I couldn’t believe it. On the Saturday after local government elections, the Papine Market dump was as disgusting as ever. The gate was partially open and garbage was overflowing on to the sidewalk. The following Saturday, the condition of the dump was just a bad. There was even a mattress outside the gate. The headline of my column two weeks ago, “Papine Market dump gets a mini facelift,” proved to be much too optimistic. The cleanup just before the elections appears to have been nothing more than a scam to trick voters.
A successful mini facelift is supposed to last for at least 10 years. The improvement in the dump didn’t make it to even 10 days. The present state of the dump reminds me of the popular TV reality show “Botched.” Plastic surgeons Terry Dubrow and Paul Nassif attempted to fix all sorts of mistakes made by their less competent colleagues: eyebrows lifted out of alignment; lips swollen to an unnatural size; faces twisted; and on and on.
The Papine Market dump requires far more than a facelift. It needs to be completely overhauled. First of all, it must be relocated. It cannot be left facing the main road, which is named in honour of Sir John Golding, the distinguished orthopaedic surgeon who made such an outstanding contribution to Jamaican society. His son Mark, Leader of the Opposition, must ensure that Darrington Ferguson, the newly election councillor in the Papine Division, fixes the problem of the dump.
Not just for the sake of Sir John’s legacy! More importantly, vendors and shoppers at Papine Market deserve a healthy environment for business. One of the vendors told me that she had suggested to management that cameras be installed at the dump to monitor its use. All sorts of waste, including dead animals, have been deposited in the dump. At present, there is no efficient way of identifying these unconscionable dumpers. The vendor’s excellent recommendation has simply been disregarded.
START WITH THE YOUTH
The Papine Market dump is an ugly example of what is so wrong about Jamaica. Many of us do not seem to realise that public spaces belong to all of us. The same people who sweep up rubbish outside their gate will litter the streets. As soon as rubbish leaves their hand, it’s no longer their problem. It doesn’t matter where they drop it. We have to change that mindset. All of us must take responsibility for how we, as a society, deal with garbage.
And we must start with the youth. I still remember one of the jingles we used to sing in primary school: “Bits of paper lying on the floor/ Make the place untidy/ Pick them up!” Are children now being taught civic-mindedness in school? Apparently not! Or, perhaps, the lesson is not getting through to them. A couple of days ago, I was at a gas station in Vineyard Town when I noticed a boy, about 14 years old, I would guess, along with a younger girl. They appeared to be siblings.
The boy was eating what looked like chips and the girl was drinking from a plastic bottle. When he finished, he threw the bag on the ground. I blew my horn and caught his attention. I pointed to the ground and then to the garbage bin. Believe it or not, he immediately picked up the bag and put it in the bin. What was even more gratifying was that when the girl finished her drink, he pointed her to the bin. Hopefully, the lesson will last.
CONTEMPT FOR FARMING
The Papine Market, like many others across Jamaica, is one of the positive legacies of our terrible history of forced labour. It must be treated with respect. In order to reduce the food bill for enslaved Africans, plantation owners gave them access to provision grounds where they planted crops to feed themselves. They were allowed to keep the surplus and established prosperous markets which they controlled.
The Jamaica National Heritage Trust website notes that: “Enslaved Africans in the Jamaican economy functioned as distributors and producers of a range of goods. Their sale of goods and trading would often take place in major urban centres such as Kingston and Spanish Town. Agricultural produce sold by the enslaved Africans in these spaces were usually bought by retailers of all races. By the end of the eighteenth century, the enslaved Africans were contributing to the export economy. Merchants in urban areas frequently purchased the produce of slaves and exported them to foreign territories. Coffee, ginger, pimento, cotton and arrowroot were major export items in the late eighteenth century. Therefore it is not surprising that on the eve of Emancipation, enslaved Africans in Jamaica were in control of close to fifty percent of the cash circulating on the island.”
Many of us are not aware of this history of commerce. Enslaved Africans knew the value of agriculture. They enjoyed the benefits of working for themselves. Many of them were able to buy their freedom out of the proceeds of farming. One of the ironies of Emancipation was that free people were denied access to land for their own use. Plantation owners tried every strategy to keep what they saw as cheap labourers in servitude. This state of landlessness remains one of the shameful legacies of slavery.
In the 21st century, many of the descendants of entrepreneurial Africans have nothing but contempt for agriculture. They don’t understand that food security is essential for long-term survival. They are quite happy to buy imported food which is often inferior to locally grown produce. When will we learn the lessons of the past? As Marcus Garvey warned us, “A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
Jamaica Woman Tongue 
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