“Mr. Wackie a di teacher but a Ice a bus’ da piece ya.”

This is the line from the “Gully Creeper” song made popular by Jamaican Grammy Award Nominee, DJ Elephant Man.

Translated from Jamaican patois into English, means:”Mr Wackie (Bogle) is the teacher but Ice is releasing this piece.” The ‘piece’ is the Gully Creeper dance move made popular by fellow Jamaican and friend Usain Bolt after he won his events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Both Mr. Wackie and Ice are now deceased.

36 year old David Alexander Smith popularly known as ‘Ice‘ was shot and killed this morning in the Waltham Park Road area of Kingston, Jamaica as he went to purchase cigarettes at a shop. His car was stolen. The dancer and choreographer is the creator of the popular Gully Creeper dance move.

Gerald Levy aka Mr. Wackie aka Bogle, Jamaica’s most revered dancer/choreographer at the time was also shot and killed 3 years ago. Bogle created several dance moves including the Bogle Dance and the Wackie Dip. Both men were from the Black Roses Corner in Arnet Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica.  It is a tough inner city area where dancing is one of the tools used to escape poverty. These dancers get to perform on live shows and go on tours with famous dancehall artistes, earning what amounts to a comfortable income for someone with previously little or no income.

The gun keeps robbing us of of our talented citizens. the senseless killings point to the fact that there are too many illegal guns in the hands of the poorest, most uneducated citizens. How they came to afford these guns is a mystery.

There has been 1509 murders reported between January and November 2008. In a country of 2.7 million, we are firmly rooted in the top 3 per capita in the world. Co-incidentally, there is a news report on the television that the Jamaican Police has accepted that there has been under reporting of crime, so that figure should be much higher.

In the meantime, Jamaican Dancehall has lost a great contributor, but Ice will always be remembered for giving Usain Bolt and the world the ‘Gully Creeper.’

This should have been posted from last month, but I can’t find any time to mess around with my photography hobby. Actually, that was not my only problem. I have bad memories of that day; while I was busy taking photos with my Nikon D40, a pick pocket was taking advantage of the thick crowd and stealing my new Sony Ericsson cellphone, a gift from my brother.

Anyway, the Jamaican athletes were treated to a massive welcome in Falmouth, Trelawny on October 7, 2008. Trelawny was chosen as we had by far the most representatives of any parish. Trelawnyites Usain Bolt, Marvin Anderson, Michael Frater, Ricardo Chambers, Veronica Campbell and Rosemarie Whyte were all present. Some elder residents of Falmouth remarked that it was the first time they were seeing the Falmouth square full to capacity. Asafa Powell, Melanie Walker, Shelly Ann Frasier, Kerone Stewart and the rest of the team were all also there.

Usain Bolt returned to his home parish as a king and reveled in the attention and adoration. The tie of his alma mater William Knibb Memorial High School (which was just a mile and a half away), was wrapped around his head and another was around his neck. The athletes spent about an hour signing autographs until they were ready to leave. Here are photos from this memorable occasion.

On Tuesday, November 25th 2008, the Jamaican parliament will undertake a historic conscience vote as to whether to keep the current death penalty law or abolish it.

Although Jamaica currently has the death penalty for capital murder, no one has been executed since 1988. In 1993, the UK Privy Council (in the case of Ear Pratt and Ivan Morgan vs The Attorney General of jamaica) held that where the time period between the imposition of a sentence of death and execution exceeds five years, it shall be presumed
that execution would amount to inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment, contrary to the Jamaican Constitution.. With Jamaica’s current system it is almost impossible to conclude a death penalty case within that time period.

With the spiraling murder rate that has placed Jamaica consistently in the top 3 per capita in the world, the citizens of the country have become restive and are calling for the resumption of hanging. Prime minister Bruce Golding has called for a conscience vote where (for a change)  Members of Parliament should not vote on party lines, but as individual representatives of the people (as they should do at all times but don’t).

Now the nation waits with bated breath as the parliamentarians prepare for the vote. It is expected that the vote will pass, but it seems that we will not go back to the barbarous days of hanging when the judge would pass the sentence: “You will hang from the neck until you are dead.” The Lawmakers are proposing a US style Lethal Injection and or Electric Chair. They would also have to amend the law to deal with the 5 year custody problem.

Opponents of the death penalty say that it will not be a deterrent to murderers, but I beg to differ. One of the reasons there are so many murders is because there are little or no deterrents. The current system doesn’t work. We now have more than our fair share of serial murderers. If thoe guys knew they stood a chance of facing the executioner and one of their cronies was already executed, a lot of them would think twice.

