Excerpt from Jamaica Observer column published 09 November 2020

_{By: Jean Lowrie-Chin}

The streets of Philadelphia rocked last Saturday to the Toots Hibbert- Chaka Demus & Pliers classic “What a Bam Bam!” They were in high spirits, celebrating the Biden-Harris victory in the US General Elections. It was fitting to have our song  heralding the first woman in US history to be Vice-President elect – the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants.

The mood of Democrats was quite different on Election night, when the numbers seemed to be going Trump’s way. Political strategist James Carville came on MSNBC late that night with words of reassurance, telling viewers to “put away the razor blades and the Ambien – we are going to be okay.”

On Wednesday, as the mail-in votes started to be counted in the heavily courted ‘Blue wall’, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the Democrats sensed victory.  It must have been a satisfying result for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who had been vilified by the President for her lock-down measures as she tried to protect citizens from the rapidly spreading Covid virus. The presidential insults appeared to be a dog-whistle for a right-wing militia group which was thankfully intercepted and members arrested before they could carry out their plans to kidnap the Governor. As news broke about the plot, it was stunning that the President continued to tweet insults to Governor Whitmer.

Since that night of dismay in 2016 when Donald Trump defeated Hilary Clinton, the entire world has watched in fear at the weakening of NATO, the exit of the US from the Paris Agreement for climate change, the rise of right wing violence and racism in the US, the separation of immigrant families and the politicisation of the Covid pandemic. To hear a President mock his opponent for wearing a mask during a life-threatening pandemic was unbelievable.

The initial cases of Covid in Jamaica originated in the US, so we took it personally when we discovered that President Trump had known from January that the virus was worse than the flu and that it was airborne, yet told the American people that it was ‘just like the flu’ and that it would disappear in the spring ‘like a miracle’. To date, over 230,000 Americans have died from the virus, the highest number of any country in the world – there in the US with the best scientists by whom the Trump White House refused to be guided.

Despite catching the virus, the President continued to hold ‘super-spreader’ rallies across the country, which a study from Stanford University noted was responsible for over 30,000 Covid cases and 700 deaths. Meanwhile, President-Elect Biden’s team following CDC protocols, organised drive-in rallies with supporters applauding with honking horns.

One of the most caustic critics of President Trump is satirist Bill Maher who three years ago predicted that even if Trump loses the election, he would refuse to leave the White House. Trump had famously sued Maher for jokingly saying that he was fathered by an orangutan, and as if to twist the knife, Maher repeated the joke on Friday night on his ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ HBO programme. Maher’s was the first show to declare Biden and Harris the winners of the election, complete with a celebratory balloon release. Maher expressed his concern that with Trump’s threats of lawsuits to overturn the election results, he could stir trouble in the streets and may still yet refuse to leave. Let us hope that the will of the people, and the very well monitored vote-counting will be respected ultimately.

Biden’s support network

Former President Barack Obama was the most important campaigner for Joe Biden, and he seemed to have enjoyed stumping in several states for his former VP. With his sense of humour fully charged, he took down Trump for his criticism of the Biden campaign’s focus on Covid. “And what’s his closing argument?” asked Obama. “That people are too focused on Covid. He said this at one of his rallies. Covid, Covid, Covid, he’s complaining. He’s jealous of Covid’s media coverage.”

We are sure Obama had a cheerleader in his wife. In her bestselling autobiography, “Becoming”, Michelle Obama described her disgust with Trump’s racist ‘birther’ lies against her husband: “The whole [birther] thing was crazy and mean-spirited, of course, its underlying bigotry and xenophobia … But it was also dangerous, deliberately meant to stir up the wingnuts and kooks … Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my family’s safety at risk. And for this I’d never forgive him.”

Biden had music greats to entertain his audiences including Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga and John Legend while Trump engaged rappers.

One of the most interesting political action committees formed to support the Biden-Harris ticket was the Lincoln Project, a group of Republicans who flooded social media platforms with videos and memes bashing the President and his administration. It is unfortunate that Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been criticising this committee that has wooed the Republican vote for her Party.

