No obeah in paradise
JAMAICA IS known globally for its reggae music, cultural accolades, sports activities, events, and, sadly, for violence; but never have we been known as a destination to obtain obeah! Is it that we have become so desperate for something to shift our minds from crime and violence that we seek obeah?
From I was a child, I heard that obeah is illegal, and anyone caught practising this evil would be locked up and brought before the court: but suddenly it has become a matter of interest to the Government, that the honourable minister of justice, Delroy Chuck, is eager to bring before the Senate to be discussed and passed into law.
One wonders why at this time, when the dollar is slipping and sliding, and crime and violence is running wild, that the Government’s focus isn’t on fixing these mayhem, but instead, they are seeking to make obeah legal and to force Jamaica into deeper, sinful evils.
But one wonders, who is to benefit from this hocus-pocus, obeah thing? Will obeah bring more tourists to the country? Will obeah create more meaningful jobs for our confused young people? Or is it because some foreigners came to our paradise island and illegally practised and promoted obeah openly, why the Government suddenly realised that obeah should become legal?
Obeah has been a part of the African culture for a long time, and as African descendants, we have transported this culture to our paradise island. But obeah has never been in the forefront of the minds of our business developers, nor business operators.
WHAT OF OTHER BILLS?
I implore Mr Delroy Chuck to let obeah remain where it belongs – in the background of Jamaica’s development. There are certainly more interesting topics to bring to the fore and to be tabled for discussion in the Upper and Lower Houses.
What about a bill to legalise ganja? What about a bill to improve the lives of marginalised Jamaicans? What about a bill to improve the lives of our hard-working pensioners, so they can live a better life? Or what about a bill to offer some benefits to those hard-working justices of the peace, to even offer them some form of concession for the volumes of work done on behalf of the Government?
Like many other Jamaicans I listened to, please, Mr Delroy Chuck, try to flush your mind of such evil which you so desire to bring upon the Jamaican people at this juncture of our social and economic development. To legalise obeah is to legalise murder.