about high school graduations in Jamaica

So I was griping about Miss World’s graduation, scheduled for about 2 1/2 hours from now…after all, she doesn’t even know if she has passed her CSEC exams yet! And here in Jamaica, you don’t get to progress without CSEC subjects in hand. I was going on and on about how schools ought to wait until exam results are out before this big hoopla with cap, gown, pictures, rings, balls and the like. But my good friend Raymond forced me to think. Yesterday he offered his congrats to Miss World and commended me for being a great mom. I fended him off, remarking that results are pending. He replied with his usual forthrightness: “It doesn’t matter what the results are, Kelly. Rachael is a good girl. And you did your best with her. It could have been way different”. His comments marinated in my sub-conscious, and today I realised and accepted and celebrated. Rachael marks the end of five years of high school today. She made the honour roll every year since grade 7. She completed piano up to grade 4 level. She found her niche in the glee club at her school and the Music House became her haunt…a place where she automatically went to even when she didn’t have a rehersal or class there. She writes so well. She took to high school like a duck to water after feeling like an outsider at prep school, being such a quiet, introverted child. She is a funny, smart, witty and gorgeous girl who has stayed off drugs and did not get pregnant. She started grade 7 with her parents going through a dramatic and painful separation. She endured this, including moving house, her mom starting a new job and never missed a beat. Grade 11 was rough…for both of us. I felt that she lost focus and was not doing all she could to win. Both of us know what I mean, and we await CSEC results in August.

Our children are NOT us. We have been blessed with these little people, to nurture them, to provide for them and to help them be all they can be. I know I have not consistently been the best parent in the world for sure.

So today I celebrate with our daughter for completing five years of high school…for making us proud along the way. And we’ll be there no matter what to support and love her into her future. Congrats, Rachael. we love you.

Rachael in Grade 8

Rachael the Graduate

garbage collection and citizens associations

This was published in the Gleaner on Saturday May 24. I shared it on Facebook, and a friend asked a question which I have not answered yet: “Do you have a citizens association in Coopers Hill?”
She set me thinking… The simple answer is “no”. The logical response then ought to be: ” So start one, Kelly”. I’m sure I could. And yes, I have a raft of (valid) excuses: I have a full-time career, I am at school and I have school aged children who still need close supervision. But truth be told, I really don’t want to start a movement. (I might be more inclined to join a movement.) But here’s the ugly truth: I don’t want to get too close to my neighbours. I don’t want them to get too close to me. I want to pay my taxes and my bills and I want the system to work: electricity and water on demand, regular garbage collection, a responsive police and fire service and I want my neighbours to keep their grass low. And sure, I know the reality: the system doesn’t work as it should, and perhaps my constant cries would be amplified if shouted through the collective voice of a citizens association. Selfish? Perhaps. OK.Yes: it is selfish. My FB friend has thrown out a challenge which is bothering me… We’ll see…

Coopers Hill Tired Of Trash Service

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130525/letters/letters6.html

Published: Saturday | May 25, 20130 Comments

NSWMA boss Jennifer Edwards (left) and Local Government Minister Noel Arscott (in truck) had better get a handle on the shoddy garbage collection in Coopers Hill. – File

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Up to the time of writing on May 19, it has been two weeks since garbage was collected in Coopers Hill, St Andrew. This is how it has been over the past couple of months.

I don’t need to elaborate on all the undesirable effects of uncollected solid waste: rodent and insect proliferation come readily to mind.

What is really happening? Even as we pay dramatically increased property taxes, what are we to expect where garbage collection is concerned? The Government’s absolute failure to get this one little thing done underscores our belief that it is merely paying lip service to preservation of the environment.

Inconvenient though it may be, citizens with vehicles can load up their solid waste and take it to a public skip for disposal. What of those unable to do so? Well, what you get are garbage-strewn sidewalks, roaming dogs pillaging the mess, ad hoc stinkness, unsightly dumping sites springing up on the gorgeous hillsides that God blessed us with, gullies clogged with bags of solid waste, and the constant burning of garbage by those suffering at the hands of an administration that refuses to collect garbage in a timely manner.