Another genius move was the partnership of three brothers, Ben, Jordan and Brett Meiselas to form MeidasTouch, in March of this year. Their motto is “Because Truth is Golden”. As the US Senate leadership hangs in the balance with a run-off of two Senate Seats in Georgia, they tweeted, “Our work isn’t over! We will spend every day moving forward working to flip both Senate seats in Georgia!”

Laughter with purpose

Jamaica’s own Sarah Cooper did her part, lip-syncing some of President Trump’s most outrageous moments, the most popular being ‘How to medical’ which got over 24 million views on TikTok and Twitter. The famous Helen Mirren joined her to recreate the Billy Bush video in which Trump laughingly discussed his sexual advances on women. Other leading late-night comedians never failed to remind us of Trump’s missteps.

Now the world breathes a sigh of relief and we wish Joe Biden and Kamala Harris many blessings in their efforts to reunite their country, to control the coronavirus and to energise the economy.

Congratulations Mark Golding

Here in Jamaica, there was another campaign raging for the leadership of the PNP. Both candidates Mark Golding and Lisa Hanna kept their promise personally to run a peaceful campaign though some of their supporters went a bit off track. Before he went into politics, Mark Golding served with us on the Board of Food for the Poor Jamaica so I got to know him as an altruistic Jamaican. Well contested Lisa Hanna and congratulations winner Mark Golding.  

CCRP Award for Oliver Samuels

We are looking forward to a celebration of Jamaica’s beloved Oliver Samuels on Wednesday afternoon live on PBCJ television, when he will be honoured with this year’s CCRP Living Legacy Award. Marking his 50^th year in theatre, Oliver has brought love and laughter to audiences here and abroad. His ‘Oliver at Large’ series reveals an artist with brilliant comedic timing. Oliver will share his journey in a conversation with Emcee Joan McDonald – it will be memorable.   

Excerpt from Jamaica Observer column published 02 November 2020

_{By: Jean Lowrie-Chin}

We celebrated our National Heroes and those five brave men who rescued a child from the raging waters of Sandy Gully in October. Last Thursday, we ended the month of heroes with news that Michael Henry, a fruit vendor from Allman Town, risked his life to save a neighbour from a burning house.

According to Jamaica Observer Staff Reporter Sharlene Hendricks, last Thursday evening a youngster shouted that his sister Jody-Ann Moncrieff was trapped in their burning house, and begged for help. Without hesitation, Mr Henry ran into the building and by the time he located the young woman, the fire had roared towards them. They ran to the back door which was locked, but he was able to kick it open and take Ms Moncrieff over a wall and to safety.

When asked about his action, Mr Henry explained, “I couldn’t do anything else because I know it’s a life. So mi just tie mi handkerchief round fi face and just move.”

Such stories of bravery remind us that nobility exists in every part of our society, so we should never be quick to judge people because of their address. Indeed, what we should do is to see how we can help this brave-hearted Michael Henry to develop his fruit stall into a sustainable business. He has the spirit that will overcome whatever challenges he may face.

Seniors ‘get a new life’

Heroes come in many forms. Imagine a busy entrepreneur Robert Scott, aware of the financial challenges of retirees, taking the time to call our seniors organization, CCRP, to offer a complimentary workshop for members. Entitled, “Get a new life – turn your skill into an income,” the registration for the event was so overwhelming that he readily agreed to host a second one.

Mr Scott gave us the example of “Ms Smith” who retired after working many years in a dry-cleaning business. In a consultation with Mr Scott, she realised that she could leverage her wide experience in fabric knowledge and care into several endeavours: teaching, writing a care manual and consulting both locally and internationally.

He recommended the ‘Upwork’ website. This is said to be “an upscale version of ‘Fiverr’ – an open marketplace for posting jobs and connecting with freelancers that offers more safety regulations for payment exchanges and more professional standards.”

