Jamaica’s fatal wound inflicted upon Cuba

Last Thursday’s (March 5) unilateral decision by the Government of Jamaica to end the medical cooperation agreement with Cuba will have grave consequences for the future.

It is quite remarkable and unbelievable, that Jamaica, through its prime minister Andrew Holness, its worst health minister in history, Christopher Tufton, and its longest-serving, yet, most ineffective minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, could have sold not just Cuba out, but their own Jamaicans, to United States pressure, in such a shocking manner.

I just cannot imagine that we are dealing with the same Holness, who just over a week ago appeared to have stood up against US pressure in offering reasonable verbal support to Cuba at a time of the Caribbean nation’s greatest need, has made an about-turn like what we experienced recently. 

I was so pleasantly surprised by Holness’s action more than a week ago that I even offered to buy him a drink in appreciation. Regrettably, that offer has been withdrawn because I just cannot drink with someone who does not have the balls to stand up to imperialist, bullyish pressures. I was prepared to buy the first two rounds, but that was tossed through the window.

Holness even had to take hits from Cuban-born Florida Republican Congressman Carlos A Gimenez, who initially called for sanctions against Jamaica, when Holness appeared to have given some support to the Spanish-speaking country, but who has now praised Jamaica for ending the medical cooperation with Cuba, calling it a “pathetic” criminal human trafficking operation, without putting forward one shred of evidence to support that claim.

I go back to Michael Manley, the greatest prime minister that Jamaica has seen, who swore to stand up to the oppressive class, which always wanted to dictate how independent countries should conduct their affairs.

Manley, as reformed as he seemed to have become when his People’s National Party regained State power in 1989, would never have succumbed to pressure for Jamaica to be run by any country which had such a desire. Remember his famous words during the 1970s when Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials were here, there and everywhere in Jamaica during President Jimmy Carter’s tenure, and the US was slapping Jamaica all over the place because of Manley’s support for Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary and president? Manley, among other things, said that Jamaicans would walk through the world on their feet, not on their knees, as long as he was leader. 

With Jamaica at its worst state in healthcare, caused in large measure by the incompetence of the sector’s chief policymaker, Tufton, things are going to ‘pop down’, no matter if, as we have been hearing, medical personnel are being recruited from countries like the Philippines, Nigeria, Ghana, India, and others. They are not better than the Cubans in any case. 

In the midst of everything, the Government has still not stated the real reason for the disconnection from the Cuban medical mission, and the people have a right to know.

Officials are only mumbling that no agreement could be reached since the last one expired in 2023. You mean that an agreement that had been in place for almost 50 years could not be stitched up without a fuss?

Lying Johnson Smith made it so much easier for former senator AJ Nicholson to convince himself that she hasn’t a clue about what it means to speak the truth, long after she accused him of something that he did not say in the Jamaican Parliament.

Now, for her to convince people that the US had nothing to do with the decision to cut the medical brigade shows a level of dishonesty in her that is hard to surpass.

Even Tufton, while being interviewed last week, pointed to geopolitical issues that led to the final decision to chop the programme. And we all know what that meant. So, what is Johnson Smith’s problem?

I suppose it would be wise to jump to the conclusion that Cuba will stop its training of Jamaican personnel, mainly medical, which would be a massive blow to the nation. Thousands have benefited directly and indirectly from that programme since it began in 1978. Which country will cover that gaping hole now?

Cuba’s Miracle Eye Care Programme was one of the key projects that boosted Jamaica’s productivity by improving the vision of over 25,000 local folks. It will be a huge loss.

Which other country will fill the gap? The United States? Oh no. Although the US is the most popular country in the world, and one of the richest, its healthcare ranks among the most expensive and it has no free medical programmes for its citizens, let alone for other countries like Jamaica.

So, what is the trade-off here? 

I remember it from its infancy, when Jamaicans would travel to ophthalmology clinics all over Cuba to do procedures that relate to the treatment of glaucoma and cataracts, among other complaints. The selection of who went to Cuba had nothing to do with which Jamaican political party the ailing ones supported.

