Errol Hewitt, Contributor

Dr Peter Phillips' essay published in the Sunday Gleaner of March 15, 2008, acknowledged that despite national and political strides forward, Jamaica is still a society in crisis as evidenced, for example, in sexual depravity in schools and corruption in the wide range of persons in positions of public trust.

In the same issue of the Sunday Gleaner, Martin Henry laments that despite a solid democracy and what he terms 'high levels of freedom' Jamaica 'is one of the most violent places on Earth, measured by murders.' In seeming despair he asks "Why are we so 'weird'?"

Reality of crime

Indeed, the reality of crime and violence is of critical concern to us all and its level of depravity is already in the very pit of hell. Imagine - a 12-year-old girl, raped, sodomised and stabbed multiple times until dead! Does blood run through the veins of these living dead?

But our problems are complex. We are shackled by a humongous national debt which, along with corruption, limits our development efforts. The pivotal education system is focused neither on the resolution of our problems nor on our pathway to progress. The imperial world powers demand a 'homophilic' Jamaica with neither the death penalty nor trade barriers. There are also the critical perennials - teenage pregnancies, absentee fathers, etc. The common thread linking it all is pervasive corruption, unparalleled greed and aggressive selfishness which spurns moral values and the national good. Distressed by these grievous concerns, many useful recommendations have been made by these and other writers.

Questions to be asked

Jamaica has immense potential, yet poverty is invasive and there is a desperate need for real jobs amidst increasing numbers of besieged communities. Why is this? Why after eight to 10 years of fundamental schooling do so many of our children emerge illiterate, ignorant, irrational and aggressively negative? Why do so many unqualified and unemployed young men turn to drugs and crime?

If unemployment, inadequate education, poverty, etc, cause these problems why, then, does Jamaica have a far higher crime rate than so many other countries, such as India, for example, with its over 1.1 billion population and an enormous economic disparity between the modernity of Mumbai and the abject deprivation of millions in rural regions? Obviously, these factors do not, alone, lead to rampant crime and violence.

Unemployed males

Can we reasonably explain why unemployed males irresponsibly procreate multitudes without any intention to father them? Why are so many murders committed for seemingly finicky reasons, more intent on 'making duppies' than maturely or responsibly resolving issues?

Understandably, a common theme in many recommendations has been an emphasis on the insufficiency of the socio-economic environment as the major cause of these problems.

They largely overlook the importance of cultural factors as an undeniable contributor to moulding attitudes and, while not obviating personal responsibility, they can trigger responses and frame actions. As a son of our soil, Harvard sociologist Orlando Patterson, points out, how else can we "understand the predatory sexuality and irresponsible fathering behaviour of young black men without going back deep into their collective past."

That collective past includes the painfully prolonged and utterly dehumanising experience of slavery with its pervasive legacy, the negative reinforcements in colonialism and its continued residue among us. It also includes largely unchanged education and societal systems.

Persisting attitudes

Our experiences can be absorbed psychologically, in turn engendering attitudes which, reinforced over time, are passed on through families from parents to children, from one generation to the next. And bad attitudes, or as the good book puts it "sinful habits," seem enticingly attractive, readily absorbed and reproduced. These attitudes can persist for generations, becoming almost seamlessly embedded and blended into one's nature. Immediate to our present concern, are the negative manifestations of these deeply rooted attitudes in our youths and in many areas of national life. Absentee fathers, cross-gender parenting, migration, drugs, added to a scarcity of mentors has weakened the family. The increasing influence of equally negatively exposed peers, aided by diminished social sanctions, has added to those negative attitudes.

Exposure of cultures

On the other hand, many, through their own awareness and deepened understanding or through exposure to other cultures, have overcome these negative pulls and made enormous contributions here and overseas. In truth, Jamaicans have excelled in every major stream of activity here and, more so, in every continent on the globe. Their greater success overseas is due not only to wider opportunities and greater adherence to merit but is also a reflection of the comparatively closed and ascriptive system locally. As a people, success is attainable but we must first recognise and get rid of the inherent dysfunctions.

