I can’t imagine why Jamaica would consider remaining with the Commonwealth. I truly do not understand why the Government is investing money in hosting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at this time when in Jamaica, every day, so many people go hungry, some literally starving as a result of COVID-19, when thousands of children have not gotten an education because they don’t have Internet access and now need remedial support, when so many roads are in need of repair, when violence, terror, and fear of illegally smuggled guns are rampant, when our beaches are eroding, and most citizens do not access to them anyway.
Why should Jamaicans be subjected to the rhetoric of the Duke and the Duchess about staying in the Commonwealth? What has the Commonwealth done for us except extracted our natural resources, brutalised us with colonial institutions, and exploited and overworked our African ancestors for more than 300 years?
Unless the Duke and Duchess are coming with an Official apology from Queen Elizabeth II and Britain, unless they are prepared to offer viable reparations in the form of at least four new state-of-the-art hospitals, providing every rural school with Internet and indoor sanitation, solar power, and a laptop for each child, repair all our roads, provide irrigation and machinery for all our farmers, provide mental health care for the many still dazed from the trauma of slavery, provide free tertiary education for every Jamaican child wanting to pursue such course of study, and other skills training for those who opt for other choices, building at least two museums and returning stolen artifacts, and augment the salaries of teachers, nurses and police , then I am afraid I can’t welcome them, nor sanction our government expending our money to host them.
But even with these overdue concessions, I am completely against staying with the Commonwealth. We were robbed of our African names, our religion, which was maligned, our language, and repeatedly lied to that we came from the ‘Dark Continent’, instead of being told of Africa’s vast natural wealth, gold, diamond, oil, natural gas, uranium, platinum, copper, cobalt, iron, bauxite and cocoa, that were and continue to be extracted to enrich Europe and the Americas. We were not told about Africa’s diverse civilizations, the Kingdom of Kush, Land of Punt, Carthage in Tunisia, Mali and Songhai Empires, the Great Zimbabwe so many others. We were deliberately miseducated and Christianity used to oppress us and deny us an education and destroying our family structure.
I hail Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and I hope our own government and the rest of this region will take the brave step she did and stand up as a true independent nation, not simple changing the Union Jack for the Black, Green and Gold. It is time to right history and once and for all throw off the colonial legacy that has unchained and dragging us down. Why should much needed resources go to pay a Governor General who represents the Queen?
The Commonwealth was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949 to maintain its power and control over its former territories. When has the Queen really represented, cared for or protected us? What are the tangible and evident benefits of remaining under the Commonwealth? None!
Although many want to sweep slavery into the sea and say we must get over ourselves, we endured 179 years of severe brutality and terror, rape and mutilation, worked to death without pay, and at the end, our British oppressor were compensated handsomely for the loss of our labour and we were tossed aside with no land, no food, no home.
Jamaican scholar Orlando Patterson recently said that under British enslavement an estimated five million Jamaicans were lost to us. We have endured 400 years of colonialism and neo-colonialism that has made Britain one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and still to date we have not received an apology or any compensation. Shame, I say to the queen and Britain! Shame I say to the Duke and Duchess for coming here with such a bold-faced request! Shame I say to us for welcoming them and acting like beggars!
We must not allow our children or our people to stand in the sun and wave flags. We must be resolute and stand as a proud people in honour of Nanny, Tacky, Paul Bogle, and all the nameless heroes who risked their lives for us. If we are serious about development, liberation and the sovereignty of our people, if we understand what true Independence means, let us not dishonour ourselves, not subject our people to insult, not throw away needed money and resources on those who have continuously exploited and abused us.
Let Jamaica stand as a proud Independent nation. Let us get from under the Queen’s frock and the British Empire boots.
Louise Bennett’s contribution to Jamaican culture is undeniable and Miss Lou is already considered a National Hero amongst our people although the Jamaican government has not yet designated her as such. Miss Lou is the Queen Mother of culture because a queen mother according to the Ghanaian tradition, in which we have roots, is the one who selects the new king, and thereby determines the political and cultural course of the society. Miss Lou has directed many aspects of Jamaica’s culture, most fundamentally our language
Miss Lou advocated for throwing off the mantles of colonialism in Miss Lou’s Views, her radio monologues that ran from 1966 to 1982, and quiet clearly in her poetry, most often quoted in “Colonisation in Reverse,” but also evident in her pro-independence poems “Independance,” “Independence Dignity” and “Jamaica Elevate.” All were published in her Jamaica Labrish, first printed in 1966.
This Festival, like the anthology, 100 + Voices of Miss Lou that I edited, seeks to promote Louise Bennett and her work beyond the confines of the quintessential image of the bandana-clad folk figure.
Miss Lou was a multi-faceted, multi-talented woman who had to employ strategy to achieve the prominence that she did. Therefore, on the cover of the anthology, she is depicted as a warrior with her pen as her sword. Miss Lou as a warrior is not in conflict with Miss Lou the folk character because she was very aware of the times, prejudices, and stumbling blocks she had to navigate to make space for herself and the everyday Jamaican culture bearers. Tommy Ricketts, who designed the cover of the anthology, is also on a mission to represent Miss Lou through many diverse lenses.