What are we to do? Jamaica of yesteryear was a place that held ‘girl pickney’ to high standards of hygiene and cleanliness. “You cyaan do dat! You is a gyal pickney!”

Separate standards

I certainly do not impose two separate standards of hygiene in my household, one for my son and one for my daughter. But if only out of respect and deference towards our ancestors, I am imploring Madam Prime Minister, the first female PM of Jamaica, to hold her local government minister, Noel Arscott, and head of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (ironically a woman too!) accountable in this regard.

Let it not be said that you presided over a nasty administration and a filthy country, Madam PM. Please treat garbage collection as a priority. Allocate the necessary resources and insist upon an efficient operation.

Frustrated Property Tax Payer

Coopers Hill, St Andrew

about the J.P.S. Co. cries of doom and gloom!

So ever since the Jamaica Public Service Co. Ltd. has been sounding off about its financial woes, a growing sense of dread has been overcoming me. The latest wail is that the company will be out of cash by August. Now I am not fretting for myself, for reasons which I will outline shortly. But I am thinking about the few businesses plodding along in this extremely hostile context that is Jamaica today. We already are burdened with the highest energy costs in the region, and if you layer uncertainty of supply atop burdensome expenses, well…you can see how this will end. Let’s go back to the JPS’s latest alarm: out of cash by August. That is a holler for attention at the very least, but it must be some sort of call to action too. What do they want? Are they setting the stage to justify a rate hike? It is a fact that electricity usage has declined… Is this an index of economic growth/decline? Not sure. But for sure, ordinary citizens have really had no choice.

We’ve had to become Electricity Nazis in our own homes, using energy efficient bulbs, patrolling for lights being on for no reason, forgoing use of the electric water heater, unplugging everything once we are out of the house and there are some like my household who are almost totally off the grid. Yup. Some years ago, H had the foresight to begin to phase in the use of solar energy. To be totally honest, it was the unreliability of service from the JPS that prompted this move. The feeders in this area are old an unreliable and post-hurricane conditions were absolutely unbearable. But even though we would have light with or without JPS, as I said, I couldn’t help but worry about industry and therefore the state of the overall economy…the broader context within which I live and make a living.

So I was talking with H tonight, rehashing the day’s events. And he told me a story that lifted my spirits and gave me hope to press on. He decided to use the services of an automobile AC technician along South Camp Road. He only saw the sign, it was conveniently located (for him) and he only needed re-gassing…nothing complex. So he turned in and saw a modified shipping container serving as a small admin and waiting area. There was a steady stream of traffic in and out, including taxi men and commercial trucks, including trucks belonging to a well known haulage company. He took comfort in that fact, and noted that the owner was the head technician, moving around briskly and quite business-like. But he had to wait. H hates to wait. But as he sat waiting he noticed that atop the modified container, sat 2 solar panels. Wow! H’s fine engineering mind sat up and started noting the technical details of this AC business set-up. What he figured out and later confirmed in conversation with Mr. AC was that the solar panels provided enough energy for Mr. AC to run his AC repair business.

This simple entrepreneur had done his sums and determined that his competitiveness hinged on his ability to minimize his energy costs. Hence his current independence from the unreliable supply characteristic of the JPS and his lower energy costs.

H remarked that he is seeing more and more windmills on residences in St. Elizabeth too. Think of the new Digicel building Downtown, Kingston. Red Stripe recently announced plans to invest in their own energy plant. I am hoping that as JPS and the Government of Jamaica continue to piss around and play games (WHERE IS THE ENERGY POLICY?) we the people will do the necessary and invest in alternative energy sources.

And don’t gripe about the cost. Plan. Start. Phase in the darned thing. Incremental improvement may be the way you have to do it. Ain’t nothing wrong with that! So many people are comfortable borrowing money to buy a car, a liability that depreciates with every revolution of the tires. Buy a small car for cash and invest in alternative energy instead, People! That is worthwhile debt.