On with the vote. I only hope it represents what the citizens want. This post will be updated after the vote on Tuesday.

Big gun find in Jamaica

In Jamaica, we have consistently been told over the last few years that when it comes to murders, we are in the top 3 (per capita) in the world. No one has to remind us. We are fed with our daily reports of grizzly murders on the news and by word of mouth. Most often these killings are carried out through use of the gun. We don’t have to wonder why it happens. Crimes are committed in the open, the gunmen hardly hide, yet who is going to Court to testify against them? Your entire family could be slaughtered for your valiant, civic. responsible act. That has happened many times.

So, what is the result? Our criminals now think they can do anything and get away with it; hence the crimes get worse and worse and worse. The latest fad in criminality is abductions. Gunmen force you into a car, and (more than likely) you will never be seen alive again . Men in my parish have abducted and raped old drunkards, men, boys, women, girls, no one is spared. All over the island numerous people have mysteriously gone missing. The Assistant Commissioner of Police has warned women to take care of themselves. That seems to be saying take care of yourselves ’cause we can’t take care of you!

I am scared for myself and my family. School children are one of the highest risks. They go missing everyday. What about my kids, will they become a statistic? What can we do? When will the madness stop?

The gold medal winning, world record breaking run of Usain Bolt in the 200 meters men at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, China (19.30 seconds) further strengthened by the Olympic record breaking run of Melanie Walker in the 400 meters hurdles final (54.62), sparked off wild celebrations starting in Usain’s hometown of Sherwood Content, near Falmouth in Trelawny. There was a massive motorcade and partying throughout the day and night.

Productivity was at its lowest in history as almost everyone took to the streets in wild celebrations that end with a street dance in Sherwood. I was too tired to make it to Sherwood in the night but here are some photos taken during the day, The full photo set can be found here on my photo blog.

photo credit: rich115

What a day it was for Jamaican athletics, as the increased dominance of the world by the tiny 4,411 square miles island continued. The twelve year old 200 meter record seemed so impregnable, but Usain turned the doubters into believers today as he broke the 19.32 seconds record previously held by Michael Johnson in easily winning the event in 19.30 seconds ahead of Churandy Martina of the Netherland Antilles and Wallace Spearmon of the USA. Martin and Spearmon were both disqualified for running out of lane and the Americans Shane Crawford and Dix Walter were handed silver and bronze in 19.96 and 19.98 respectively.

This has been the single greatest sprinting achievement in the history of the sport as he became the first person to set World Records in the two events (having previously done 9.69 in the 100m) at the Olympic games and the first person since Karl Lewis in 1984 to win the double (100m and 200m). Not even the great Jesse Owens accomplished that double world record feat. after the race Bolt did his version of the popular Jamaican dance, “Gully Creeper”. After the 100 meters record, he did the dance called “No Linger”, which means “don’t waste any time”.

Melanie Walker

Fifteen minutes later, Melanie Walker continued in the footsteps of fellow countrywoman Deon Hemmings by taking the 400 meters hurdles in a National and Olympic Record of 52.64 seconds. Walker, unbeaten in the event this year, executed her race perfectly by accelerating in the last 100 meters to win by over a second over Tosta Sheena of the USA in 53.70 and Tasha Danvers of Great Britain in 53.84.

Melanie, is from Gordon Lane off Maxfield Avenue, located in a tough, violent, gang plagued area in East Central St. Andrew. Like 100 meters silver medallist Kerron Stewart, she went to  high school at St.Jago High where at various times in her school career she ran 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters and 110 meters hurdles. That made her a rounded athlete and her considerable sprinting speed helped her in the last 100 meters when she won moving away from the field.

Melanie’s victory was very special to Jamaicans as Usain was expected to win, but people were wondering if she would fold under the pressure. she did not disapoint and had the entire nation in a frenzy. Before the race she gave a small demo of the Jamaican dance called “Dutty Wine”, thereby underlying the importance of dancehall reggae to the athletes.

Coach Stephen Francis

Her winning performance underlined the success of Coach Stephen Francis and the MVP club located at the High Performance center in Kingston. Coach Francis needs to be given his credit as the greatest coach in the entire world today, having his athletes cop the following medals:

1. Shelly-Ann Fraser - 100 meters women: gold.
2. Sherone Simpson - 100 meters women: silver.
3. Sherika Williams - 400 meters women: silver.
4. Melanie Walker - 400m hurdles women: gold.
5. Jerome Mason (Great Britain) - High Jump men: silver.

