Coke under fire
In response to the writer of the 'Letter of the Day' (Sunday, December 9) Lloyd Coke, I can only say to you, sir, that the European colonisers surely did an excellent job on you.
I can only express pity, and hope you make your peace with your ancestors one day. Yes, those ancestors who pulled strength and courage from African spirituality and Christianity to overcome the shackles of the dual-evil systems of slavery and colonisation (both justified by Christianity at the time) so that today you can express your "utter disgust and disappointment" with attempts by the JCDC to honour and elevate the beauty and purity of our African past.
Of course, I am making the assumption that you are a descendant of Africans. If you are, in fact, a descendant of the colonisers, then my apologies to you. You are simply expressing who you are.
- Charmaine Clarke-Castillo
charm_diane@yahoo.com
Belmopan, Belize
Equal-opportunity critic
While I agree that Dawn Ritch is unnecessarily excessive in her very harsh criticisms of individuals, let's keep things balanced. I have been reading her columns for some years now and she was just as harsh on P.J. Patterson as she is on Bruce Golding. I saw her turn on Edward Seaga as his style of leadership lost favour with her.
One thing I have come to appreciate about Ms. Ritch's opinion is that it doesn't have any favourite colour. She will attack an individual based on their actions (or, seemingly, if she just doesn't like them for some reason) but not based on the political party they're associated with. However you take it, that itself flies into the face of the partisan infestation that continues to eat away at proper governance, democratic vibrancy and responsible reporting in Jamaica.
Kudos to you Dawn Ritch. You are a veritable example of who an informed Jamaican voter should be.
- M.C.
Plug brain drain
The brain drain from Jamaica is a serious issue and unless the Government does something to curtail it, our nation will soon be the land of wood, water and thugs. I am a Jamaican working in the Cayman Islands and I believe if the conditions (crime, cost of living and opportunities) were different I'd be at home. My qualifications include a degree from University of the West Indies, many certificates and I'll be completing my MBA in April; but even with these I spent over a year looking for a job. Now I'm in a country that embraces my intellect. So, the option is simple - give to my adopted country what my own could not grant me. Jamaica needs to augment the opportunities open for its people and give these roles based on merit and not on 'links' and nepotism.
- A Jamaican Elsewhere
Grand Cayman