So I have to believe that the entrepreneurial class will not roll over and die. I have to believe that we will find a way to survive and thrive despite this Ineptocracy. (in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

about the scrap metal “trade” in Jamaica

I felt the need to rant after reading an article in the Jamaica Observer last week.
Here’s my letter that was published April 16 2013:

Dear Editor,

I make reference to your article carried Friday, April 12, 2013 “Mark your metal, Hylton urges”. This is not the answer to the problems associated with the restarted scrap metal industry.

To begin with, there is no manufacturing now taking place in Jamaica that produces enough scrap metal to sustain any sort of trade in this form of waste. I challenge anyone to prove me wrong here.

It means that the players in this industry will have to resort to other sources of metal to sustain their operations. Hence stolen cables, vandalised properties and compromised infrastructure like bridges, manholes and the like. I would like Minister Hylton to advise us how to “mark” kilometres of cable to prevent theft. I’d also like Minister Hylton to tell me how to “mark” my wrought iron gate, fence and garbage receptacle to prevent theft. His response to an industry that, I argue, offers a net negative value to the nation speaks volumes as to his absolute lack of appreciation for business basics and operational efficiencies. It is not enough to assure Flow, one of the most recent victims of stolen cables, that “rigorous regulations governing the scrap metal trade would make it difficult for stolen material to be exported”. He just does not get it.

The bottom line is that Flow is minus the use of its asset right now, whether the cables are exported now or later, representing a loss in terms of a reduced asset base and reduced income from customers to whom they cannot provide the service without these cables.

Get real, Minister, and get a grip.

Kelly McIntosh

LOGIC ONE CABLE TV PROVIDERS

So I decided to document my issues with respect to service reliability of my cable TV providers. I emailed the owner/manager and then hand delivered a hard copy to her office. Within one hour of my dropping off the hard copy, I received an email from her. I’ve decided to post my letter to Logic One Ltd. and their response. Here you go:

MY LETTER TO LOGIC ONE LTD.

Dear Mrs. Francis:

On Friday November 9 2012, I lost service at my residence. It resumed sometime on Monday November 12. I reported the loss of service via telephone on the evening of the 9^th to a Customer Service agent named Trudy-Ann. I felt as if I was a bother to Trudy-Ann. She sighed at my questions and was unable to give a clear answer as to what was happening in the area. She suggested that it was perhaps due to a power cut. I spoke with Mrs.Levy on Saturday the 10^th. Mrs. Levy was extremely polite and apologetic. To this day I am still not clear what caused the loss of service. I was told that the lines were cut. Then I got a voice mail on my mobile phone confirming this. Then I was told by Mrs. Levy that Hurricane Sandy damaged the fibre optic cables.

On Saturday November 17 2012 I once again lost service at my residence at about 1:00pm. I reported the incident by telephone immediately to Mrs. Levy. She suggested that it was perhaps due to a power cut on the line. She promised to call me back at 3:00pm that afternoon to confirm if service had been restored. I did not get this call. Today is Monday November 19 and I still have no cable TV. I spoke with a Customer Service agent, Zoe, who acknowledged that a team was just sent to the area. This is disturbing to me: 48 hours after loss of service, a technical team is just being dispatched.

Please advise/confirm the following:

1. My bill for November will not include the days that I was unable to enjoy the service that I pay for: this stands at 5 days as at time of writing.

2. What is the procedure for reporting emergencies outside of regular working hours? I am not always able to get the mailbox having dialed the Logic One number.

3. How do I know for sure that my complaint has been noted outside of regular office hours?

4. What is Logic 1’s agreement with its customers in terms of response time and resolution time when complaints are lodged?

5. What was the real reason for loss of service Nov 9-12 and for Nov 17 until now?

I await your feedback.

Regards,

Kelly McIntosh

LOGIC ONE’S RESPONSE

Afternoon Ms. McIntosh,
Let me first apologise for the numerous interruptions in service due to damage sustained to our external plant as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Although the damage was not devastating, down trees caused breaks and stress fractures to our wires some of which were easily repairable whilst others were not.

As it relates to Nov 9-12th, we assumed it was a power outage after we discovered there was not power at our device, only to discover that our main wires ( both fiber and coax) had been cut, this took us the better part of all day of the 12th to locate and repair the damage. The Nov. 17th complaint was due to someone cutting trees and chopping our main wire again and repairs were once again effected on the 19th. Mrs Levy advised me that a call was placed to you last night, at which time you confirmed service had been restored.

