Martin Henry
TRAVELLING JAMAICA is a rewarding challenge. The island is captivatingly beautiful in its variety of landscapes and seascapes. But without head knowledge of direction and location, it is extremely difficult to navigate. The roads and towns are so poorly signed, and with the new highways under construction things are even worse. If locals have such difficulty finding their way around, I can't imagine how tourists could ever do it on their own. I find the long-running 'Gleaner Geography and History of Jamaica' a very useful companion and fine souvenir when I take visiting family on island wraps.
Running the highways and lowways of Jamaica this Christmas season brought home again the stark contradictions of our condition. The construction of modern highways serves to highlight the relative neglect of existing roadways which are filled with potholes. But contrary to some media impressions, the old road network has held up reasonably well to the scouring of a series of hurricanes, and travellers can pick their way along in most places. The evidence of effort to clear roads from landslides and to patch up breaks is all around, alongside the evidence of long-term neglect of road maintenance.
CHRISTMAS WORK
While heavy equipment is being used to build brand new highways, a large number of Jamaicans, including many women, are swarming old roadsides armed with machetes, rakes and brooms to do 'Christmas work' for a pittance. This 'highway Government', like the others before it, is everlastingly proud of providing Christmas work; part of the package of scarce benefits. People need Christmas work to provide a little something for the season because they have no regular jobs and are at the margins of an economy which is not growing to provide opportunities. The roads need to be bushed and should be bushed more regularly by far fewer people whose serious job it would be. The seasonal handout work for a mere pittance robs people of their dignity and confirms them as dependents of the provider. What they most need are opportunities for independent participation in the regular economy through real jobs or entrepreneurship.
Town planning has received little serious attention. The old colonial town centres with their narrow streets, built before the age of the motor vehicle when only backra had buggy, are surrounded by disorderly growth. A lot needs to be done to create modern, orderly townships not just for the comfort and convenience of the people who live in them and pass through them but as springboards for economic growth. The highways have bypassed and are bypassing the towns with implications for economic activity. Easy detour access from highway to town, properly signed and serious planning for town development must be put in.
EFFECTS OF HURRICANES
The effects of the hurricanes are visible around the country. Lush greenery is everywhere even in the traditionally drier parts of the island, due to the sustained rainfall. So is the evidence of wind and water damage. There are also unheard of changes to the features of the land itself - rivers popping up where there were none; ground water rising in unexpected places; massive landslides. The Moneague lake has risen more extensively than can be remembered and is threatening to pour water down the Fern Gully, an old river bed, into Ocho Rios. The predictions are for more years of very active hurricane seasons which will, of course, generate more of these alterations. And more need for reconstruction.
A nagging worry for the traveller is safety and security. Perhaps the media is over-dosing us with crime news. The Gleaner has taken the bold stance of keeping crime off its front page for December. There is a feeling of being surrounded and engulfed by crime which affects how we see other people and our sense of freedom.
Public facilities, landmarks and green spaces are generally in a disgraceful state of neglect and disrepair. The JHNT and TPDCo should not be proud of many things around the country to which their names are attached. For tourism country, the maintenance of sites to see should be a top priority. Strong parish councils would make a big difference in local development.
The land is ours and just getting out there to revel in its exceptional beauty and charm is well worth it.
Martin Henry is a communication specialist.