Education in an increasingly competitive world is of crucial importance to one's future. Our young people, including our men, have readily seized the opportunities here and abroad in widening professional fields. And yet, while recognising its importance, still so many of our youth, and particularly young men, seem uninterested. Instead, they show a readiness to be immersed in a growing sub-culture with its own identifying dress, drugs, music, an almost competitive drive for sexual conquests, and rejection of the hypocrisy they identify around them. Within this alternative family they seem to find pride and even self-esteem. An important factor is the attraction it has for most youths who identify with its music, philosophy, dress, etc. While most only flirt with it, many, regrettably, become immersed in it and, being saturated, adopt the creed of violence which feeds on itself.

We need to change path

Where does it end? How can we emerge from this destructive path? Dr Phillips affirms that a political ideology reflective of our nation's aspirations would be an inspirational guide. Of course, but it must be in the proper context as there is an even greater fundamental need. A Jamaican, Marcus Garvey, gave us an insight into the answer when he said "A people without the knowledge of their past History, Origin and Culture is like a Tree without Roots." Our history has so much in it to make us proud. From the African perspective, there is the Kush kingdom, the Nubian Pharaohs of Egypt, Amenhotep II and III [the latter - father of King Tut] and Taharqa whose empire stretched to Sudan. There is also the 12th century University of Timbuktu with a student body of 25,000, offering four levels of education in the midst of a city of over 100,000. The bravery and determination of Paul Bogle and Sam Sharpe in forwarding the interest of our people; the soul in the prose of Claude McKay, the outstanding accomplishments of those in the diaspora, our sports heroes, such as Veronica Campbell, Asafa Powell and Courtney Walsh, all make us proud.

Facing challenges

Surely, the knowledge and understanding of who we are provide a solid base from which to face the challenges and opportunities of this world. It is a strong motivator for future goals and accomplishments. This is even more critical for a transplanted people, journeying through slavery, colonialism and, at times, since then, uncommitted and inadequate leadership. Without this understanding, our capacity to withstand any wafting wind ofnegative influence is seriously debilitated. A Jamaican legal luminary recently summed up all these inadequacies as 'ignorance' i.e. not in a position or equipped to take a decision but taking it nevertheless on baseless or selfish reasons. And ignorance, literally and figuratively, has no class.

It is ignorance to kill for a cell- phone, bleach one's skin or procreate and not be a parent. But it is also ignorance to build houses in watershed areas or river beds, to destroy mangroves or to live like crabs in a barrel. It is ignorance to allow our underground water, essential for our people, to be polluted and wasted.

The crucial need for us to have knowledge and understanding of who we are and, based on that reality, the ability to objectively reason has long been been acknowledged as a substantive national challenge that has never been seriously addressed. Our knowledge of our history and its legacy is still lacking and saps our confidence, resulting in our dismissing our past as irrelevant and, instead, surrender to being absorbed in someone else's culture and reality. We are confused in distinguishing between who we are and what we are - regrettably placing the importance on what we are [banker, don etc] rather than, the core of the matter, who we are, our realisation of self. And, in emphasising the 'what' rather than the 'who', we become jealous, deceptive and destructive.

Knowledge of and understanding who we are should positively impact on what we become, how we relate to each other and how we collectively strive to realise our best potential. Understanding where we have been and our aspirations as a people should influence our reasoning, how we approach our problems, our future and how we put aside fear and self in building up each other. This lack of understanding who we are is evidenced in our unwillingness to work together, our dedicated greed and selfishness, our self-centred demanding roles as spouse and parent, how we conduct business or run a country and in the statistics on crime and violence.

Enhance learning process

We need to integrate our historians, sociologists, social anthropo-logists, psychologists etc, more centrally into the education process, ensuring a focus on who we are as an integral plank in enhancing the learning process. Our churches need greater commitment to inculcating the positive dynamism of its message that once we affirm our faith, we become a 'chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation' and should live accordingly. Our ignorance of who we are enjoins the good Book's warning "they perish because they have no knowledge" .

Errol Hewitt is an information and communication technology planning consultant with the United Nations and the Commonwealth Secretariat. He may be contacted at ehewitt@flowja.com