barre syndrome. – (Photo: Gladstone Taylor/Gleaner)
#natureROCKS: Adam Wilson shot this along Hellshire’s central coast in the heart of the Portland Bight Protected Area. (Photo: Jamaica Observer)
#natureROCKS: To encourage an appreciation of nature, the Jamaica Observer’s Kimone Thompson has started a “selfie” competition for Jamaicans to take a photo of themselves in a natural setting (in some cases, it’s people’s backyards, but…) Share yours on Twitter to @JamaicaObserver. Lovely idea, Kimone!
Chantal Raymond is a former Miss Jamaica and a Harvard Law School graduate. She moderates a blog called “Free Speech Jamaica” which “seeks to bring awareness to the importance of freedom of expression, to illuminate any form of censorship and limitations on freedom of expression which aims to promote silence, and to give voice to the disenfranchised and neglected in society.” She addresses issues in the U.S. and Jamaica. Check out the blog.
Our champion swimmer Alia Atkinson.
The awesome Alia Atkinson, who won her second gold medal at the Doha FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup 2014 in Doha, Qatar on Thursday. Alia is going from strength to strength!
Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz celebrate one of their goals against Puerto Rico in the CFU Caribbean Cup at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad, on August 19. The Girlz won the game 4-1. (Photo: Dexter Philip/Jamaica Observer)
And talking about sport, big ups to Sherwin Williams for their long-standing support for the Reggae Girlz – Jamaica’s women’s football team. They have a good chance of qualifying for the World Cup finals, which would be a first for a Caribbean team. I wish them all the luck in the world!
Chantal Raymond moderates a very good blog called “Free Speech Jamaica” (freespeechjamaica.com)
More road madness: For some reason, deaths on the road seem to be rising rather steeply. This morning, a taxi overtaking a line of traffic smashed into a light pole, killing a six-year-old girl and her mother who were passengers. Last night, a van hit a bus driver who was guiding a woman across the road; the woman died and the man is seriously injured. The van driver sped away. Two people were killed in an accident in Holland, St. Elizabeth on Monday. Most, if not all these accidents seem to be due to speeding. And three people, including a little baby, were killed and several injured when a car crashed in St. Ann on Saturday. They were traveling in a Mitsubish Evolution. Isn’t that a sports car? Speeding again?
My deepest condolences to all those who are mourning the deaths of these Jamaicans who have been murdered in the past three days.
Randy Rowe, 17, Truro/Frome, Westmoreland
Kemar Samuels, 29, Truro/Frome, Westmoreland
Omar Scarlett, 37, Darliston, Westmoreland
Unidentified man, Wilshire, Trelawny (shot by licensed firearm holder after shooting a policeman with a spear gun. Policeman is hospitalized)
Ian Martin, 39, Esher, St. Mary
Unidentified woman, Leithe, Hanover
This is Karl Grayson, who has been missing since Wednesday, August 27. He was clad in a pair of black shoes, black denim trousers and a white short-sleeved shirt with the Gleaner logo embroidered at the front. Anyone knowing of his whereabouts is asked to contact the Matilda’s Corner Police Station, 279-1932, or 538-6441, or the nearest police station.
