‘Service to man is still the highest calling’

Edmund Bartlett has given nearly half a century of contribution to public life with service in education, community development, tourism and economic development, and, after five decades, he says there is no greater calling.

However, despite his worldwide recognition for service in the field of tourism, he could not convince his son to follow his footsteps into political service.

“In my near 50 years of public life in education, helping countless young people of limited economic means to find an education space, to find professional vocations, to be able to break the cycle of poverty that has gripped their families, for me that has been my main accomplishment …,” said the effervescent Bartlett in an interview with The Gleaner last week.

He has received accolades worldwide, serving at the helm of international tourism organisations, but his son would have none of it.

“I tried to encourage my son to consider representational politics, and he would have none of it,” said the man who is seeking a sixth straight electoral win, in the constituency of St James East Central, after losing to Colin Campbell in 1993 in St Andrew Eastern.

“People talk about me, about tourism, and I say, fine, OK. But the single most important thing is what has happened to those children from Back Bush, from August Town, from Harbour View, from those early years. From Papine and Tavern, and Hermitage, Chambers Lane, until now in St James. Barrett Town, and Dumfries, and Somerton, the deep rural parts of the constituency. That has been my delight. And as I travel around the world, I find my students there,” he said with pride.

Bartlett was first elected in 1980 as the youngest member of parliament and said he has served in both Houses of Parliament for a combined 39 years, 23 of which have been as a minister of government. He left politics for some time and returned in 2002, and has never lost since.

He describes the political animal that remains in service in the sometimes murky world of representational politics.

“You really have to genuinely love people, because their idiosyncrasies challenge you every day. The intelligence quotient required to navigate through these idiosyncrasies is phenomenal and it wears the ordinary person down. But it also inspires, for some reason, those who are truly, deeply committed to people. And who really love people and want to see people move from poverty to prosperity. It’s one of the things that has kept me going. The sheer transformation of lives that I witness in people, the young people of less economic privilege,” Bartlett again said.

Helping people to shine on the global stage for many years is testament of his longevity, and the evidence has faced him worldwide.

“Nothing inspires me more than finding some of these students in very elevated places and positions around the world, and they come back to greet me and to remind me who they are,” said Bartlett, one of the most travelled parliamentarians who has opened tourism frontiers worldwide for Jamaica.

Still, he is able to manage the St James East Central constituency by way of projects to enable him to see results, and track outcomes. Projects through his own ministry have been aimed at transforming the entire community of Grange Pen from a squatter settlement to one with “proper roads, water system, electricity, and sewage arrangement”.

“We created another one with the Housing Agency called Edmund Ridge, which, again, is about transforming community lives. So my continuation is not about wanting to retain a seat or anything. It’s about finishing a number of projects which we currently have. And more importantly, the education programme, which now has over 300 students at university colleges, high schools, vocational institutions, whose, progress requires at least another five years from me to see them through,” Bartlett said.

“On Nomination Day, I said the reason that I am going for a sixth term is to complete those things. And when we complete them, if God gives me the strength and the breath, I’ll be able to sit and watch them make good of them and take over …,” he explained.

Creating a bench park for Rose Hall is also part of the unfinished business, whether or not he is still minister at the end of the September 3 polls.

He is being challenged by the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Rushell Reid-Knott.

Evolution of representational politics

“I think the turnover rate of politics tells you a story about how ephemeral it is. The whole political process is that in the morning you’re up and fresh, and in the evening you’re gone. We have attracted all types of people, some are straight ‘carpet huggers’ and into it for the joy and pleasure of having a résumé. And then there are these deeply committed people who are driven by a process and are committed to an outcome which will see human development,” Bartlett described.

According to him, the previous landscape of a more aggressive politics has given way to “a more enlightened approach”, which has allowed him to campaign without police escort when compared to the high stakes and dangerous period between 1976-1980.

Political violence and philosophical divergence from capitalism to socialism, as well as division created by the Cold War, were the feature of that period. He recalled that period, saying he was visiting police stations daily to bail persons locked up by the police, and individuals whose houses were torched owing to political violence.

Growth and maturity

Thoughout the evolution, he said there has been growth and maturity.

“The [demand for greater] transparency has challenged some [involved in politics], as they have to account more; but accountability is a great thing. But it’s also a ‘constraining’ thing for some. But the growth and maturity have been phenomenal,” he noted.

His message to future political servants?

“So first, I would say that a decision to offer yourself for public service has to be very deeply thought through and carefully considered. And, you know, one has to be sure that you really want to have a life of service. Because if you don’t, you’ll be frustrated before you even start. And you will also frustrate people and derail people’s own development. Service undertaking, that is a life-changing undertaking as well,” he cautioned future political aspirants.

The most critical support group for him has been his family.

“A wife that understands, and that God has blessed me with for 51 years,” he said of his wife, Carmen.

Along with his son, he has a daughter and grandchildren.

“I would urge that they avoid just looking at the glamour and excitement of it and the sense that it is lucrative. Because some people believe that it is lucrative, so you get into it because it is potentially lucrative. But it is potentially dangerous for you if you take that as your motivation,” he warned.

“Public service is still the highest calling. Service to man is still the highest calling.”

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com