Emergency calls are received by our in house voice-mail. Once a complaint is made in the week it will be addressed the following day and a call must be returned to the subscriber acknowledging complaint. On the weekends, the voicemail is checked remotely and calls returned to subscribers to either try and assist or if it is an area problem a team will be dispatched; however it is very important that you leave you name address and phone number in order for us to contact you, as this is normally omitted.

Complaints are normally repaired within 3-5 days depending on the nature of the complaint and subscribers availability.

Based on the number of days lost in October and now November we have decided to waive November fees, based on the fact you already paid for October and $2 towards November, this would easier than to re-calculating.

Whilst preparing my response a copy of your email was hand delivered.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me or Mrs Levy.

Regards
Paula Francis
Manager

MY RESPONSE TO LOGIC ONE LTD.

Dear Mrs. Francis:

I appreciate your reply. Thanks for the explanations and the apology.

Re: your SLA of repairs to be effected within 3-5 days, I am humbly requesting that you revisit the lower limit and challenge your operation to respond within at least 36 hours. Track it too, and use this metric to challenge your team to be the very best providers to your Customer base.

Best regards,

Kelly McIntosh

about living in Jamaica today.

I may just have used up all my sulking points for 2012 today…I may even have a jump-start on 2013. Here’s the thing: I work hard. I consider myself to be a good mother. I give of myself to these two endeavors. When I’m at home my wants are simple: electricity, water, Internet and cable TV. What? Am I crazy? Aren’t these “amenities” a given? After all, it is the year 2012…

The main road near my house

Hurricane Sandy passed through about 3 weeks ago and we were left without electricity for 8 nights. This in and of itself was uncomfortable enough, but it was the lack of responsiveness and dearth of credible information from the Jamaica Public Service Co. (JPS) that really, really got my goat. So I went to battle. I called them…every day…multiple times per day. I stalked their Twitter feed and their Face book page, making myself known at every opportunity. I wrote to the press. I wrote to one well known reporter. I bitched using every medium I knew. Service was restored on night 9, and on day 11, the Daily Gleaner published my submission on this issue to them. I heard from the CEO and now I am on a first name basis with my Parish manager and I have a direct line to her should I have any issues in the future. I am tired.

Then 2 weeks after the passage of Sandy, our water in storage got dangerously low. So I put on my boxing gloves again, but this time the opponent was the National Water Commission (NWC). I was already on a first name basis with the gentleman who trucks water in my area in times of shortage. And I already had the mobile number for the Operations manager who is responsible for service delivery in my area. When your water supply depends on your being on a first name basis with “Ruddy”, you know you’re in trouble! After hounding them for 2 days straight, we got our tanks filled from a truck and pumping from the NWC source resumed the day after. I am tired.

I live 15 minutes from the outskirts of what we call the corporate area. It’s blissfully cool, green and very quiet. I enjoy decompressing on my veranda.

My Veranda

But there are moments when I feel as if I really live behind God’s back. We are definitely NOT a priority when it comes to utility companies. At least it feels that way. We’ve been living here for 12 years and it feels increasingly difficult to survive here. The (public) road leading down to my house is like a river bed. The feeder that provides electricity to this area is totally unreliable and at the first smell of rain, the first roll of thunder, the first flash of lightening, there goes the electricity. So we decided a few years ago to make ourselves independent of JPS. Over the years, we have increased our capacity, and I have to admit, that our response this time around post storm was decidedly better than in previous years. We were able to keep the ‘fridge running and we could iron and read and watch local TV. But because we are still not where we plan to be, we still had to rationalize our use of power during the period we were without service from JPS and so comfort levels were not at all optimized. As for water, we have capacity to store 1650 gal of water, but this is depleted after 2 weeks with no re-supply.

Me in front of the water tank: Water is Life!

Post Sandy, it took two weeks for the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) to resume garbage collection. Garbage receptacles from the bottom of the hill all the way up were overflowing. I simply waited and hoped for the garbage truck to come. I didn’t have the energy to do battle with that lot.

