Whatever Happened to JAMAICA, Paradise Island?

[evanovitch]

so, has anyone read the whole book ?

<span style="font-weight: bold">Ian Thomson’s The Dead Yard: Tales of Modern Jamaica </span>(2009) explores a country that older Jamaicans in the Diaspora can barely recognize.

In this non-fiction portrait, Thomson describes a Jamaica that has sunk into corruption, hopelessness, poverty, gang rule, and police brutality.

Thompson travels through Jamaica, walking the streets, riding buses, and interviewing people from all walks of life- including those who are struggling to survive, others who are trying to make a difference, and yet others from a mostly complacent elite- to create an unforgettable portrait of a country that was once considered “a beacon of optimistic third world politics.”

Once the source of much of Britain’s wealth and a tropical paradise for British planters, “where slaves grew sugar and the money flowed out in vast quantities,” Jamaica had a huge influence on British culture. The author explores the changes Jamaica has undergone in over four decades since independence from Britain in 1962.

Thomson tries to make sense of Jamaica’s transformation from one of the richest Caribbean islands to what he calls “a new kind of hell.”

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: so, has anyone read the whole book ?

Did Thompson acknowledge that Britaint took every last penny in the Jamaican coffers when they left.

Did he acknowledge that after they left they still imported most of the agricultural produce?

Did he acknowledge that Britain decide the prices on these ?

Did he snderstand that Britain pay so low, that the country have to borrow from them to produce the goods,and never able to make a profit?
Did they know that although they decide the price for what Jamaica sold, they also decide the price for what jmaica bought from them?

...and they sold very high and buy very low??

[evanovitch]

Re: so, has anyone read the whole book ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Did Thompson acknowledge that Britaint took every last penny in the Jamaican coffers when they left.

Did he acknowledge that after they left they still imported most of the agricultural produce?

Did he acknowledge that Britain decide the prices on these ?

Did he snderstand that Britain pay so low, that the country have to borrow from them to produce the goods,and never able to make a profit?
Did they know that although they decide the price for what Jamaica sold, they also decide the price for what jmaica bought from them?

...and they sold very high and buy very low?? </div></div>

i am not sure if he has studied the History of Jamaica r wat but he has written a book of his RECENT experiences from a man on the street point of view u could say.....an funny enuff, di average modernday man on the street in Ja, fi some strange reason, no look bak to colonial times fi mek dem modernday commentary, more dan so...

so i take it u have read the article from the newspaper, but not the book

[britisha]

Re: so, has anyone read the whole book ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Did Thompson acknowledge that Britaint took every last penny in the Jamaican coffers when they left.

Did he acknowledge that after they left they still imported most of the agricultural produce?

Did he acknowledge that Britain decide the prices on these ?

Did he snderstand that Britain pay so low, that the country have to borrow from them to produce the goods,and never able to make a profit?
Did they know that although they decide the price for what Jamaica sold, they also decide the price for what jmaica bought from them?

...and they sold very high and buy very low?? </div></div>

i am not sure if he has studied the History of Jamaica r wat but he has written a book of his RECENT experiences from a man on the street point of view u could say.....an funny enuff, di average modernday man on the street in Ja, fi some strange reason, no look bak to colonial times fi mek dem modernday commentary, more dan so...

so i take it u have read the article from the newspaper, but not the book </div></div>

No, mi noh read the book, but fram di snippet bout &quot;Paradise&quot; ovah soh and soh...mi noh think him authentic...methinks him concoct some a dem stories...having said that...if him did goh even seh a Constant Spring and interview some a di ppl dem bout deh, him wuddah git anadda/totally different narrative fi write bout...

anihoo, mi noh even think mi wuddah buy feem book, for when mi google di piece...it was written fi some American travel guide or di oddah...but I can stand correction, if needs be...

Bout di modern day man..<span style="font-weight: bold">if yuh noh know whey yh a cum fram, yuh cyaan know whey yuh a goh..</span>

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: so, has anyone read the whole book ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Did Thompson acknowledge that Britaint took every last penny in the Jamaican coffers when they left.

Did he acknowledge that after they left they still imported most of the agricultural produce?

Did he acknowledge that Britain decide the prices on these ?

Did he snderstand that Britain pay so low, that the country have to borrow from them to produce the goods,and never able to make a profit?
Did they know that although they decide the price for what Jamaica sold, they also decide the price for what jmaica bought from them?

...and they sold very high and buy very low?? </div></div>

i am not sure if he has studied the History of Jamaica r wat but he has written a book of his RECENT experiences from a man on the street point of view u could say.....an funny enuff, di average modernday man on the street in Ja, fi some strange reason, no look bak to colonial times fi mek dem modernday commentary, more dan so...

so i take it u have read the article from the newspaper, but not the book </div></div> Yes I read the article in the paper,not the book.
Now I have too much onmy plate to read a whole book on his views, but just enough to critique a summary of his work.