He is also the coach of 100 meter 5th placed finalists Asafa Powell (former world record holder) and 6th place Michael Frater; Markino Buckley (7th place in 400 meters hurdles men final)  along with seven other top class athletes.

Melanie Walker

Coach Francis started the MVP track club after being tired of seeing Jamaica lose talent in the tough collegiate system in the USA. Many of our most talented athletes over the years gave up the sport due to various problems caused by the relocation. It is now reaping rich benefits as more and more of our athletes are staying or coming back home, thereby realizing their true potential.

The double victory sparked wild celebrations and a huge green, gold and black motorcade in Trelawny.

Jamaican Lips -celebrating Jamaica's Olympic victories in Falmouth ,Trelawny on Wednesday

Little Jamaica, the poor developing country of less than 2.7 million people is now leading the athletics medal table with strong medal contending performances expected to come in the women’s 200 meters in which we have 3 ladies who have the potential to win (Veronica Campbell, Kerone Stewart and Sherone Simpson) , men’s decathlon (Maurice Smith), men and women’s 4×100 meters relay and to a lesser extent, women’s 4×400 meters relay.

Scorpion disco will be playing in Sherwood Content tonight to celebrate Usain’s 22nd birthday after Jamaica plays Canada in World Cup Football qualifying against Canada in Canada. Photos of the motorcade and celebration in his hometown can be found here and the full set is available on my photo blog.

photo credit: Lim CK

When 21 year old Shelly-Ann Fraser won the Women’s 100 meter title at the Olympic Games in Beijing on Sunday morning (Jamaica time), it was a huge slap in the face of many Jamaicans who were advocating bumping her from the 100 meters to make space for (as they said) the more experienced Veronica Campbell-Brown, the reigning World Championship gold medalist in the event.

They conveniently chose to ignore the fact that Campbell-Brown was beaten into fourth place at the qualifying National Trials by Kerone Stewart (the winner), Sherone Simpson (second placed) and Shelly-Ann (third). They also chose to ignore the rules of the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) that stated that the first three will qualify for the event and the fourth placed runner will be an alternate (in case one of the others cannot compete). Fourth placed will also be the 4th person to make the relay team.

There were debates all over the country and the sports talk shows were abuzz with the topic. It was a dreadful flashback to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney when public pressure was brought to bear on the JAAA to replace Peter Gaye Dowdie with Merlene Ottey for the 100 meters event. Peter Gaye placed third at the National championship in Kingston and Merlene placed fourth, They bowed to the pressure and Ottey was brought in for the Olympics and this of course devastated Peter Gaye Dowdie. What was the result? Merlene placed 4th (now third with the subsequent disqualification of Marion Jones on the grounds of using performance enhancing drugs). Not long after, Merlene complained bitterly about her treatment by the JAAA and switched nationality to Slovenia.

We are a Third World country with aspirations of moving up to first world status in the next 2-3 decades.This is a fleeting dream and it is our mentality which will force us to remain in the Third World for a long time. There are some extremely selfish people among us who generally think wherever they go, someone must pull out all the stops to make way for them. This has gotten progressively worse over the last 20 years and works hand in hand with the increasing corruption. Jamaicans call it a “bligh” which literally means “give me a break even though I have a deficiency, fault or am not qualified.” All rules, systems and order are ignored to get this bligh and they have progressed to a level of severe indiscipline with the thinking that anywhere they go, anything they do, provision must be made to get a break, no matter at whose or what expense.  Jamaicans were asking the JAAA to give Veronica a “bligh” at the expense of Shelly Ann and even Sherone who placed second at the trials. These girls booked their places through discipline, hard work, dedication and performance when it mattered most; all pre-requsite traits of a champion.

Another problem which relates to this victory is our propensity to think with our hearts and not our brains. Many  of us tend make decisions based on what or who we like; rationale, performance and ability take a really distant back burner. We have gotten to love Veronica as she gave us a gold in the 200m and anchored the 4×100m team to victory at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. She is the darling of women’s track & field in Jamaica. This should not form the basis of our judgment. The fact that we love her for what she did in 2004, does not give us reason to break all the rules and destroy another person’s career and dreams to include her.

There are several lessons to be learnt from this victory:

1. Respect rules and regulations and stop trying to find your way around them for your own selfish reasons.
2. No one person is bigger than the system that governs it.
3. Do not stifle our young talents.
4. Do not make decisions based on sentimental feelings, rather make decisions on reasoning and rationale.
5. With discipline and hard work, you can achieve anything.
6. No matter what the odds against us, never give up.
7. Don’t let the negatives that people say get you down, rather use it as motivation to attain higher goals.
8. It is more important if you have confidence in yourself than if someone has confidence in you.