That’s to give you some context. Let me continue my rant now.

Then last week Friday evening, cable TV suddenly went. Service was restored Monday evening. I called. I called again. And still I called. A whole weekend with only TVJ as entertainment comes as close as I can imagine to what hell must be like. It is the lack of responsiveness and clear, credible info in the absence of product/service that really ticks me off! I was told that the storm damaged their lines. I was told that vandals had cut their lines. Still don’t know what the real story is. I am tired.

Then this Thursday night, we lost Internet service. And land-line service. We reported it to Lime. They could not proffer a reason but diligently recorded the complaint. And while watching news last night, my initial fears were confirmed: vandals had yet again stolen $5M worth of Lime cables from the area. They aim to replace said cables and restore service by the end of next week. This has happened twice in the past to the best of my knowledge, and the last time it happened, service was restored after 6 long weeks… and this only after I pressed a colleague of mine who had a direct line to the then president of C&W (now Lime) to intervene on my behalf. I am tired.

And now today, Saturday… I came home at 1pm after spending the morning at the Learning Center at my church helping out. I collapsed into my bed and started watching re-runs of the Voice when the screen went blank. Nothing. Cable service once again interrupted. It is now almost 9:30pm on Saturday night and I am forced to watch TVJ. Hell all over again. I was able to report the issue to the cable company before they closed for the weekend. Big deal. Dunno if their cables have been stolen too. Dunno when I’ll be able to watch some good TV again. I am tired.

H says that the country is in decline…that what we are experiencing are the results of a society falling apart. I can’t disagree with him. Main thoroughfares have simply broken away: Mt. Ogle in Stony Hill, Dunrobin near Red Hills Road, Junction en route to St. Mary, Cassava Piece off Mannings Hill Road…a clear sign of neglect and decay.

Bloomberg News says that Jamaica is perched on the edge of defaulting on our debt. The few dollars that I have managed to save and invest in government paper are once again at risk. The portfolio took a hit in the JDX scheme implemented a few years aback where we were asked to accept lower interest rates. “Jamaica has been the poster boy for imminent default for years now, but they don’t default,” Segura said in a phone interview. “The country has a weak ability to pay but strong willingness to pay.” So how do I preserve the little that I have accumulated? Equities? Real estate? FX? I am tired. There are those who have worked hard, educated themselves and fine themselves under-employed or un-employed. I’m not going to go into the crime situation, the young and old begging at stop-lights, the steady decline of civility in terms of how we deal with each other in terms of tone and deed. I am tired.

Now I have to strategise if I am to continue to live up here: increase the capacity of the solar set-up, add at least another 1000 gal to the water in storage, investigate options for wireless Internet (and this is not as simple as it sounds as right now I can’t pick up Lime cellular signal at home) and just decide to read more and build a library of DVDs in lieu of watching cable TV. I am tired.

Perhaps when the weariness overtakes me I should simply transport myself in my mind to those perfect times when I am sitting on Negril’s white sand looking at the perfect sunset, perfect cocktail in hand. Perhaps I should focus on the fact that my family is intact and in good health. Perhaps I should focus on the fantastic Sunday dinners that we still have, and the love and laughter and music and banter that we still share.

Paradise?

JPSCo: Customer service or mere PR stunt?

When JPSCo put full page advertisements in the press only a few weeks ago, I was puzzled as to the reason why. Afterall, JPS is a monopoly so it’s not as if they are grappling for market share. There were pictures of newly appointed parish representatives, but again, I was struck that there were no names and no contact information given. Fast forward to the recent devastation wreaked by Hurricane Sandy. Staring the sixth consecutive night of darkness in the face, I tried in vain to get contact information for my parish representative. I called the 1 888 Customer Care number and was told that they could not provide the information. To my distress, they could not give me any updates on my immediate predicament either. They made a great show of recording my name and number and recording the fact that I had no service.

