|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Reading Time 1 mins
August 6, 2022
All Herb McKinley, Don Quarrie, Merlene Ottley, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Usain Bolt, etc., and cultural artists and others ever wanted in life to succeed was a fair chance and to have a good start. Yet, in 1962 on the eve of Independence, Britain denied Jamaica any compensation for the three hundred-plus years of what Hilary Beckles refers to as ‘extractive colonization.’ The case laid out by Sir Alex Bustamante and the Jamaican people at the London Independence talks was clear and compelling: Britain bore responsibility for Jamaica’s underdevelopment and for raping the country and walking away from the victim.
Although acknowledging that Jamaica “might have the largest number of slums, the greatest number of unemployed, the most illiterate people per capita”–all of this caused by Britain’s plunderous policies–Britain, the abuser, nevertheless walked away scot-free with no moral qualms for its legacy of abuse throughout the emerging nation. Thus, the new Jamaica had to start from not even scratch. Little wonder that despite successive governments’ most valiant efforts, the country was in a continuous state of, as Michael Manley so aptly noted, trying to go “Up The Down Escalator.” To be sure, this predicament was, at times, exacerbated by questionable government policies. However, recognizing possible governmental improprieties is not to deny the insidious and long-lasting adverse effects of Britain’s pillaging of Jamaica’s patrimony.
August 6, Jamaica’s Independence Day, provides an opportunity to remember and appreciate all the efforts of patriots who contributed to Jamaica’s upliftment. Their contributions have substantially impacted the country’s history and continue to guide Jamaica’s highest aspirations.
Against this backdrop, Big Drum Nation offers Richard Dunn’s commentary “Jamaica at 60: Have The Sacrifices of The National Heroes Been Honored?” which challenges us to rethink the independence narrative.
Read on and join the discussion.
BDN Editors