In Anancy and Miss Lou, 1978, Bennett reveals another aspect of her repertoire, that of researcher who knows the history of this folk hero, and our African lineage. In the author’s note she states, “Anancy is an Ashanti Spider-god and has magical powers. He can change himself into whatever and whomever he wishes at certain times…” signalling to us that we too come from a place with a history and can be Anancy-like in achieving our autonomy and freedom, despite restrictions. The stories in this collection, though intended for children, offer so many moral lessons requiring the guidance of an adult.
What many might not be aware of is that Louise Bennett was not just curious and haphazardly collecting stories. She availed herself of training from as early as 1943 when she enrolled at Friends College in Highgate, St Mary to study Jamaican folklore. She then studied at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the first black person to do so, on scholarship from the British Council.This is indicative of a person with goals who was charting a course. Upon her return, at the Jamaica Social Welfare Commission, where she began her career as an ethnographer in 1955, and worked until 1959, the cultural warrior got her hands dirty, so to speak, traveling across the island, collecting stories, songs, and proverbs, and training others such as Easton Lee to continue this work, at The University of the West Indies, Mona where she taught folklore and drama.
Louise Bennett was a master strategist, who was guided by her mother and maternal grandmother, to appreciate and understand the primacy of our folk culture and elevate these elements to another level, through the vehicles of poem and song and give it back to us to rejoice and add our communal voice, “Fi Me Love Ave Lion Heart”, “Dis Long Time Gal,” and “Under the Coconut Tree”, to name a few. Through her analysis, Louise Bennett showed and allowed the folk to tap into their resourcefulness and cunning borne of the need and exploitation, and most prominently, the big-heartedness of Jamaicans – our ability fi tek pain mek joke, to laugh at ourselves. Miss Lou achieved these things because she planned and was a master strategist. She executed her plans while helping others such as Harry Belafonte to achieve fame and notoriety. Belafonte, she coached so that he had the right rhythm and nuance that contributed to his 1956 hit Day O (The Banana Boat Song), a song that launched his career. Bennett also provided many invaluable inputs for Frederic G. Cassidy when he was researching and putting together Jamaica Talk: Three Hundred Years of the English Language in Jamaica.
As impressive as the works mentioned here demonstrate undisputable, Louise Bennett’s contribution and place in Jamaican culture, most ingenious is her creation of Aunty Roachy, a social commentator who spoke uncensored on every subject under the sun. We must begin by asking who is Aunty Roachy and from whom does she get her autonomy. This is where Bennett’s strategy is most masterfully exemplified.
Aunty Roachy, takes the focus from Bennett without displacing her, allowing Bennett to say what she wishes, free from attack, and consequently with more latitude to speak for the masses. Aunty Roachy is a post-Independent character, popularized between 1966 and 1982 via Miss Lou’s weekly radio show. Aunty Roach therefore can be read as representing the new nation, exploring its identity, and testing its ideas and opinions, all of which is framed around our folk proverbs, heavy with moral imperatives.
Finally, I want to situate Miss Lou’s Ring Ding, positing that Louise Bennett understood the need for a localized future, and that her show, the first of its kind, teaching and proclaiming the wisdom with a child’s audience was Bennett’s way of de-colonizing and detoxing the Jamaican child from the false traps of the Empire and giving her, her own myths and history so she could stand assuredly on firm legs, reinforced by the acknowledgment and praise, “Clap Yu Self.”
In this regard Ring Ding was futuristic, creating a platform for future Jamaicans to know and value their own culture, their cosmology and worth. And Bennett’s refrain and insistence, `clap yu self,’ was implanting as well signalling to our children the value of self-appreciation and self-acknowledgment. In order to create a future, we must be able to recognize, name and evaluate our actions, our worth, our essence, and this is what Miss Lou gave to numerous children on and through Ring Ding. How awesome and uplifting it is to clap ourselves.
Louise Bennett was a performer in the fullest and truest sense of the word, in that she orchestrated her own persona, and she lived ‘nuh ebry kin teet a laugh!’ Miss Lou, in fighting her way through the colonial values that dictated Jamaican society at the height of her career, values that were in complete and active opposition to the speech and traditions she performed, that she had to joke and smile to deflect and disarm her opponents. As the dub poet, Mutabaruka rightly pointed out, Miss Lou is the first dub poet, which is why he recorded her poem, “Dutty Tough,” which is as relevant and applicable as it was when she wrote it in the 1960s.
Thus, it would be legitimate to say that Louise Bennett is a visionary, and her work transcends the boundaries of time. As a performer par excellence, whether acting in Pantomimes or solo on stage as a singer or storyteller, Louise Bennett collapsed the space between self and self as other, executing liminal space – the person, the performer, the performance. This guise or disappearing while being present was part of Louise Bennett’s strategy and the reason, I would argue, she was able to endure throughout the decades with consistent vigour and charm, and become a staple, loved and adored, respected and admired, even grudgingly, allowed to execute her resolute goal, to celebrate and promote Jamaican culture.