I fully understand that we just came through a natural disaster that no one had any control over. What disturbs me is the lack of credible information concerning when paying customers can expect resumption of service. JPS has ramped up its’ on-line presence, sending out frequent tweets and updating its’ Facebook page regularly. But the opportunities for actual dialogue are extremely limited.

It is not enough for Customers to lodge their complaints into the void that is called Customer Care. How do we know that our issues are understood? Who can we speak with in order to get clarity and understanding? We don’t even hear Winsome Callum or Ruthlyn Johnson giving updates anymore. Mrs. Tomblin herself is becoming the face of the company. Even so, I don’t really care. All I want is the ability to speak with someone about my issues and to have reliable service. It seems to me that JPS is confusing Public Relations with Customer Service. What else would you call faces without the ability to contact? What else would you call a 1 888 number that takes your details and never calls you back?

I’d like to remind them that the best customer service is reliable and efficient delivery of the product/service. PR stunts only serve to anger and frustrate.

Just be nice!

I wrote to the Gleaner Editor yesterday, and they published it as Letter of the Day today. They edited out a suggestion I made in the original submission, so I will reproduce what they printed here and then add my suggestion after.

The Editor, Sir:

It seems that we have started to devalue the small gestures and acts of kindness that separate us from the animals. I was at the cashier in a major supermarket in Kingston last week Saturday. I noticed that the cashier made an error while ringing me up. She cashed three of an item when I had only one of that item.

I calmly questioned it. She did her due diligence, discovered the error and merely corrected it with nary an apology or a simple acknowledgement of her mistake.

We see regular displays of boorish behaviour in parking lots, where drivers deliberately swoop down on just-vacated parking spaces despite seeing a fellow motorist waiting for the same space. Think about your experiences in school parking lots. Parents stop where it is convenient for them to drop off and pick up despite the pleas of school administrations to adhere to strict zoning in this regard in order to preserve order, maintain a smooth flow of traffic and to ensure the safety off all using the space.

erosion of simple courtesies

Gone are the days when we would step into a waiting room and acknowledge those already there with a greeting. Why is it so hard to say ‘thank you’ to the security guard handing you a parking pass? Why do customer-service personnel feel that a smile while serving should never be part of the deal? The erosion of these simple courtesies is akin to running a motor vehicle without oil. The noise of metal against metal and the eventual decimation of the engine are inevitable results.

I personally resolve to be polite to those I come in contact with throughout the day and encourage everyone to do the same. We can do it. How wonderful it would be if Jamaica became known as ‘that island with the really courteous people!’

KELLY McINTOSH

Furthermore, I would like to propose a national campaign, similar to ones of yesteryear such as “Don’t harrass the tourist”, “Kingston…Clean as a Whistle” and “Two is Better than Too Many”. This campaign could be sponsored by the private sector, complete with billboards, print and electronic media presence and of course, social media. Picture it: “JUST BE NICE”. We can do this.

about (some) doctors and health care in Jamaica

Today I read an absolutely sad story in the Sunday Observer. Essentially, a woman of Jamaican origins, residing in the UK, was in Jamaica in April of this year with her family. She became ill and was rushed to a health care facility in Linstead. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, and some amount of respiratory distress was evident. The doctor on duty advised the family that there was not much more that could be done for the woman due to the lack of appropriate equipment at that facility. That in and of itself is sad and scary: do not get into respiratory distress in Linstead! But what happened next is what angered and upset me. The woman’s family panicked and became (understandably) emotional. They immediately wanted to transfer the woman to UHWI in Kingston, but that became a journey through beaurocracy and regulations and a negotiation with the doctor on duty. Read the entire sad and depressing story here if you will, http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Coma-calamity_12407307.

The end result is that after a protracted period of time (while the woman was fighting for oxygen!) during which the doctor on duty locked himself in his office, choosing not to engage the family and calm them down and reassure them, leaving them to wonder and to plot their next move in fear and uncertainty, the woman was eventually transferred to UHWI and several months later, several millions of dollars later, she remains in a coma here in Jamaica, with the lack of oxygen being thought to be the main contributor to her present condition.