“Big up” Shelly-Ann. Your victory to me is more than a gold medal. It is the lessons learnt from your hard work, tenacity, dedication, focus, dilligence and strength of character. You are only 21 and i only heard of you in April, but I have nothing but respect for you, having proved your detractors wrong and hopefully taught your nation a lesson.

It seems that the violent anti-gay lyrics of our dancehall artistes has created an avenue of exploitation and lies surrounding the treatment of gays in Jamaica. It has created a false impression that has distorted reality and opportunistic persons are now exploiting this mis-conception for their own advancement.

This was brought to light when a Jamaican girl was offered assylum by a court in California, as the court accepted the lie that she would be tortured for being a lesbian if she was returned to Jamaica! This is a joke! Lesbians have no problem in Jamaica. As a matter of fact, I would go as far as to say they are accepted. How else would you explain this obsession with threesomes (two girls and a guy) that these Jamaican men have. There are many, many bi-sexual women in Jamaica, most of them coerced into doing it by the men. In some male circles, some men feel like an under-achievers if they have not experienced it.

In my entire life of 45 years, I have never heard of a Lesbian being beaten or tortured in Jamaica, and I am an ardent listener to the news and street talk. Even at the popular dances where they chastise homosexuals, girls sometimes can be seen dancing with girls. No one even cares.

Over the past few years, several strip clubs have been offering a “Freaky Night” which features (onstage), men having sex with women and women having sex with women. This is when they get the most patrons and nobody complains. No one is torturing or beating anyone for being a lesbian.

Gay men on the other hand, have a problem; but it is not as bad as the gay organizations portray it. Firstly, someone has to correct me, I may have forgotten, but I don’t know of any man being killed solely for being gay. Jamaicans seem to have an appetite for violence, but of the over 900 murders gone since the start of the year, I can’t remember one reported as being attributed to killing someone for being gay, and there are many gay men here. I’ve heard of them beaten, but never killed. Gay men stand a greater chance of being beaten if they go into a strange area portraying a feminine disposition. Jamaicans wil “tolerate’ gay men they know…not strangers.

The fact is most killings of gays are from jealous lovers and not persecutors. There is in effect a lot more tolerance for gays than foreigners realize. There is another thing about Jamaicans, they like to take the law into their own hands (the homosexual act between men is a crime in the country)…..hence one of the highest murder rates in the world. If you are caught stealing a goat in certain places, you may be killed, if you rob someone and get caught by a mob, you may be killed. If you owe disrespect someone (which is not a crime), you may be killed. The reality is, the society needs “taming”, it is too aggressive and this aggression is not restricted to gays.

There is a primary reason Jamaicans hate gay men. Yes, there are biblical and other reasons they will quote, but this is the main problem they find with the act. They are called “Batty Men” here. “Batty” is the Jamaican word for anus. Jamaicans find it reprehensible to be messing (no pun intended) with what they consider the most unclean part of man’s anatomy. That is what is meant by NASTY in this exerpt from Buju Banton’s song:

Rude boy naw promote no NASTY man…….

The dancehall artistes are the main ones who have really created this misconception. They sing about violence towards gays so often, foreigners people start thinking Jamaicans are gay killing animals. The gay rights activists, realizing an opportunity to capitalise on this misunderstanding are pushing their agenda based on this falsehood hoping to pressure the governemnt to repeal the “Buggery Law” which makes the sexual act between two men a crime..

The real reason for singing about gays is that it is one of the easiest ways to get a good crowd response, as being such a homophobic society, almost every man in the audience is eager to show that they are not gay and the ultimate way to show it is to support the violent lyrics of the artiste which is usually:

Batty Man fi dead

which means in plain English: Gay Men Must Die. When they support that, it re-enforces the individual’s confidence in themselves and their heterosexuality. They don’t want to kill you if you’re gay, but on the other hand if you step on the wrong person’s foot, you may be in even more serious trouble than if you were gay.

Rare case of gays being beaten in Kingston and escorted to safety by the Police. Ironically, the perpetrators were mostly women!

It is true that homosexuals are not embraced in Jamaica, but bad media and this incessant verbal campaign by the dancehall artistes are casting Jamaica in a negative light. Lesbians especially, are rarely discriminated against let alone tortured. There is a silent acceptance of this group. Gay men are not beaten as often as purported, neither are they killed by heterosexuals solely for being gay.  Some desperate individuals (like that girl claiming she would be tortured if returned to Jamaica) are riding the ignorance of foreigners to meet their own agenda but it is at the reputation of the entire country.