The inaugural Louise Bennett-Coverley Festival which took place on October 15, 2022 in Gordon Town celebrated Miss Lou’s milestones and the woman she was: one of Nanny’s staunch daughters who cleared many hurdles, circumvented roadblocks, and scraped her knees to bring us to this moment, 60 years old and proudly independent. Thank you, Miss Lou, for your vision and your tenacity. I salute you as an ancestor, change-marker, and keeper of our traditions. Asé to indomitable Louise Bennett-Coverley.
An edited version of the above was published In The Observer, November 27, 2022
The colonial education I received was primarily rote and students often got into trouble for raising questions that went against the grain of what we were taught. This goes against the very concept of an educated person as someone who can read, write, think critically, and is able to interrogate information, and seek answers.
As I review the content and context of my colonial education, I now know that it blatantly distorted history, outright lied about certain facts, and was designed to make me love, honour, and obey colonial edicts. As an educated woman in my sixties, who attended prep school then one of the leading high schools for girls in Jamaica, I wanted to glean if people from other decades were similarly subjected to a colonial education that distorted history.
I was educated to revere the Queen and Britain and there was never even a hint that the British kingdom plundered Africa and stole its natural wealth and resources, nor a mention that the British government kidnapped or trafficked more than 60 million Africans, and deposited them randomly; that they sold us, raped us, and sodomised us; that they worked us without pay, beat and brutalised us; that they fashioned over 100 different devices to restrict our bodies if we attempted to escape their barbarism, forbid us to speak our African languages, told us our Gods were demonic, told us we were inferior and that the meek would inherit the earth.
After all this, why wasn’t the horror and savagery of the African holocaust taught to us in schools? I sought to find out from Yvonne Sobers, now her 80s what she was taught.
“In school, I learned to pledge allegiance to the Queen and Britain,” said Sobers.
“Queen Victoria was presented as the saviour (and) the British were heroes along with Christopher Columbus. Every year we celebrated the Queen’s birthday and sang the British anthem and got little red flags of the Union Jack (British Flag) to wave while we sang. At high school, I got to carry the Union Jack as a leader, being a deputy Head girl,” reports Judith Wedderburn, now in her 70s.
Above, you have my point of view which represents those in their 60s and now we hear from RE, in his 50s, who declares “Up until third form I learned European history, then I moved to Jamaica College and I learned Caribbean history. The queen was always portrayed in a very positive light; her family’s connection to slavery was never mentioned. The British were portrayed as the ones who brought freedom through the actions of men like William Wilberforce and the local church.”
A similar sentiment was expressed by SAP, in her 40s, who said, “I was told at Prep School that even though Jamaica was granted independence in 1962, Queen Elizabeth is still considered the sovereign leader of Jamaica. It was not only the schools that valourised the Queen and the British Emprise, but the society, as well. One was measured by how British one spoke and act, and English standards were always the model.”
Representing the 30s age group Ruth Howard recalls “I was told that the queen is the head of state and our representative is the Governor General; this against the backdrop of the orphan island being discovered by Christopher Columbus and later adopted by the British Empire. Emphasis was never placed on the horrors of slavery.”
Oshane Grant, another person in his 30s has a very different view: “As a student of history I learned that Queen Elizabeth was a wicked lady and that her family hates black people and were primarily responsible for slavery.”
This would suggest that there have some changes in the education curriculum and the colonial propaganda. TC, who is in her 20s says she learned that we were colonized by the British…rooted in aspects of genocide and oppression.
“However, the British Empire embodied ideals that were to be lauded,” she said.
Current students appear to be given more information. “What we have learnt about the queen and the British Empire is their connection to the Caribbean or Jamaican History through colonialism, and they granted us Independence; we learned that this dominant Empire negatively affected the welfare of enslaved Africans and indigenous people.” Say Adiel a current 6th form student. OE, who has just entered 4th form says thus far she hasn’t learned anything about the queen or the British empire that she remembers, and this was seconded by MD, a 5th form male student.
Although this is only a selective sampling, through discussions I have had with teachers, there is evidence that now there is a more accurate portrayal of the British Empire. The question remains, however, is our children are being taught enough about their history to feel empowered, proud, and equipped to make decisions about their futures.
A revamping or realignment of the curriculum must be in alignment with our developmental goals that must be Jamaican-focused and advances our relationship to the global world.
Condolences to Queen Elizabeth’s family who has benefited luxuriously from the colonial exploitation of our ancestors. However, I hope that through education that teaches truth, and authentically explains our history, we can rise above this damaging legacy and be propelled to excellence and hopefully become a Republic so we can finally be truly independent.
The Harder They Come, the classic, cult movie turns 50 this year. Thus far no other movie about Jamaica has had such acclaim. The soundtrack put reggae on the international map. I was a teenager, and like all Jamaicans, were thrilled and proud of its debut. Many of us girls also developed crushes on Jimmy Cliff, and maybe even on Ivan, the character that he portrayed.