Here’s my beef: how dare the doctor on duty lock himself away? How dare the doctor not make himself available to the family? I know that he couldn’t pull a respirator out of his back pocket. I know he couldn’t magically produce a well equipped treatment room. But what he could do, he simply did not: that is to be present to reassure and to guide the family. Yes, yes , yes…there are two sides to every story, and we did not hear the doctor’s side, but I have had several experiences of my own, which lead me to give the benefit of the doubt to the patient and her family.

Many years ago Miss World was about four years old and she started vomiting with severe stomach cramps. It was a long weekend…I believe Easter, and the best option we thought was to take her to the public Children’s Hospital. We three bundled into their ER and eventually saw a doctor who gave her a well known analgesic/anti-spasmodic, antibiotics and rehydration salts. Great, we took her home hoping that all would be well. Twenty four hours we three were back in the ER. This time we saw and African doctor who insisted that he had the magic cure as he dramatically pronounced that the said same anti-spasmodic would fix her once and for all! I grabbed her chart out of his hands and hissed as I waved it around: “Did you not just review her chart? Can you not read? She TOOK your wonder drug 24 hours ago and we’re back!” That prompted a review and revision of her prescribed therapy, and in another 24 hours she was ok. Man alive! Suppose I did not know what questions to ask? Suppose I was not assertive in the face of these people who qualify as doctors and feel that they are God? Can you imagine Jamaicans who are not so educated doing business with this bunch?

On another occasion a few years later, Miss World again had a bad attack of gastro. This time we took her to a private hospital, having to make a deposit of JD70,000.00 because she wasn’t on our health insurance. Even in that private set up I had to point out to a very bored looking, sullen reluctant nurse that I had a concern that her IV drip was draining just a bit to quickly in my estimation. Without even looking, she tried to fob me off. But I was in no mood to be put off by someone that I was in effect paying, especially when the well-being of my offspring was at stake. Was she for real? When she inspected the set up she had the good grace to gasp and say: “Oh no!” I wanted to choke her. Seriously.

Miss World was discharged and before we reached home she was writhing in pain and I did an about turn and headed straight up to the public UHWI. At my request, her private paediatrician met us there to help expedite the process. Again, this was at my hysterical insistence on the phone as I drove like a mad woman up to UHWI. By this time I was panicked, hysterical and angry. I handled the young doctor assigned to our case like a stuffed toy quizzing him in a very hostile, angry manner, even daring to question his competence. To his credit, he did not respond like the Linstead doctor per the Observer account today. He remained present, answered my every question and reassured me of the diagnosis and therapy. I sincerely hope that the years have not jaded him and changed him. Well that incident ended with me storming out of UHWI with Miss World in my arms cussing every doctor in sight because it was unbelievable to me that in the 21^stcentury, a stomach ache which did not warrant surgery could not be cured!

Doctors must remain accessible and communicative, even in the face of obstreperous patients and their families. Remember that the only difference between doctors and us is that they chose to study medicine. Big deal. How impressive. I studied botany. He studied engineering. She studied law. We all have our function. Being a doctor does not make you God. Get over it and remember the oath you took. Remember too that when you are a private practitioner, we are your customers. We pay you. How dare you take appointments for dozens of us at the same time and then you waltz in up to an hour and half later? I suppose to your mind, you are important enough for us to spend half a day waiting to be seen by you for 10 minutes max. I have had doctors write me a prescription without even telling me what is on the said prescription and how it works. Once I had the temerity to ask the doctor how a particular drug worked. He replied that I could not possibly understand and that I was just to use it as per his directions. Needless to say I gave him a lecture and explained that I had a science background and that even if I did not, his job was to break it down for me to understand. I walked out and never went back to him. He is still a prominent dermatologist in Jamaica.

I resent doctors who do not communicate with me. I resent doctors who keep me waiting. I resent doctors who make assumptions about me and my health without asking questions. But most of all, I am sorry for and scared for my fellow Jamaicans who don’t know how to ask and what to ask and who fear these people that we call doctors in Jamaica.

“Happy Anniversary!”

Happy Anniversary!

