Letter of the Day | Montego Bay was never a paradise for ordinary people

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I read with interest the recent article on Montego Bay ‘Mixed reviews on MoBay’s ‘Restoring Paradise’’ in The Gleaner of May 5. I am wondering, whose ‘paradise’ is referred to in the slogan? Whose paradise is being restored?

Montego Bay was never paradise for ordinary people because they have never been taken into account. Where is the space for taxis to pick up their passengers? Is there space created for that? Where are the public conveniences for the vendors who are in the market? Where is the space for the other vendors who do not sell inside the market? Have their needs been met? Instead, the emphasis of the decision-makers seems to be to sweep away the taxi drivers, their passengers and the vendors. Where to? Will the new location meet their needs? The indiscipline that is mentioned may have a root cause. The powers that be have not considered the needs of regular people to make a living, and to be able to move freely and comfortably from one destination to another. Moving them out of the way without providing a suitable alternative is no solution.

Images of Montego Bay’s market area from the 1800s show that the basic area has remained the same. There are just now more people, not to mention vehicles that did not exist then.

Since 1969 when I worked as a teacher in Montego Bay, I never felt that the needs of ordinary people were paramount. When my friends and I walked down Union Street to the beach there was never enough space to walk. I always felt that while there are jobs for ordinary Jamaicans in the hotels, little attention has been paid to the social services that would make the town itself a desirable place. As you cross that imaginary line from the real town to the Hip Strip, everything changes. You can’t have luxury so close to abject neglect without aggravating the social problems. Shouldn’t the taxes paid by those tourist businesses be directed more intentionally into the social services provided for the citizens?

A book written by Frank Taylor Fonda, To Hell with Paradise: A History of the Jamaican Tourist Industry, is still very relevant today. One of his comments stands out: “One effect of this overall concern to make Jamaica attractive to foreigners was the contrasting neglect, on the whole, of the black population.” Well said. “The needs of the people should come first. If you focus on making Jamaica a desirable place for the citizens of the country, other people will want to visit.”

The current slogan being used to create change in Montego Bay continues the myth of Jamaica as paradise. Only when our leaders acknowledge that the country is no paradise for an increasingly large number of people, will they be able to make lasting change.

ROSE GIBBS