The Harder They Come resonated with me on so many levels, from the sighting of the country bus to Pedro at the beach with his sick son, to Elisa torn between her love for Ivan and her sympathy for the community. For the first time, I was seeing my home on the screen, whereas before all the images were foreign, and given to us, now we were giving ourselves to the world, to say to the world, look at me –I’m somebody too, worthy of attention – in short, my life and struggles matter. That was a pivotal identify shift moment for me and for many. Something happens to you, to how you see yourself, how you feel, when your life is now enlarged and being shown for all to see, to bear witness.
The character Ivan was living out and livng through the lives of the cowboy movies he watched, and now his fellow sufferers, fellow Jamaicans, were living their lives through him, seeing themselves objecting to and defying the system that has been crushing them. What a moment!What a revolution!What an awakening Perry Henzel and Trevor Rhone, co-writers, allowed for.
As I viewed the movie again I see that it is still relevant and applicable to today’s reality, and very little has changed for the masses in the inner-city and rural areas.
However, speaking with several musicians, they suggest that the industry has changed. There are more opportunities and less exploitation, although many local musicians who haven’t crossed over or had major success still feel there is still a lot of exploitation in the industry. But what is undisputable is that Reggae music is a global phenomenon.
So when Justin Henzel, Perry’s daughter asked me to write a poem for the 50th celebration, I was honored, and honored too to be included in the exhibition of poems and art, curated to commemorate the 50th anniversary. Below is the poem I wrote, focusing on Ivan’s portrayal, not as the hero as he was depicted, but as an anti-hero.
The debate about whether or not Bob Marley or Louise “Miss Lou” Bennett-Coverley should be National Heroes seems pointless. It’s like comparing a coconut with a mango; both have important nutritional value and both are good for you. The fact is both Miss Lou and Bob Marley have made profound contributions to Jamaica, both deserve being made national heroes, and we have space to honor both.
While some might disagree with me, it was Louise Bennett championing the Jamaican Nation language and elevating it that gave a young, conscious Bob Marley, coming after, permission to take up this mantle of our nation language and infuse it with revolutionary songs. The very people who are now lauding Marley because of the recognition and income he has generated for our music are the same people who were decrying and trying to block him before his success, and they are the same small group that keep insisting that our language is not worthy even though they have not done an iota of research on language formation and development.
Although Miss Lou is not the first to write in the Jamaican nation language, credit has to be given to Una Marson and Claude McKay, but neither championed and pushed its usage as consistently as Miss Lou. Not only did she wield her pen in its defense, but she ,more than anyone else, made us feel proud to speak in our mother tongue as Jamaicans. Despite the naysayers who keep valorising the colonial language –English is a broken and borrowed construct from many languages. The Jamaican nation language is a proud symbol of our rebellion and resistance against domination and erasure of our African culture by a vicious and brutal Colonial system that tried ardently to eradicate who we are as a people and our basic cosmology – how we see and respond to the world. Jamaica has a language, it is our Nation language and we need to stop referring to it as Patwa from “Patois which has French origin, meaning “rough speech”
The great poet, educator and former UWI Professor, Kamau Brathwaite termed the phrase Nation language, and scholars such as Hubert Devonish, et al, have been advancing the work of Miss Lou. Miss Lou took our nation language and found its creativity, ingenuity and subterfuge in the effective way in which we blended the Twi language of Ghana, (which is the dominant group of African people who were enslaved here) with English, a sprinkle of Spanish and Taino words into a modern language not unlike our reggae, born and grown Jamaican music, loved and respected globally as is our language, which has being accepted in at least two different universities in the USA that I’m aware of, to fulfil a second language requirement.
When I travel the world, it is indisputable that Bob Marley and reggae music are my goodwill passport. The moment I say Jamaica, people say Bob Marley with a smile on their face, they start to dance and often say how our music and culture have saved their lives. But before and paving the way for Marley was Louise Bennett, a fierce Warrior wielding her weapon, the pen, with skill and dexterity, an ethnographer, folklorist, poet and actor, who contributed to the Jamaican Dictionary by Cassidy, nationalized the Pantomime and moved us away from mimicking a European form and developing our own theatrical medium.
We must not forget the shoulders on which we have climbed. Louise Bennett and Bob Marley have contributed much to the local and global love and respect of Jamaican culture and music and there is space for two Heroes. Let’s not pit them against each other and use a passe European paradigm as the measuring stick. I am sure if both were alive they would hug up as big people and step forward together. How fortunate we are to have two amazing persons in Louise Bennett-Coverley and Bob Marley to honor and install as our national heroes. Both loved and championed Jamaica and its culture, both are more than worthy.
I endorse and vote for Louise Bennett-Coverley and Bob Augustus Marley being made National Heroes of Jamaica for 2022 to show that we are Big People who fly our Gold, Black and Green wid nuff pride.
KINGSTON, JAMAICA – JULY 9: Bob Marley relaxes with friends in front of his house at 56 Hope Road on July 9, 1979 in Kingston, Jamaica. (Photo by Charlie Steiner – Hwy 67 Revisited/Getty Images)
This article was published in The Jamaican Observer
Like a spilled perfume that dissipates in the exhausted city air, their anger and cry for revenge vaporize into the immediate demands of life: money to send children to school, buy clothes, keep a roof over their heads, and food. Not much has changed for the poor black people who are most Jamaicans, many of whom will be waving flags and taking pride in the 60-year Independence celebration.
