Jamaican Till I Die!

Published: Friday | May 24, 2019 | 12:00 AM Gleaner photograph In 1927, the Hermitage Dam (with a capacity of 460 million gallons) was built by the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation to meet the domestic water needs of Kingston and St Andrew. Due to advancing deforestation, over 100 rivers dried up on our little island in the 20th century. In my first column of the new millennium (in 2001), I predicted that the big issue of the 21st century would be water. As population increases, we will need more clean water, yet at the same time, we destroy our watersheds for fuel wood and charcoal and to build houses; and we advance the pollution of the little clean, fresh water we have left. On top of this, climate change is deepening, producing extreme weather events (longer droughts and more violent hurricanes). I predicted that if we did not do something soon to protect our water resources, and to increase the capture and storage of clean domestic fresh water, we would no longer be either the l...

Windrush: A Family Divided Released On: 12 Jun 2023Available for over a year In the second part Robert and Jennifer Beckford unravel the intricate layers of the Windrush legacy through the prism of identity and culture. Robert argues that moving to the UK was a transformative experience for not only the Windrush generation but for the whole of British society, helping create a new vibrant British culture. He cites the influences of Caribbean heritage people in music, film, sport and language in Britain. To help make his case he asks Jennifer to meet with Jamaican born England footballer John Barnes. In contrast, Jennifer asserts that Caribbean culture in the UK is defined by stereotypes and the communities achievements in science and industry are overlooked and they received a hostile environment in return. She asks Robert to meet with Barbara Blake-Hannah - the first female black news reporter in the UK, who went back to Jamaica after just eight years, due to racist abuse. Robert and ...