Be the change
Young people hoping to enter politics to eradicate its corruption
... Won’t be deterred by dishonesty, corruption in politics
EFFECTING POSITIVE changes in Jamaica’s historically murky political environment, along with the desire to serve society, is the main pull for some brilliant youth eyeing representational politics in the country.
At a Gleaner Editors’ Forum held yesterday at the company’s North Street offices in Kingston, a group of young men and women pointed to the urgent need for youth like themselves to be the change they want to see in leadership roles.
University of the West Indies international relations student Kimberly Thompson, who is also a member of the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network, told The Gleaner that politics affects all aspects life, and excluding oneself from the process should be discouraged.
“Politics influences basically every aspect of daily life. We sit on the sidelines and we sit on the fence and we curse politicians daily, and we say they are corrupt. Why [don’t we then] be the change we want to see?” she asked.
Ardennite Fabrizio Darby said that the major change he would love to influence on entering politics is a greatly improved education system.
This, he said, held the key to fixing a lot of society’s ills.
“I would get involved in politics. I consider myself intelligent, and we (Jamaicans) deserve to have intelligent people leading us. I am a strong believer in the education system being the root of all things good and bad. I feel that if I can effect change in the educational system, I’d be [attacking] the problem at the root,” Darby said.
Determined not to be daunted by Jamaica’s political past, which has been marred by dishonesty, incompetence and corruption, Alister McLean, executive member of the Jamaica Labour Party’s youth affiliate group, Young Jamaica, highlighted his interest in becoming a policymaker.
“Like everything else, politics is all about service, and I have received a lot. There are persons who would have corrupted the process but (with) politics itself, the goal is not bad. It is a worthy thing. I want to be involved in policymaking, where I can bring about effective changes to the country for better,” he said.
But while the policy is the magnet that could pull him into politics, Shauna Gongasingh’s pull is service. She said that she wanted to help her fellow citizens as much as possible and believes that representational politics will provide the best platform that will facilitate her doing so.
“I am a ‘go-giver’ and I believe in service. I think about giving back. Being able to inform policies and serving in whatever capacity, that can bring some form of sustainable development,” she stressed.