REFLECTIONS
My first recollection of politics in Jamaica was the nineteen seventeen two election. I still vividly remember the many
bell ringing and fist thumping motorcades and the nightly meetings by both parties in the various districts. The
atmosphere was very festive and we would wave back to the motorcades returning their party symbols or
sometimes, when we felt mischievous, that of the opposing party. At night we would wander about with older
relatives from one political meeting to another as we speculate who the winner of the election would be. The evil
menace of illegal guns had just started creeping into ‘politics’ but this was still confined to Kingston and a few other
areas and was of no immediate concern to us. The theme of the PNP was ‘Better Must Come’ and Michael Manley
was touted as Joshua and was often seen with a rod called the rod of correction which it was said he received from
Emperor Haile Selassie.
The big day came and it was victory for the PNP led by Michael Manley and along with this it, seems a great sense
of hope for a better Jamaica. There were joyous celebrations throughout the country and it was a common sight to
see house brooms and green bushes tied to the back of motor vehicles as the JLP was ‘swept out’. Following the
election a gun amnesty was declared which resulted in a large number of illegal guns being turned in to the
authorities. A large number of social legislation were passed, among which the maternity leave act, equal pay for
women, equal right for children born out of wedlock and the minimum wage act readily comes to mind. These along
with the announcement of free education gain the PNP vast popularity especially among the poor. The introduction
of the adult literacy programme Jamal and the national youth service were immensely popular.
The oil crisis of the seventies soon dwindle away our banking reserve causing shortages of materials and
consumer goods. The financial intelligence unit was established to police the foreign exchange system and
especially catch people taking more than the legally allowed fifty US dollars (US$50) out of the country. This along
with the regime’s new friendship with Cuba and the eastern block in the middle of what was then the “cold war” soon
cost the ruling party a lot of it’s support especially among business people and the upper class. There was also
strong opposition from the United States resulting in a lot of economic aid being cut off. The formation of the OPEC
oil group and their decision to cut oil production caused oil shortage and the skyrocketing of oil price as well as an
unstable world economy. This caused a major foreign exchange shortage resulting in the country having to apply to
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance in nineteen seventy seven. Strict conditionality was imposed
among which a devaluation of the dollar which resulted in what was then known as the ‘crawling peg devaluation’
during which there was a fixed monthly devaluation. In the meantime economic growth slowed down and then went
negative as the country’s economy starts to decline. With this came layoff and an increase in crime and violence
and the use of the gun spread throughout the island. In the meantime Edward Seaga had challenged for the
leadership of the JLP in 1974 and was successful. He was reputed to be a financial wizard and proved to be a
formidable opposition leader.
By nineteen seventy six, the crime rate had skyrocketed with many major crimes throughout the country. Among the
major incidents, the Greenwich Town shooting, the Gold Street massacre and the Orange Street fire in which
babies were taken from their mothers, who tried to escape the flames, and thrown back into the fire, stood out. The
political divide increased and as people were forced to flee their homes, and the political garrisons spread and
increased throughout the country. The dreaded gun court, now called The South Camp Rehabilitation center, was
established. It was painted red and even for the possession of a single bullet, one would be sent there ‘under
indefinite detention’ meaning there was no fixed release date. In June of that year the then prime minister Michael
Manley declared a nationwide state of emergency. I can still recall hearing the announcement that Saturday as I
was preparing to go with my mother to the market. This was to last just under a year. Immediately after the
announcement a massive roundup of people started. Some PNP supporters were arrested but by far, most of them
were members or supporters of the JLP including Parnell Charles and Babsy Grange. This was the start of a long
detention for many of them and in Ms Grange case a condition of her release was that she left the island. I
remember one interesting case of one person being arrested as being a threat to national security but he was later
released when it proven that he was a British citizens and the British Embassy intervened. This did little to stem the
wave of violence and killings which continued unabated.
A general election was called for December of that year and with many in the JLP locked away, to the beat of ‘My
leader Born Ya’, the PNP won a landslide of forty seven to thirteen seats. It was a very violent election campaign
and I can remember our parents waking us up to hide in bushes as shots were fired and stones rained down on
roofs. Very little changed, however, and the problems continued to increase. The scarcity of material and consumer
goods got worst and the widespread ‘marrying’ of goods was a part of life. This was a practice where in order to
purchase an item in scarce supply the purchaser was force to purchase so other item. Inspectors were sent out to
check supermarkets and shops for overcharging as all basic items had price control, and the marrying and
hoarding of goods. Unemployment increased and to alleviate this the ‘Crash Work Programme’ was established. It
was extremely unproductive and the participants spent most of their time leaning on brooms and abusing people
driving by. With critical shortages, self reliance was stressed and people were encouraged to ‘tun yu hand and
mek fashion’ as well as to establish house gardens. The ‘land lease’ and ‘pioneer programme’ was expanded. The
relationship with Cuba and the eastern block were epanded while that with the United States continued its decline.
The controversial brigadita programme where people were sent to Cuba for training in medicine, dentistry and
construction grew. At the same time, health personnel, teachers and construction workers came to assist in our
health sector and construction of schools and micro-dams. The JLP accused the government of sending these
people for military training and objected to the Cuban personnel presence in the island. At the same time, the cry
by the PNP that the CIA was destabilizing the country increased.
In January of 1977 the Green Bay massacre occurred in which it was said that young men from Southside and
other areas were taken by the Military Intelligence Unit (MIU) to the JDF shooting range under the pretence of
getting jobs and then executed in cold blood. I recall the statement made by the Security Minister shortly after the
incident that ‘no angels died at green bay’ for which he had since apologized. There were inquiries into the state of
emergency and the green bay massacre in which the details were revealed and these proved to be in contrast to
what was initially told to the public and probably are the two most shameful incidents since independence.
As the relationship between the communist Workers Party of Jamaica (WPJ), the Soviet Union and the government
increased so did the fear and unease that the country was going communist, especially among the upper class.
That led to the ‘five flight a day to Miami speech’ by Prime Minister Manley in which those who did not like how the
country was been run was encouraged to catch one of these flights and leave.
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THE JAMAICA ACTION PARTY
J A P