He offered strategies for building credibility, including joining business associations, public speaking appearances, strategic alliances and use of both traditional and social media to build one’s brand. “Be prepared for a variety of opportunities to make your pitch,” he advised.

Small or medium businesses (SMEs) which may not be able to hire full-time staff should consider hiring retirees on a part-time basis.  From companies who have, we get reports of their vast experience, their discipline and their sound ethics.  Robert Scott, whose company is StartTrade Jamaica reminded our members that the internet opens opportunities for jobs anywhere in the world. He invited members to them to call him, volunteering further assistance. For us, Robert Scott is a hero for seniors – he opened their eyes to exciting new opportunities, for which they were all very appreciative.

Diplomatic dynamo HC Peters

Outgoing Canadian High Commissioner (HC) Laurie Peters began her tour of duty in Jamaica in September 2017, and has played a significant role in the promotion of commercial, scientific, educational and cultural exchanges between the countries, undoubtedly bolstering Canadian presence locally and regionally. An outstanding aspect of her work in advocacy and international diplomacy was her advancement Canada’s feminist foreign policy by championing commitments for gender equality, peace, and security.

HC Peters directed Canada’s continued support of Jamaica’s response to COVID-19 through its health, economic growth and education activities. Since the outbreak, Canada has provided over $75 million (CAD 500,00) in support of the health and development sectors.  Most recently, Canada made available an additional $482 million (CAD$4.7 million) for Jamaica towards the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRF) premiums. She spearheaded a new $20M Canada-Caribbean Resilience Facility at the World Bank to provide Jamaica with timely technical assistance and emergency funding in the aftermath of a disaster.

Other highlights of her tour was swift hurricane response in the region, immigration activities including the Seasonal Agricultural Worker’s Program (SAWP), programmes promoting peace, security and justice, skills training to access the ‘green’ economy, and Canada’s long-standing defence partnership with Jamaica. In the area of multilateral cooperation, she supported the roundtable held by PM Trudeau with four small island developing states (SIDS) leaders including PM Holness during the 2019 G7 Summit.

HC Peters gave special focus to programmes in education, and in April last year, signed a Memorandum of Understanding between UWI and Brock University to establish the Canada Caribbean Institute which will “harness academic expertise to help address important regional topics and foster intercultural understanding.”

In spite of her demanding schedule, HC Peters was ever gracious and approachable. We thank her for her meaningful support and advocacy, and wish her continued success in the service of her great country.

Farewell generous Joseph Duany

At last Friday’s Thanksgiving Service for advertising and racing personality Joseph ‘Joe’ Duany we learned even more about his remarkable 82-year-life. Educated at the Jamaica School of Art, Joe Duany impressed his employers at Pearl & Dean with his vivid billboard creations. He later formed one of the most successful outdoor advertising companies, Signtex and invested in some of Jamaica’s legendary racehorses. His friend Clovis Metcalfe shared that after Joe survived a life-threatening illness, the doctors at the Florida Hospital where he was treated dubbed him ‘Miracle Man’. Joe gave this name to the only Jamaican bred racehorse to have won an international event. Another personal experience led him to name his Triple-Crown winner, ‘I’m Satisfied’.

Joe’s boundless generosity was gratefully recalled by family and friends. I remember when I started my business with a sparsely furnished office, Joe surprised me with a delivery of chairs, and when I asked him to donate a welcome billboard for Pope John Paul’s visit in 1993, he created an exquisite rendition. He told me joyfully that the goodly Pope spotted him after an event and surprised his official party by stepping away to have an extended conversation with him. Whether for business or outreach, Joe applied the same passion for excellence, mentoring his children and staff to uphold his high standards. He was the recipient of the prestigious Media Personality of the Year Award from the Advertising Agencies Association of Jamaica.

Joseph Duany’s son Raul gave a moving remembrance of his father, declaring this man of compassion, authenticity and love as his role model. Our deepest sympathy to his wife Hyacinth, children Raul, Alicia, Tiana and other family members. May his great soul rest in peace.