Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Dr Jaslin Salmon believes that the problem of poverty in Jamaica can be successfully solved.
Avia Collinder, Outlook Writer
Dr Jaslin Salmon might not believe in God, but he is spending a great deal of his time doing the things that Jesus did - with the aid of science.
The specialist in poverty is a professor of sociology who abandoned a lucrative career in the American college system to do his part in transforming the lives of the poor in Jamaica.
He is a gentle activist who has been working assiduously to encourage government and private interests alike to take a more serious approach to poverty eradication.
He reflects, "It is said that the poor we will always have with us, but I ask the question, 'who should be poor?' and no one wants to be."
Nonsense to accept poverty
No one wants to be among the poor, and the sociologist believes it is nonsense to accept poverty.
Dr Salmon is CEO of the International Institute for Social, Political and Economic Change (IISPEC), a think tank based in Kingston, Jamaica. He is also president of Jamaica Red Cross. The social scientist also spends a great deal of his time doing research which, he hopes, will "influence the process of change" in the island.
The image might be that of a 1970s intellectual, but the thoughts are cutting edge.
Dr Salmon, through IISPEC, recently hosted a seminar on the cost of poverty in the Caribbean, featuring research gleaned from work with the United Nations Development Programme in the Caribbean and local projects.
He told Outlook in a recent interview, "I have been concerned about the approach to poverty in Jamaica and the Caribbean. We do not pay attention. We have no idea how deeply people are affected. We do not know the cost of poverty to the nation.We do things without adequate research."
Costs of poverty
Poverty has economic, social and human rights costs, the sociologist states.
"When you have large numbers of people who are not contributing to the economy, the society loses tax revenue, loses productivity, and the family is damaged. Children are not properly cared for and, above all, there is a cost to the nation, which spends a large amount of its meagre resources supporting education, health and welfare payments. There is also a loss of income through taxation."
It was in 1997 that Dr Salmon returned to Jamaica with a view of making a contribution to the country of his birth.
The son of Jane Salmon and the late Leaford Salmon of Holly Hill in Westmoreland, Jamaica, he had migrated to the United States to further his education, after working for a while in the Jamaican civil service.
Degree in sociology
In the US, Jaslin Salmon attended Marion College in Marion, Indiana, and obtained a BA degree in sociology from Olivet Nazarene College, now Olivet Nazarene University.
Following the completion of his undergraduate studies, he worked as a psychiatric social worker with the state of Illinois until 1969, when he was admitted to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
At Ball State, he completed an MA degree, majoring in sociology and a minor in counselling and psychotherapy.
Jaslin Salmon began a career in teaching in 1970, when he accepted an appointment as assistant professor of sociology at George Williams College in Downers Grove, Illinois.
In 1972, he was admitted to the PhD programme at the University of Illinois (Chicago) and was awarded the PhD in sociology in 1977.
Dr Jaslin Salmon was appointed professor of sociology at Triton College and taught for 21 years. At Triton, he founded a Centre For Parenting, and served as its director for four years.
Today, Dr Salmon is the author of two books, the most recent of which is entitled Parenting: A Child's Perspective (October 2007, Trafford).
Other works
He is the author of numerous scholarly articles, and has lectured and written extensively on family and poverty issues. He also produced and hosted a cable television show, 'Family Horizons', which focused on issues of parenting.
The man is listed in Who's Who Among African Americans, Men of Achievement, and International Who's Who Among Intellectuals.
He was immediately sought by the Prime Minister's Office, which asked him to serve as an adviser and as national coordinator of the country's Poverty Eradication Programme (PEP). He held this position for eight years.
Today, lamenting Jamaica's "piecemeal" approach to addressing poverty - with different programmes scattered between the ministries of energy, housing, social security, health , among others - Dr Salmon admits, "I left out of frustration."
After taking the position of national coordinator of the PEP, "It was two full years before we got even part of the staff required. I worked alone, with only secretarial support for two years. The task of coordinating activities across 11 ministries was gigantic. The protection of turf in each department was so great that the coordinator was left ineffective.
"I made numerous recommendations but none was implemented. We had no budget to work with and no ability to get things done. The then prime minister was very supportive, but the framework and structure required for effectiveness was missing," Dr Salmon recalls.
Condition of infirmaries
One example of the PEP's failure, Dr Salmon notes, was the condition of infirmaries where staffing is inadequate, staff poorly trained and facilities poor.
"I sent out a team of researchers who collected a tremendous amount of information and prepared a proposal to address numerous problems. We made far-reaching recommendations. The report was accepted by the Human Resources Division of government, but PEP was unable to get the support of the ministry in charge of the infirmaries to implement."
A current example of our inadequate approach to poverty, he now notes, is housing.
"We approach this issue as though every person must start out by owning their own home. This is unrealistic and nonsensical.
"The fact is that the poor are the least capable of maintaining housing structures. Until their economic problems are solved, there is no hope that housing can be properly managed. Even Operation Pride, which is intended to give the poor land to build, is ill-considered, as they do not have the means to construct proper structures on the land."
Massive training needed
The first task of poverty eradication, Jaslin Salmon believes, is massive training, as most of the poor are unemployable because they have no skills.
"We have come to accept 15 per cent unemployment as standard. But, as long as we have this problem, we will never even begin to address the root of poverty," he explains.
The very next task is that of breaking the cycle of poverty by educating the children of the poor.
Any safety net considered for the poor, he states, must not only aim at catching those who fall, but at helping them to leave, standing on their own feet.
"We must establish a minimum acceptable standard below which no Jamaican should live. This should cover education, health care, roads, water and other basic needs. Then we will work towards addressing poverty by addressing each."
Dr Salmon was asked to take on the post of president of the Jamaica Red Cross, after leaving the Office of the Prime Minister.
In January 2008 the Venezuelan Red Cross bestowed him with the 'Augusto Pinaud' Order of Honour of Merit, the highest honour that is given by the Venezuelan Red Cross.
Effect of Red Cross
Today, Dr Salmon expresses the belief that the Red Cross, with programmes addressing hunger, disaster relief, education and health care, is one of the most effective organisations of its kind.
It has also been very effective in peer education for HIV/AIDS, running the 'Together We Can' project, which has been internationally recognised and awarded.
With 13 branches islandwide, Dr Salmon states that his intention is to further improve the quality of service, which the Red Cross gives to Jamaica.
Family life
Dr Salmon lives in Kingston with wife, Dr Anita Hawkins-Salmon, a dentist.
The couple are parents to Janet Salmon, a high school teacher and administrator in Chicago, and Jennifer Salmon, a public relations practitioner with IISPEC.
The sociologist is a tennis fanatic and a former cricket captain at Holly Hill Primary School in Darliston, Westmoreland; he is still addicted.
"I have not one moment's regret," he declares, when asked about his decision to return home 11 years after the fact.
"I have done things to help our society put itself to rights. I am cautious but very excited," he states.
Dr Jaslin Salmon believes that people who live in poverty are denied many of their basic human rights.
"There is a psychological cost and a tremendous burden is imposed by poverty."
He feels that the time for change - informed by strategic vision - has come and there is much that can be done.