[barosa]

Re: so, has anyone read the whole book ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: britisha</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Did Thompson acknowledge that Britaint took every last penny in the Jamaican coffers when they left.

Did he acknowledge that after they left they still imported most of the agricultural produce?

Did he acknowledge that Britain decide the prices on these ?

Did he snderstand that Britain pay so low, that the country have to borrow from them to produce the goods,and never able to make a profit?
Did they know that although they decide the price for what Jamaica sold, they also decide the price for what jmaica bought from them?

...and they sold very high and buy very low?? </div></div>

i am not sure if he has studied the History of Jamaica r wat but he has written a book of his RECENT experiences from a man on the street point of view u could say.....an funny enuff, di average modernday man on the street in Ja, fi some strange reason, no look bak to colonial times fi mek dem modernday commentary, more dan so...

so i take it u have read the article from the newspaper, but not the book </div></div>

No, mi noh read the book, but fram di snippet bout &quot;Paradise&quot; ovah soh and soh...mi noh think him authentic...methinks him concoct some a dem stories...having said that...if him did goh even seh a Constant Spring and interview some a di ppl dem bout deh, him wuddah git anadda/totally different narrative fi write bout...

anihoo, mi noh even think mi wuddah buy feem book, for when mi google di piece...it was written fi some American travel guide or di oddah...but I can stand correction, if needs be...

Bout di modern day man..<span style="font-weight: bold">if yuh noh know whey yh a cum fram, yuh cyaan know whey yuh a goh..</span> </div></div>
I am very suspicious of his motives for writing that piece. Though there are many things that are factual, he seems to be straddling the fence when it comes to his sense of purpose in writing it. ~ In many instances, he emphasises our &quot;Negatives&quot; and ask why Jamaica could not have done &quot;this or &quot;that&quot;? In the paragraph below, he seems very sypathetic to Jamaica's situation and how it came about. He has overtly blamed Britain for many of the problems Jamaica is having ; and Btw, his name is THOMSON, not Thompson...

<span style="font-weight: bold">That moment in Watercourse, with the sun descending over a secluded cemetery, and the green-lighted fireflies which had begun to dance over the graves of Mr and Mrs Smith, defined for me the survival of an older Jamaica. <span style="font-style: italic">The island is beautiful; yet the Jamaican people, with their gift for humour and generosity, their creativity (and fabled aggression) are stuck in a post-colonial malaise. Independence arrived late – 14 years after India's – and by the time it came in 1962, the enthusiasm for change had been tempered by years of colonial prevarication.</span> &quot;Now of course Jamaica's gone to the American camp,&quot; Michael Foot, the Labour politician, told me in 2007. &quot;And it's partly our fault – we've abandoned Jamaica.&quot; Having shaped Jamaica's past for ill, Britain had not helped to shape its future for good.</span>
_____________________________

It's not where you are from that matters,
it's where you are heading...

[britisha]

Re: so, has anyone read the whole book ?

**chukkle**

Well mi did a likkle google fi si wha dem a seh bout dis Missah Toms'n...well...hm...the reference to &quot;travel america&quot; was really talking bout some brochure or di oddah,,,cuddn't google anniting wid his name...pure red flag warning on my computer...


Anihoo, I ran into this, which many of you might have already...


<span style="font-style: italic">More on The Dead Yard after I’ve read it. I’ve asked someone arriving from the UK next week to procure me<span style="font-weight: bold"> a copy as it may not be available locally for some time to come. Rumours have been swirling about the book being banned locally, censorship and other worse outcomes.</span> As a friend from Trinidad wrote: BTW have you heard that Faber can't get any bookseller in JA to stock The Dead Yard?

So being the upstanding member of the Book Industry Association of Jamaica that i am i went straight to the source for more information on these rumours. Suzzanne Lee of Novelty Trading Co. the primary importers and distributors of books and magazines in the island was quick to dispel the speculation:</span>

from yahsohyahsoh

so hiff all diss is true, then sinting innah sinting dat we don't even know bout...mi not for censorship, but why would it be banned? Well, unless there is more blistering comments hidden among the pages that *I* have not read [yet]...**chukkle*

Seriously, why wud you title a book &quot;The <span style="font-weight: bold"> Dead</span> Yaawd&quot; in narrating about a country??? Him really know wha Dead Yaawd mean? His willing subjects whom he interviewed, did they tell him bout or showed him wan? Noh technically him a seh di di countrie dead?...

