The Editor, Sir:

Trevor McDonald, the British-Trinidadian broadcaster, in his portrayal of Jamaica on the British ITV Channel 1 station, July 5, understandably upset a whole lot of people with his portrayal of Jamaica.

Generally, it appears that British media depiction of Jamaica is 'negative' - that Jamaica is an island full of drug-pushers, murderous gangs, ghettos, with extreme poverty juxtaposed against small enclaves of rich and privileged people. Jamaicans, therefore, see this foreign reportage as biased and purposefully destructive to the interest of Jamaica.

I am surprised, though, that with all the negative images about Jamaica many tourists still come, and want to come, to Jamaica. Obviously, there are some great plusses in Jamaica, and as a Jamaican I can attest to some of these positives, e.g., the natural beauty of the island and the broad and beautiful smile of a kind, rural Jamaican person.

Anyway, there is clearly a bias against Jamaica by some foreign correspondents, but one would hope that Sir Trevor is not biased against Jamaica. Maybe his portrayal of Jamaica is a stance on the part of his producers to sell the programme. After all, 'bad news' sells newspapers and TV programmes.

However, despite the apparent bias and sensationalism of such programmes as Sir Trevor's, we as Jamaicans must be frank to ourselves and admit that Jamaica has its disproportionate share of social and economic problems. We also have to realise that we cannot take refuge in the notion that 'they are out to get us'. We should be mature enough to say 'we have problems, much of them of our own making'. Therefore, we should be brave enough to throw up our hands in the air and say 'guilty'. That we are sorry; that we plan to do better, and need the help of every person of goodwill, both at home and abroad, to make Jamaica a better place.

I am, etc.,

George S. Garwood

merleneg@yahoo.com

Birmingham, Selly Oak