Today the land of my birth marks 50 years of independence from Great Britain. Fifty years ago we sang our own national anthem and raised our own flag. I went to primary, secondary and tertiary school right here. I got married to a Jamaican in Jamaica. My two children were born here and they go to school here. I work for a Jamaican company here in Jamaica. However, I had to think long and hard before I started this blog post. I am probably one of a handful of persons who has not bought a Jamaica flag to put on my car and I don’t own a Jamaica t-shirt. Here’s the thing: anniversaries of any nature present an opportunity for introspection. “Looks like we’ve made it, look how far we’ve come…” And herein lies the rub.

There are two Jamaicas: one where the schools are clean and quiet and teachers speak respectfully to students. And there is one where children crowd into noisy, hot classrooms and are expected to learn. There’s one Jamaica where you get “justice” if you have the money to pay for it. There’s another Jamaica where you are tossed roughly from side to side inside the bowels of the justice system and hope for the best. You often don’t get it… There’s a Jamaica that’s filled with boat rides to Lime Cay and outings to the movies and another Jamaica where you hang out on the corner to grab a little cool air. There’s one Jamaica that moves about in high off-the-ground air conditioned vehicles and another Jamaica that moves around in tightly packed public buses, fighting to keep your soul sane on your way to work and school and where you long to get home in the evening just to do it all over again in the morning. There’s the Jamaica where you dare not get ill on a Saturday evening or public holiday…. There’s one Jamaica where we lock up tightly in gated communities or behind high walls, where security codes are a way of life and King Alarm is on speed dial. There’s the other Jamaica where 4 year olds instinctively roll under the bed at the sound of a gun-shot ( and they know the difference between gun shot and clappers!) and their mother prays that Babylon don’t kick in the door tonight and search up her teenage son and cart his ass off to only God knows where.

Even in the midst of enjoying the things that make this island uniquely Jamaican: hot beef patties from Tastee, ice cold red-stripe beer after work, sipping rum on the 7 mile beach in Negril, jamming to rockers at a party, cheering like crazy woman at Boys and Girls Champs at the National Stadium, watching on in amusement in a line somewhere as someone “kick-off” and start cuss how dem a tek too damn long fi do whe dem haffi do, I cannot ignore the two Jamaicas.

So many of our people have migrated in search of better…even now you see them on Facebook and Twitter seeking to get their “warm and fuzzy” on as they live vicariously through the feats of Jamaican athletes, seeking re-connection in Caribbean festivals in the White Man’s Land where they’ve opted to make life and living for the next reggae concert in their area. They haunt local Farmers Markets for mango and pear and ackee in an effort to re-create Yard a yard. Who can really blame them though? Talk shows and Gleaner articles are dedicated to instructing us though the immigration maze to a Brighter and Better Future. The desperation in the voices that call in and the hope and anticipation coming out in the letters speak volumes about where we think our futures and those of our children lie.

And yet… and yet… I am absolutely a product of this island Jamaica. My heart swells with pride when I travel and everyone knows Bob Marley. I sense the envy of other nations when they remark: “Oh! You’re Jamaican!” I am well aware of the mystique associated with this Brand Jamaica: cool, tough, fearless, hip, creators of awesome food and music, the land of the fastest athletes on earth…This little impoverished, corrupt, beautiful, diverse, creative, colourful, famous, infamous dot of a place in the Caribbean. And I am Jamaican. Let me try to explain what this 50^th anniversary feels like to me…

You get married full of love and hope. The years go by. There are ups and downs. Times of prosperity and lean times. Children come. Challenges come. You wonder if this is worth it…you say to yourself “I didn’t sign up for this!” You wonder if this is as good as it gets. Unmet expectations and unsaid yearnings fill up your insides. And then up rolls another anniversary. You and your partner look at each other and without saying a word some memory of what brought you together prompts a smile. You look at your happy well adjusted children, and forget the school fees looming. You squeeze each others’ hand and remember the hope that you started this journey with and you whisper: “ Happy Anniversary. We’re still standing.” You mark the anniversary, not because all is well, but because in spite of all that is not well, you remember why you are together and you hold on to the hope that things can and will get better.

Happy Anniversary, Jamaica…Land of My Birth. There is still so much I love about you, and things can get better.