For many under 30, violence is all they have known. Each year the numbers climb, and more measures are put into place, but like a yeasted bread, femicide, murder, and the slaughter of our children rise, daily, and after each outrageous crime we wag our tongues, descend to barbarianism, free ourselves of blame, and point the finger. But every crime that happens and we merely build more gated communities, increase the number of security guards, and install alarms makes us each complicit in the escalating insecurity of our island.
Crime and violence in the Caribbean must be contextualized. It was the violence of plunder, kidnapping, rape, and military and religious terror, that formed the Caribbean. The Caribbean as we know it today was a brutal space for the Taino people who were almost wiped out by the Spaniards, and for enslaved Africans whose free labor was maintained by floggings, amputations, and psychological degradation. The Caribbean, in reality, is less violent now than under the terror of European exploitation which our ancestors lived.
The recent femicide of Kemesha Wright and her four children has left me numb yet again. I send condolence and healing blessing to Gwendolyn Knight whose daughter, and four grandchildren, 15, Sharalee Smith, 12, Rafaella Smith, 5, and 23-month-old Kishawn Henry Jr, were discovered inside their home with their throats slashed. As a mother, I cannot comprehend Knight’s grief; such a loss is unfathomable. I send healing blessings too to New Road Community in Chapelton, where this gruesome crime occurred. I cannot imagine the state of despair, terror, and fright of the children living there. I hope there has been and will be ongoing community healing and cleansing.
When the dons demand our 13-and 14-year-old daughters for their plaything and we kiss our teeth and band out bellies we are complicit. When the don hauls out our sons of 14 and 15 and puts guns into their hands and sends them to sell dope, we are all complicit. When university professors do research and can identify the number of gangs, their leaders, and their locations, but they continue to operate we are all complicit. When soldiers are sent into those troubled communities without training to build trust and sit all day and impregnate the young women of the community, we are all complicit. When mothers and the community turn a blind eye when the rapist pays them $300,000 for the daughter and is allowed to drive a taxi in the community and rape other daughters, we are all complicit. When elected leaders focus on removing the guns but say nothing about stopping whoever is bringing the guns into the country we are all complicit.
We have had 400-plus years to learn and internalize this violence, that we must now unlearn; we were taught that violence was the only way to resolve issues, and now we have to unlearn such erroneous indoctrination.
Twenty-three-year-old Rushane Barnett has been charged with murdering Kemesha Wright and her four children, and many believe he should be put to death. I don’t know if he did it. What I know is the person who committed such a crime must be deeply sick. What I know is that often before crimes occur in our neighborhoods we know the perpetrator and turn a blind eye. What I know is that many of us have become afraid and don’t want to get involved. What I know is without a compassionate, loving village we are all vulnerable. What I know is that if we do not decide to work together to make a difference, things will not change so we can enjoy the freedom of safety. What I know is that the death penalty is not a solution.
Allow me to remind us of a few of the horrendous crimes that have occurred in the last five years. In everyone one of these cases the community was outraged, but who among us pledged, never again in my community; never again will a child, or a mother or a son be so victimized. Never again. Enough is enough.
Three-year-old Nevalesia Campbell raped and dismembered in Orange Hill, Brown’s Town, St Ann in 2017; 13-year-old Shanoya Wray raped and murdered by her teacher in 2018. 23-year-old Kandice Jackson assaulted and murdered in Portmore in 2021. 15-year-old Kevin McKenzie on Jones Avenue in Spanish Town, St Catherine, Auust 2021. In all of the above instances, the community was incensed and came out in droves, then shortly thereafter returned to “normal.” Has there been justice for Nevalesia, Shanoya, Kadice, Kevin?
Are the respective communities keeping their memory alive and saying never again?
Let us come together and talk about the changes that need to take place, how to implement them, how to mobilize our communities, and demand cooperation from the police force not just after but before a crime. Let us be proactive and live by the motto, “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.”
Let us unite as loving and just people. Learn to embrace one another and build each other up rather than tearing each other down. Let us acknowledge mental illness and get support to identify and treat them; let us practice general goodwill; let us teach our children in a soft, gentle manner and eliminate all types of violence from our homes. Let us learn to say I am sorry, I misjudged you, I disagree with your opinion, but I do not malice or plot vengeance against you. Let us reaffirm that we have the right to feel and live safely.
This is a mantra for Kemesha and her four children. We pledge to remember you and we pledge to work to build a more inclusive and safe society for all Jamaicans. We pledge to throw off the pain and memory of violence that was perpetrated against us and learn to love and value all ourselves, every sister, brother and child.
We pledge One Love, and so it is, Asé
This article was published in The Observer, July 15, 2022
On April 20, the National Child Month Committee launched its theme and program for May, Child’s month. The theme this year is: “Listen Up ! Children’s Voice Matter. Given a common maxim in Jamaica, “children must be seen and not heard,” that some parents, teachers and other adults use to measure a child’s behaviour, this theme is relevant and timely.