What Jamaica is guilty of is a severe case of homophobia that goes to the core of the nation’s existence. Even the Prime Minister, speaking on the BBC tv in England has sworn he will not have a known homosexual in his cabinet. That statement made his popularity soar back home, even some of his die hard detractors now respect him just for that. It goes to show, it is a part of the culture and will not change overnight, at least not in my lifetime.

Dancehall Divas in Concert, a live reggae dancehall event at Club Naz in Falmouth, Jamaica took place last night.It showcased the leading female artistes in Jamaican dancehall. Miss Thing, Diva, Sasha, Spice and D’Angel were there, but missing were Macka Diamond, Patra and Lady G. The undisputed Queen of dancehall Marion Hall, aka Lady Saw was not billed, but gave a surprise appearance and as expected, stole the show and made us forget about the two absentees. Here are a few of the photos I took, but the full photoset can be viewed here on my photoblog, amateurphotoblogger.com.

The rest of the photo set can be viewed here

The idea of skin bleaching, especially by people of darker color has been on the rise over the past several years. People ritualistically lighten their skins because they erroneously think it makes them look more successful, attractive, and rich. Some do it because it is the in thing, everyone is doing it, so why not?

It is especially prevalent here in Jamaica and often times people bleach so badly, they become pink and have to walk with umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun they previously used to be able to stand in for hours. I often wonder if they really know what the skin they are bleaching is there for, and what side effects can occur.

The human being is a design masterpiece. Everything the body has is there for a reason as part of an elaborate system to protect and sustain life. There are three main reasons for our skin color:

The cells contained within the dermis and epidermis provide a natural yellow, white colour

Superficial blood vessels provide a blue or red tint determined by oxygen content

Melanin produced by melanocytes scattered within the basal layer of the skin

Melanin determines how dark a person’s skin is; more melanin production results in darker skin. Melanin has another key function. It is the skins own natural protection from the harmful ultra violet rays of the sun. Without it, the skin is extremely vulnerable and we would have to cover exposed skins with sun screen or risk a greater chance of developing skin cancer.

Here is where the problem starts: there are two main chemicals found in skin lightening products, Hydroquinone or Mercury.

Hydroquinone (C6H6O2) is a severely toxic and very powerful chemical used in photo processing, the manufacture of rubber and is an active agent in hair dyes.

Mercury in the form of Mercury Chloride & Ammoniated Mercury is carcinogenic. They appear on the list of toxic substances that can only be purchased via pharmacies with prescribed labels of toxicity.

Both chemicals perform a similar process. In the short term they will initially cause the skin to lighten by inhibiting the production of melanin. Without melanin formation in the basal layer, no brown pigmentation will be visible. Now, removing this outer layer of skin can have harmful effects on the individual. It is okay in the short run, but in the long run these chemicals can cause severe problems which may include:

Hydroquinone or Mercury applied to the skin will react with ultra violet rays and re-oxidise, leading to more pigmentation and premature ageing. More product is then applied in an attempt to correct the darker blotchy appearance.

These are the beginnings of a vicious cycle. By altering the skins natural structure and inhibiting the production of Melanin, it’s natural protection, the skin is more susceptible to skin cancer.

Prolonged use of Hydroquinone will thicken collegen fibres damaging the connective tissues. The result is rough blotchy skin leaving it with a spotty cavier appearance.

Mercury will slowly accumulate within the skin cells stripping the skin of it’s natural pigment leaving behind the tell tale signs of gray/ blue pigmentation in the folds of the skin. In the long term the chemical will damage vital organs and lead to liver and kidney failure and mercury poisoning.

Infections.

Scarring.

Sores.

Darkening of the skin at the finger joints.

Stretch marks.

Skin dis-figuring and breaking.

Tiny dome-shaped bumps.

Grayish-brown spots.

Allergic reaction.

Redness.

Diabetes.

Now, looking at this long list, why would anyone want to lighten their skin?! I guess the people who use such creams don’t read articles like these or really don’t care. The irony is they see the chronic users with skin problems everyday and still go ahead and bleach anyway. i guess it is like a crack user who sees the damage the drug does on a daily basis and still goes ahead and tries it….a part of the self-destructive nature of man.

It is like an epidemic, and is now prevalent in high schools. It is not uncommon to see parents bleaching and their high school sons (yes sons) and daughters doing the same!  Common sense should tell you that if you are bleaching and now have to use an umbrella every time you go outside, something must be wrong.

I hope this article makes a difference to a potential “bleacher” who reads it. To borrow a line from a popular 80’s song:

What I am is what I am, you’re what you are or what?

Lightening your skin will not change who you are.

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