Early in the game, my uncle Oswald ‘Ossie’ Hamil, of Belfield, St Mary, a devout supporter of the Jamaica Labour Party, flew to Cuba, a country that his friends convinced him was no good, to see what could be done on his fast-failing eyes. He paid not one cent for the experience, and less than three weeks later he was back in Jamaica, looking and feeling brand new. His sight was better than mine by far, he wore no glasses, got treatment reserved for heads of Government, and in the end, he was left wide-eyed in amazement that the country that he had heard so many bad things about, had patched him up so well. In the 12 years after that he spent on this land until his death at age 82, his eyes never failed him.

Scumbag Silvera got off lightly

Finally, it is over, and wicked Jolyan Silvera has received the punishment that he thoroughly deserves, although the conversations will continue as to whether or not the 20 years and 10 months that he received on one count, and 20 for the other count to run concurrently, were adequate for the crime that he committed.

I strongly believe that he got off lightly, based on the unfolding of events. The lying scumbag should have been locked away for at least 25 years, without the possibility of parole. It was a heinous crime, and like presiding judge, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes said, the entire situation would have been different had a pathologist not intervened and placed the evidence of the shooting in plain view of everyone. 

In his affidavit, the dirty rat even tried to paint the victim, his late wife, as someone who was aggressive, cantankerous and provocative – all lies that he concocted in a plan to bail his sorry self out of trouble.

I still believe that it was wrong of the Crown to have accepted the plea of manslaughter instead of murder, despite the opposite position that the Director of Public Prosecutions has maintained.

Another sad thing in all of this is the fact that, based upon Justice Sykes’s ruling, Silvera could be back on the streets, on parole, in 13 years – still time to return to the free world and do further harm to others, with his kind of temperament. At age 67, then, if he is not given a certain physical lesson in prison, he could be dangerous.

Silvera has an idea of how uncomfortable it can be, to function as a guest of the Police in jail for over two years. He will know for sure how rough and tough it will get, now that he has been lodged into the hands of correctional personnel, during the next phase of his life at either Tower Street Correctional Centre, or St Catherine District Prison. He had better be well prepared for that glorious adventure. Hopefully, he would have stocked up already with all the lubricants that he can afford.

Chang should not be forced to apologise   

I have never liked the idea of asking or pressing people to apologise for something that he or she did that might have irritated others.

In the case of Dr Horace Chang, the deputy prime minister, minister of national security and peace, as well as Member of Parliament for St James North Western, he uttered some words recently to the effect that advocacy groups, were living off ‘blood money’. The statement came against the background of criticisms of the conduct of the Police by the groups.

He has not apologised for the comments, which suggests that he stands by them, and, therefore should not be forced into merely issuing a statement of apology, as it would seem to me that it would not be genuine.

Chang though, could, in a deeper way, re-examine the way that the police function in Jamaica. 

Only last Friday, police in Clarendon killed three men, one of whom they said had jumped from a car which was stopped by law enforcers near Osborne Store, and ‘pointed a gun’ at them. No police were shot, but the three men were killed on the spot. It was a case of another madman merely pointing a gun at the police, not firing a shot, and ended up getting killed. It has similarities to the manner in which 54 people have been killed by the police since the start of the year, including former footballer, turned alcoholic, Lucien Anderson in Arnett Gardens recently, added to the over 300 taken out by the police last year – a record.

It remains a frightening reality. Everyone is at risk when police personnel continue to act like hit squads. Suspects must be arrested and ask the court to do the rest. That continues to be violated.

Dismal West Indies…again

There are some cricket supporters in the Caribbean and outside, who seem to have accepted that the West Indies cricket team did ‘well’ in the just-ended ICC T20 World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka.

For the record, the West Indies dominated the group stage of the competition, from which teams must qualify to have a shot at the big prize. Come the eight-team, two-group stage, the West Indies, champions in 2012 and 2016, flopped twice, beaten by South Africa and India, while scoring a win over Zimbabwe. So, the team did not make it to the semi-final.

Now, if that is to be accepted as doing ‘well’, then that is not the kind of mediocrity that I will embrace. It was not a good performance overall, despite first-round wins over England, Scotland, Italy, and Nepal – the latter three, all soft teams.

Coach Daren Sammy and his players have flopped again…big time.

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