Amina Blackwood Meeks, Contributor
YOU KNOW cut eye? Not modern days cut eye wit bakkle an knife an blood run an such. Ole paradigm cut eye.
A look of scorn dat worse dan obeah dat. De look dat yu use to look pan smaddy who offend yu an jus when it look like sey dem waan look pan yu or shape up like dem want to ask yu what yu looking pan dem fah yu shet dung yu yeye tight an spin whey yu head an walk whey from dem. Well dat is a cut eye.
It suppose to wither yu, cramp an paralyse yu, lef yu widout a comeback as crowd a people laugh afta yu an swear sey dem get something fe go tell dem fren bout yu. But yu see if yu is de kind of somebody who nutten nuh faze, yu jus tun yu back pan de cutting yeye smaddy an talk loud fe all de would be gossipers fe hear sey, "Cut eye, cut eye cyaan cut me in two, penny penny cyaan buy me shoes". Dat is to convince dem sey yu bigga dan anything dem tink dem can do or say to you.
BIG CUT EYE
Well Miss Lady sey de likkle packit change what Missa Eye Glass Man and Missis Ledda Handbag Homan a call minimum wage come in like a big cut eye. An ascordin to har de bigger cut eye is some upstanding people give out sey dem shack sey as so much de minimum wage gane to. Fram she hear dat Miss Lady into har back a repeat ova an ova, "Cut eye, cut eye cyaan cut me in two, penny penny kean buy me shoes."
But she really want to know is what she do dat cudda offend dem so dat dem resort to such a maximum cut eye. Is not like seh she beg dem likkle credit, even dough the United Nations declare dis year as de International Year of Microcredit, is work she working. And whereas Mister Kofi Annan is quite correct dat "Microfinance has proved its value, in many countries, as a weapon against poverty and hunger. It really can change peoples' lives for the better especially the lives of those who need it most," dat dey shocking $2,400 nuh qualify har fe get nat even a microscopic loan.
Ah so she confirm sey poverty dey a Jamaica, dat is de condition of having insufficient resources or income. A de resources part she concern wid, de resources of compassion, consideration, even Christian charity. For she remember long time ago when she was working fe one of dem same upstanding people who love stand up and declare dem various declaration especially bout de conditions of de poor, who use to stand up every morning and give har likkle chile $500 fe lunch money and ask if dat was enough. And since dat time she certain sure sey de lunch money increase an increase don't relate to none of Missa Davis fingers or figures or indices. It just relate to a desire fe de pickney no dead fe hungry fe de big breakfast when him leff pan de table chu him neva feel fe it an dem gi dawg radda dan gi she, an de big dinner what him is going to leff same place into de fine china go drive chu one drive chu an get something into a throw away paper container.
THROW OUT
Miss Lady sey she would like to do some throwing herself. She would like to throw herself a big birthday party but all she get fe do is throw out what leave after de bashment. Ah dat shock her. She sey de genkkleman who live next door har an risk him life as a security guard night and day fe minimum wage wudda like fe throw out de ole uniform and get if a even some new second hand one an have some change leff ova fe throw a decent pair a shoes gi him likkle son. An she sorri she was not de one who throw back de whole twenty-four hundred dolla gi de employer who have de nerves fe talk about dem cudden tell when laas dem see hundred dolla bill for it doan wort nutten, consequently dem was giving de worker twenty-five hundred and asking dem please to bring de change.
You can imagine dat? De baas a ask de worker fe change? A mussi true what she read bout dat "The debate over the appropriate role for business and over the proper relationship between business and government in the alleviation of poverty is by no means entirely resolved. It is still argued in some quarters that the business of business is business only."
An nuff a dem, ascording to Miss Lady is doing very bad business. Bout dem a come ask worker fe change. She sey it come in to har sey a de baas waan change. Penny, penny cyaan do nutten.
