It was a sad week for Jamaicans wherever they may live. Death is never easy to deal with and it is has placed a pall over everything. I must state categorically, however, that I am tired of the silence. The silence of our leaders, the silence of the people who know the truth, the silence of those who know where the guns are/were, the silence of those who know they should speak but don’t, I am tired of my own silence.
We do not highlight enough of the good and right things with the world. To end a horrible week filled with bloodshed, lost hours and anxiety I spent the weekend in Treasure Beach at the Calabash International Literary Festival. I spent the weekend in the company of people who care about words and good music, where the people are kind, have a smile and tell you the truth when you ask about produce and do not sell you things that are not exactly value for money. I spent the weekend at something that is right with Jamaica and has been going strong for 10 years. It is hard to sustain a literary festival that is free to the public where writers come from all over the world. There are airfares to pay, accommodation for the writers, all the things that go into producing a festival of its magnitude that cost money but thanks to the commitment and hard work of the people involved and the sponsors, the 10th anniversary of the Festival took place in the shadow of the mayhem and those of us that made it will are eternally grateful.
Even so it was hard to remain isolated from what was going on as even though I did not have a television or radio, technology saw to it that I got updates on the situation via Twitter for Blackberry and this allowed a bit of anxiety to stay with me. It got me thinking about the children who did not have a school to go to because it had gone up in flames and about threats on a media house and about the fact that we take our many freedoms for granted. How can one attack a school, how can one attack freedom of speech and expression? It made me realize that this experience was bigger that just gunfire being traded by the law and the lawless. This was an attack on our rights as a people and as members of the human race. The right to an education, the right to freedom of movement and expression made my think of the civil wars still being fought in different parts of the world. It made me disappointed and at one point when a Member of Parliament on the government side was booed as he was introduced to read at the Festival and when he got up to read he stated that on behalf of himself and the other MP there he promised to do better, I was not filled with hope. I did not take him at his word because the little trust that was there has been totally eroded. It was a sad moment for me and I am sure countless others. We need hope, and there is nothing to suggest that hope is warranted.
On a personal note, one of my poems appeared in the Calabash anthology that was published this year by Akashic Books titled “So Much Things To Say Over 100 Poets From the First Ten Years of the Calabash International Literary Festival” it was great to hold the book in my hand, to see my name in print in a book containing poems by persons like Derek Walcott, Robert Pinsky, Mervyn Morris and Natasha Tretheway and I was asked to sign a few autographs by persons who know the face that go with the name. (I am always trying to keep a low profile.) So at this point I am filled with gratitude that I was afforded this opportunity and will be sending an email to the persons involved to say just that.
It is said that love conquers all but I do not think (and I can certainly speak for myself) we can love lies, so the truth must be told and then perhaps we can start to pick up the broken pieces and as we put these pieces back together with the glue of love then maybe glimmers of hope will be reflected off of these pieces and slowly we will make it to our happy ending.