On that note, mi tink seh him facety, Jamaica, land of my birth, look wha yuh cum tuh !!

<span style="font-style: italic">Ashes cowl, daawg liddung in deh</span>

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: so, has anyone read the whole book ?

<span style="font-weight: bold">It look as if he is a travel writer for the INDEPENDENT UK.'
He seem to do a book on different third world countries.
This si what I found that he did on Haiti.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt">


Second Thoughts / Single skulls contest: Ian Thomson on the bizarre voodoo cult that inspired Bonjour Blanc (Penguin, 6.99 pounds )

IAN THOMSON


Saturday, 5 June 1993
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NormalLargeExtra LargeI FIND there are simply too many cigarettes in Bonjour Blanc, now that I no longer smoke. Everyone seems to be lighting up - especially the author. But the hurdy-gurdy clamour of Haiti, the bomb-torn darkness of the place did tend to fray the nerves. Dogs, in particular, had me fumbling for a smoke.

Haiti is a vast slum floating a few hundred miles off Florida; J G Ballard believes it must represent 'the greatest concentration of misery, cruelty and dashed hopes anywhere on our planet'. This was not always so: Haiti was the world's first black republic, founded a good 60 years before the slaves of America were liberated by the Civil War. Bonjour Blanc, a travel book and adventure story, is also the history of a nation which could have been a cradle of liberty for the African race. I have no regrets that my book should be a hybrid: travel writing can be little more than purple effusions and Kodachrome sunsets - a bore.

The morning star of a new era for Haiti was Toussaint L'Ouverture. I spent months in French and English archives gathering material on this fabulous Haitian revolutionary. Architect of the only successful slave revolt in history, Toussaint was later betrayed and done to death by Napoleon. Since then there has been only fractious anarchy in Haiti. Bonjour Blanc would have been condemned to a very short shelf-life if I had written at length about the Haitian president when I was there (General Avril, not that anyone remembers now). His successor, Father Aristide, was overthrown after only eight months in office. The last I heard, he was holed up in Caracas, a broken man.

Several critics remarked on the recklessness with which I experienced the most daunting adventures in Bonjour Blanc. I was younger then, and hungry for colour, but writing now 3,500 miles away from Haiti, I can see that I must have been bewitched. Haiti is a country of incredible intensity and extremes - one of the most astonishing places on earth - and I would probably be as foolhardy today.

Nevertheless, I am at a loss to explain how I ever got myself initiated into a sinister Voodoo cult called Bizango (it involved a hangman's noose and human skull). During the initiation I took an oath inviting extreme penalties if I disclosed the secrets of Bizango, only to reveal quite a few of them in Bonjour Blanc. So far, there has been no malevolent repercussion for this small betrayal, and I now wish I had been more generous (or courageous) with my information. Sadly, my wife is deeply superstitious and won't let me.

I don't know that I shall ever return to Haiti. For the last year I have been in Turin, researching the life of Primo Levi; Bizango seems light years away. But one never knows what spirits might be abroad, out there on the damp night wind. </span>

[britisha]

Re: so, has anyone read the whole book ?

Thanks fi digging that up Doc...<span style="font-weight: bold">there is no smoke widdout fyah...di man needs to eat, and what other way to do it, than to ridicule others' country and culture?</span><span style="font-style: italic">

Nevertheless, I am at a loss to explain how I ever got myself initiated into a sinister Voodoo cult called Bizango (it involved a hangman's noose and human skull). During the initiation I took an oath inviting extreme penalties if I disclosed the secrets of Bizango, only to reveal quite a few of them in Bonjour Blanc. So far, there has been no malevolent repercussion for this small betrayal, and I now wish I had been more generous (or courageous) with my information. Sadly, my wife is deeply superstitious and won't let me.<span style="font-weight: bold">

I don't know that I shall ever return to Haiti.</span> For the last year I have been in Turin, researching the life of Primo Levi; Bizango seems light years away. But one never knows what spirits might be abroad, out there on the damp night wind.</span>
[/quote]

he keeps saying that he will not return to these places, still yet he hopes to make money off them...how hypocritical and unprofessional...he could have kept his craw shut..

Almost forget to say, these phony yellow journalists who put their agenda before the craft, go in with their minds set on WHAT THEY WANT TO FIND....not what they will find by accident...they are strongly aware of which areas to penetrate, for most likely the exploited poor will say any thing for a bread...further exploiting them for that matter..they don't go to the better neighborhoods and interview the elite, some of whom might even spit in their face, and chase them bag and baggage out of their town since they are better skilled at recognizing hustlers who might contaminate *their Paradise*....but as I say they know where to go to get &quot;stories&quot; to fit their pre-conceived ideas...edit for board etiquette