Some adults still do not understand the potential danger of silencing a child. All too often a silent child is deemed to be well-behaved. However, this is a very dangerous precedent as it implies that a child has nothing to say, certainly nothing worth hearing. If a child is not allowed to speak and express herself or himself, the emotional and psychological implications are far and wide. It could result in the child being afraid or reluctant to tell their parents if they are abused or harassed or bullied. While a few children are just naturally quiet, most children are expressive as that is how they learn and engage with their environment.
Hence the theme, Listen Up ! Children’s Voice Matter is a warning to all of us, parents and non-parent or guardians alike, to listen to the children and know what their hopes, fear, and aspirations are. Adults need to take a backseat sometimes and just listen. To our children and learn what their views are about development and what Jamaica should look like in the next 20 or 50 years, after all they will be the ones to live in it. The theme is also a warning for us to re-examine the implicit and explicit message we send our children that “adults are always right and children are liars.” This prevalent belief further shuts down children and makes them even more vulnerable to negative and predatory adults. While parents are expected to know what is best for their child, it is still important that the child’s feelings and sensibilities are taken into account. I invite all parents to grant their children the opportunity to share their feelings and ideas, and one way that educators and psychologists will agree is to use the creative arts as expression, poetry, drama, drawing, and any other medium.
We are better informed and are better able to help our children cope with whatever situations they encounter if they know they are being listened to and you the parent is interested in hearing what they have to say. It is vitally important that Children are Seen and Heard, which is why, when COVID and the lock-in began I immediately send around a call, asking parents to encourage their children to write and draw about how they were feeling and share.Even though most schools have resumed face-to-face, the threat of COIVD still lingers, and just like us adults children are trying to make sense of the major interruption of their lives in the last two years.
Parents and caregivers should not believe that if they take care of a child’s basic needs, then the child will not be stressed or need a space to communicate their feelings. Wrong. No matter how effective we try to hide and shelter our children, they know and are impacted when we are stressed and with whatever else is going on in the world. They hear and are often impacted more than we think.
Heaven, Age 8
In 2004 and 2015, a study done by Hyson and Kostelnik revealed that “Children’s social and emotional health affects their overall development and learning. Children who are mentally healthy tend to be happier, show greater motivation to learn, have a more positive attitude toward school, more eagerly participate in-class activities, and demonstrate higher academic performance…(Hyson 2004; Kostelnik et al. 2015).” If this is not your child, then you need to pause and learn what your child is thinking and feeling.
The more opportunities we give our children to express themselves, and tune into what they are saying without telling them to be quiet or shut up, the more informed we are and better able to help them cope with these times and process what is happening around them
For younger children under 10 years old, Justina Goh, a parenting writer,recommends 5 Ways parents can “Help Children Identify and Express their Emotions:”
1.Name the feeling 2.Talk about how feelings can be expressed 3.Offer a deep nurturing connection 4. Resist the urge to punish 5. Praise and practice – often!
While Listening and communicating with young children can be challenging given the numerous questions and whys why is the moon round? why is covid a pandemic? why am I a girl? Why is it a constant, and a vital part of their learning process? But we must be mindful too that communicating with our teens and providing non-judgemental space for them to talk about their Feelings really begin with us and requires practice and patience.
Covid 19 Pandemic provided parents and children with the unprecedented opportunity to be under the same roof 24/7 for almost 2 years. For some, it resulted in more spent quality time, especially if space and resources were not a factor, but for others, this shut-in period has been very challenging in numerous ways as both parent and child have been forced into an excessive situation of being home together and no outlet for many parents were working from home and no outlet for many children were going to school online and parents having to juggle being teachers while also maintaining their working life.
What has this unprecedented time meant for our children? What sense are they making of covid-19? How is it altering how they will relate to others in the future? What fears and anxieties has it awakened? What is their sense of a future? We really won’t know the full impact until another five or ten years, but what we do know is that it has changed relationships and what we consider normal. As we move back into a new normal way of being, it is still imperative that we listen to our children. Having worked with children at every level of their educational process and taught poetry, creative dramatic and story-telling as vehicles of expression, I know from first-hand experience, as well as from research, that these mediums allow for the greatest creative expression and honest sharing so that parents/guardians can discern what’s going on with their children.
As parents, caregivers, and mindful adults we need not fear if we allow our children too many opportunities to express their feelings that it will come back to bite us, so to speak. Evidence suggests the converse; when adults treat children with respect and dignity and demonstrate that their feelings and ideas matter, children reciprocate with mutual respect and love. Allow our Children to be Seen and Heard and Reap the Rewards by helping to create a safe and healthy environment for all our children. These images and drawings below are expressions of our children and offer a glimpse of the impact of the pandemic on our children. Listen Up ! Children’s Voice Matter
Crisis
by Courtney Greaves, Age 11
Crisis, Crisis!
Education inna crisis!
Children a bawl,
a who fah fault?
Teacha’s a bawl,
a who fah fault?
Money gone missin’,
What a cocka-fault! Who really at fault?
Crisis, Crisis!
Everything in a crisis.
Legacy gone,
Inspiration gone.
