The two Jamaicas

THE EDITOR, Madam:

TWO RECENT letters to the newspaper has compelled me to respond. One is titled ‘Social distancing an uptown phenomenon’ and the other ‘Examine NHT matches-box housing’.

This brings into sharp focus the inequalities in housing that exists in our island. It brings to mind what our politicians of the past have spoken about, the haves and the have-nots.

In the not-too-distant past, three houses were burnt to the ground. One had 70 occupants, one had 55, and the other had 40 occupants. A total of 165. These houses were originally built for a family of six. (One of these was in Sirgany in east Kingston).

Jamaica has 753 squatter settlements, which houses over 800,000 squatters, identified by the Ministry of Housing. This approximates to 30 per cent of our population.

There is 3.4 million acres of land in Jamaica. Each acre can be divided into 10 housing lots, thereby creating 34 million housing lots in Jamaica. If the Government allocated a housing lot for every Jamaican, there would still be 31.3 housing lots left. (Or over 3 million acres of land).

The statistics show that 90 per cent of our crime emanates from our ghetto/inner-city/garrison communities. This costs the nation 7.5 per cent of gross domestic product, which translates to multiple billions of dollars annually.

The Rt Excellent Marcus Garvey in 1929, as the president of the People ‘s Political Party, championed the creation of an egalitarian society. Fast-forward to today, we have a deeply divided and crime-filled society.

We indeed have two Jamaicas today. One in which a family of four lives on an acre of land, and the other where 70 persons live on a quarter of an acre plot.

The challenges ahead for us as a nation is to create a homogenous society, where equal rights and justice prevails for ALL. Where equal opportunities are the societal standards. And where, as our anthem demands, true respect for ALL is the order of the day.

HERU ISHAKAMUSA MENELIK

High Commissioner

UNIA and ACL

Jamaica