Dont blame the PNP for Jamaicas failures | letters

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THE EDITOR, Madam:

The recent documentary, Girl from Wood Hall, made about Portia Simpson Miller, was a fairly good gesture to try paying homage to an unsung heroine. The saying that a king has no honor in his kingdom is so true in our context. Portia’s tenure in politics was long but tainted with rejections, hostility and discrimination. Even the uneducated and the unintelligent folks added to the voices that distorted her character. She was never treated fairly, because many thought she was unfit to lead. For one, she was a woman, and two, she did not come from a privileged and educated background.

That said, the People’s National Party (PNP) only did what the people wanted. The people wanted someone to match up with the current prime minister. Should they have treated her like they did? Absolutely not, and they are paying for that even today. Nevertheless, the documentary got so many people thinking that the PNP wronged Portia; that is only a quarter of the truth. Jamaicans did a great disservice to a woman who dedicated her life to making the country a beacon on the world stage. The documentary itself left people focusing on what the PNP did wrong, rather than honoring the achievements, memories and inspirations of Portia.

We are a group of people who are cultured to trample people’s ego and celebrate the higher class over the lower. Don’t blame the PNP; blame the society that continues to be classist at its core, dismissive of people’s mental health and emotional well-being, and a country that always turns its back on those who extend power to the people.

DW

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