School a lockdung
A nuh Covid fault.
Crisis, Crisis!
Police inna crisis!
Crisis, Crisis!
Hospital inna crisis!
Crisis, Crisis!
The worl’ inna crisis!
WHO AT FAULT?!
A NUH COVID FAULT?
What a cocka-fault~
My Life in the COVID Crisis
Oren, 14 years old
Life is meant to be enjoyed wisely
And as humans we take care of each
other proudly
COVID has impacted our lives
in the bad and good times
But we as a people put our effort
into making a change for a nation
We have suffered our own types
of pain during this challenge
God has had a plan for us to seek for answers
and when we work together as a nation
we can fix the problem.
How I feel about COVID19
Zaira, Age 10
I feel bad because we can’t go out or see family members often
and I can’t socialize with friends a lot. Corona makes me feel
terrible. Even worst – it’s hard to breathe in a face mask.
Corona is also a stress to me because going online is hard to do.
Corona affects me in many ways like I can’t go to face-to-face school.
We have to do many things like wear a mask, and social distance to 6 feet apart.
Avoid sharing, wash hands regularly. It is hard to not share when you are kind. Corona makes me feel scared especially when my Family has to go
to Face to Face work.
This is how I feel about COVID-19
Zamoya, Age 8
Unhappy and scared. It’s hard for me to breathe in the mask.
COVID-19 is a very bad virus. It is so bad I cannot play with my friends.
I am sad because I cannot go to face-face class.
We have to wear face mask, social distance, avoid sharing.
We must follow the protocols. I am scared because my mother
has to work at the office. I wish COVID would go away.
Covid-19 is a Bad Thing
Mehki, Age 8
Covid-19 is a bad thing!
If you get sick and can pay the expenses
you can live for a longer time.
I don’t feel like Covid-19 is a good thing to get
because you will get sick and maybe even die.
That’s why I put on my mask and wash my hands
I use the hand sanitiser when I am going out.
When I got Covid-19 I didn’t feel anything.
I thought I had a cold
One night I got too hot and then I had to take a shower
but it couldn’t be hot water because
that will make me more hotter and
I may could have died.
I use cold water instead to cool me down.
I feel fine now!
Untitled
Shawn Paul, 18
Covid is a virus
that is dangerous for you.
You might catch a flu
and you might get a tummy ache
but the severity of this virus
could put you in a hole.
So always wear your mask
and keep sanitized
because the safety of your health
is the safety of all.
pictures by Zahra, Safayah, Mora, Skye, all Age 9
I encourage all parents to provide space and time for their children to express their feelings and ideas through the use of a creative medium, and look out for the launch of Breadfruit & Ackee and journal for Caribbean Children.
*A partial version of this article was published in The Daily Observer, Monday, May 30, 2020
They say all little girls dream of being mothers. I don’t know how true that statement is, but I remember consciously planning my motherhood when I was about ten years old.
I was going to marry a cricket fast bowler and we were going to have four children. I was going to play outside barefoot with my children. I was going to plait my daughters’ hair in three, triangle-parted just like my mother did mine. We were going to go to the beach every Sunday and eat mango ice cream. Our life would be perfect.
I didn’t marry a cricket player and I didn’t have four children. Three seemed plenty. We did play and eat ice cream and I did plait my daughters’ hair and I loved being a mother as much as I love being a writer, and I miss mothering young children.
As I think about being a mother this year, this is my offering.
100+ Voices for Miss Lou is an anthology of poetry, tributes, interviews and essays by 107 contributors that took me two years to put it together. The anthology is a homage to The Honourable Louise Bennett-Coverley whose work and life have been sources of inspiration, and have helped me to develop as a poet and a social/cultural activist. While many Jamaicans want to trap Miss Lou in a bandana and smiling , I know her as a warrior who had to fight numerous battles to stand in her own shoe, and this collection is to help shatter the very narrow box into which we have imprisoned Miss Lou.
Putting an anthology together is perhaps harder than writing a single collection of poems or stories or even a novel because so many people are involved with personalities and a different sense of deadline, and also their own agenda, which might not dovetail with yours the editor. While I cannot say that when the idea of the anthology came to me that I knew what I wanted it to be or even knew the different sections, no I did not. What I knew was, it was intended to fulfil a promise I made to Miss Lou when I first interviewed her in 1987. In 1987 when I entered the doctoral programme at the University of California, Berkeley, I initially thought about writing a biography of Louise Bennett, but after the first of two interviews, the project seemed overwhelming so I abandoned it. An excerpt of the interview is included in the anthology.
Readers will enjoy contributions by the obvious suspects such as Mervyn Morris and Carolyn Cooper, both of whom have done extensive work on Louise Bennett as well as poetry and essays by Joan Andrea Hutchinson, Mutabaruka, Amina Blackwood Meeks, Linton Kwesi Johnson, then some wonderful surprises by Kei Miller, the essay on her war poems by Dalea Bean and the marvellous sharings and tributes by Lorna Goodison, the former Poet Laureate, and the former Prime Minister, PJ Patterson and the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Oliva Grange. While most of the pieces are first time publication, there are a number of pieces that have appeared elsewhere. Also, in order to get the diversity of voices and include a number of persons who worked with Miss Lou, but who aren’t writers, I ended up doing eleven interviews…the work was enormous and demanding making this anthology come alive.
I have gotten a lot of queries about the cover image which is by Tommy Ricketts, and my first and only consideration for the cover. Tommy Ricketts has six other images in the collection and this work came about as a request from me to him, when I were organizing Miss Lou’s centennial, and hosted an exhibition of Tommy Ricketts unorthodox images in the foyer gallery at the Regional Headquarters of The University of the West Indies, Mona. This image, like the others, debunks all the popular and loved images of Miss Lou dressed in her folk costume, regale with a bandana. Instead, in an attempt to have readers and lovers of Miss Lou see the fierce strategic side of her, she is armed with a nib pen, her weapon of choice, her sword strapped on her back and behind her are two male elders, also armed with pens, who have allowed her into the valley of liberation. This image shatters any box into which others might want to confine Miss Lou, who is more than a comic, more than a smiling sweet woman who promoted the Jamaican language and legitimize our nation language.
The importance of 100 + Voices for Miss Lou is not just s tribute to her, but more importantly, a place where lovers of Louise Bennett-Coverley’s work and the work of those who were touched and moved by her generosity of spirit can find in one single collection, a rich, diverse body of work that reveals the range of Louise Bennett’s contribution to Jamaican culture. It is a teaching tool as well as a full read for those who love literature.
My goal as a writer is to publish at least 50 books before I transition from this life and to have them all made into movie and translated into 200 languages. I am affirming 3 Netflix Series: Love’s Promise; Until Judgment Comes and Bake-Face and Other Guava Stories…
I am also working on a children’s picture book of Miss Lou, which I plan to have out next year.
I welcome your help and sponsorship to make these dreams a reality.
Please note, 100+ Voices for Miss Lou is available at the following locations locally and internationally:
§ The University Bookshop, The UWI, Mona Campus
§ Kingston Bookshop Limited
§ Fontana Pharmacy
§ Books & CD’s (located at the Norman Manley International Airport)
Sangster’s Book Stores Limited
Buy a copy for yourself, and buy a copy for a local library or school. I thank you for your support.
I have been an artist since I first held a pencil and started to scratch on my grandmother’s wall, drawing from my imagination all types of shapes and forms.
Everything inspires me, big or small scale, starting from my feet to the street animals that I encounter every day. The continuous changes in the world, political and cultural, and the different perspectives inspire me also. I take in lots of the images and news and then translate them into my language of art and paintings.
FREEDOM
Mainly the themes I focus on are the contradictions in our life –that attract me a lot, those right and left, ups and downs, and how the stereotypes about different lifestyles are playing an important role on our world nowadays.
LANDSCAPE
My grandmother remains the main influence in my work. I still use my grandmother’s fabrics that are full of bright colors and that make my work nostalgic, especially when I work with collage. The image is almost always a black woman figure, like me or any of my family.
Artists, in general, are supporting themselves; it is still a long road to put
the artists (not the actor in cinema) as a primary interest to people.
Due to lack of education, fine art is still seen as decoration that should be cheap and not as important as any new vase or any new electronic; it comes at the last of choice. However, within the last 5 years there is a movement to incorporate art more, and some rich people are investing in art. Still, there is not a lot of information/knowledge about art in Egypt, and its cultural and historical value.
There are some avenues for you to show my work in galleries in Cairo, and Beirut where I can show my work, but there are not enough venues.
Like any artists in her 40 who is looking forward to live from her Art, that is still a big challenge. Who is spending on what?!!
Yet, Art will always be the language that translates life from a true human perspective, and it is the healing that gives meaning to this fast life that we are living, without a break to understand what happened the last second before.
COVID actually allowed me to connect better with other artists around the world, to talk and discuss more about how we can share our studios together through the internet, and at the same time work. I think for us it was blessing to be forced to sit and do the job without being distracted by going out a lot and social responsibilities.
Screaming Faith
I am in contact with women artists in many countries like Lebanon, Jordon, JAMIAKA, Holland, Sudan and many other places.
I just finished up my solo Exhibition in Cairo that was part of my last journey in Lebanon that ended up unfortunately, with the big port blast August 2020, and that pushed me out of the country and replaced me back to Egypt. This exhibition it experimenting and documenting part of those years I lived in Lebanon, which were very difficult and I was subjected to racism as a Black Egyptian woman.
I would love to show my work at MOMA IN THE US and other Arab countries like Dubai, and African countries like Senegal, Europe, Germany, France, all over the world…
I love collaborating with other artists and for sure always seeking the right space in which to work. I also dream to get the chance to work in a big museum and fill it with my works. I would love to make an exhibition about my last 40 years of being an artist in one of the museums in the world.
Freedom 1
Art is activism –when we try to make a statement that mirrors what is happening in our society, positive or negative, that’s a activism. And yes, I am an activist artist because through my art I also seek to help my society and try to fix the world around me.
You can see and learn more about Shayma Kamel below:
Opal Palmer Adisa 