FIRSTNo. 3 Fearless

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™

THE FOG

ESCAPE

PHARMACIST NATION

BORNE BAD

FIRST MOMENT

AN HEIRESS LEAVES TOWN

THE MAKING OF A DON

EVERYTHING STARTS FROM SCRATCH

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Living in Jamaica keeps you on your toes. There’s just no other way to do it if you’re going to make it home every night. And yet, as jumpy as we’ve all become, it’s amazing how some of us still manage to fi nd our way out the front door each time the fog rolls in with the morning papers.

Every now and then, however, another Jamaican gets fed up and packs it in. Leaving for places like America, Canada and the UK; some taking jobs they may not necessarily like, but gladly do in order to sleep with their doors open.

And yet, it seems that for each person who departs, there’s another who arrives for reasons that range from the logical to the criminal, and they’re not just Jamaicans.

Into the fog they go, joining the rest of us as we scramble all over this rock, doing our best to navigate through the thick pea-soup without bumping into anyone or getting shot at our gate.

It’s an interesting way to live, the fascinated foreigners always say. Kind of like driving a car down a hill that’s stuck in FIRST—loud and whiny, hot and slow, but eventually, if your engine holds up and you don’t crash into a tree, you just might get there.

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escape

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viagra, cialis, levitra; almost everyone easily

recognises the names of these drugs and what they are

reputed to do. But what about medina? What about roots?

Are these local folklore alternatives any good? Has any-

one even considered verifying the effects of these prepa-

rations? Probably not and what a shame it is.

Many traditional medicinal uses of plants permeate

Jamaica, from our use of plants such as fever grass, cold

bush and leaf of life for the common cold or even the flu,

to the use of ginger for digestive disorders, to busy being

to used toxins from one’s body (blood cleanser).

While the uses of some plants are reasonably

questioned, one cannot deny the fact that almost 70

per cent of known drugs throughout the world have a

natural origin, whether from a plant, animal or

micro-organism such as a bacteria or fungus. When

will we as a nation begin to recognise the potential of

science to transform a society?

When will we recognise that for true and sustain-

able development, we need serious investments in

research? All developed nations do. They cannot afford

not to, but alas, not us – we prefer to educate our people

and to export them. The remittances are sufficient for

us – we clearly do not see the bigger picture even as the

United States has revised its immigration policies to

make it easier for scientific researchers and scholars to

be absorbed into their society.

It is time for us to be bold enough to channel mean-

ingful resources into research. And the perfect place

to begin, of course, is natural products chemistry. It is

the perfect place because this area can easily translate

into the most viable type of industry in the world, a

pharmaceutical industry.

Imagine Jamaica producing and exporting target

drugs – and I am not speaking about Panadol. Take

for example the immense research that is now being

undertaken in the US and other developed countries

on the use of cannabinoids for various ailments.

PHARMACIST NATION?dwight collins, ph.d.

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Cannabinoids are compounds from the cannibis

family of plants, of which the most popular member is

probably ganja, and, Jamaica, despite its high produc-

tion of a number of different varieties of the species has

foregone its opportunity to be a world leader in this cut-

ting edge research, but it is not too late.

This country has been blessed with a

serious natural advantage in comparison

to the host countries of the major

pharmaceutical players. Jamaica,

despite its small size and being

only an obscure dot on the world

map, accounts for six per cent

of the natural diversity on the

planet – we also have persons

appropriately trained in this

field.

It is time for us to tap it

for our benefit. The Univer-

sity of the West Indies, in all

fairness, has been engaged

in this area from its incep-

tion. What it has as failed to

do however, is to make a speedy

transition from academic to income-

generating research.

It has now started and this is

commendable, but it may well suit this

institution that seems to be constantly plagued

with insufficient funds, to just decide to ‘ban its

belly’, and open a serious research unit that has a

vision and a mandate to make the institution a

world centre of excellence in scientific research

and a major source for income.

The private sector, too, should be interested, for

the discovery of a single wonder drug could provide

income for some companies that they could never

attain throughout the life of their directors.

Yes, the risks are high for such an

undertaking, but it is a road we need

to tread. The fact is that the world-

wide pharmaceutical industry is

over US$100 billion dollars with

the sales of many widely used

drugs surpassing US$1 billion

annually – imagine tapping

just a small part of it?

Few countries have

recognised the potential

and taken the courageous

first step. Singapore is

certainly not the least of

them, recently investing

close to US$1 billion in

setting up two research

centres, and is actively

recruiting scientists to man

them.

Jamaica is in a much better

position to do this work, if only we will.

All we need is a small start, nothing on the

US$ billion scale, yet. Life is funny, eh? And they

say what goes around comes around. It is time for us to

follow Singapore’s lead now as they followed ours from

the 1970’s onwards.

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BORNE BADP H O T O G R A P H Y B Y

P E T E R D E A N R I C K A R D SS T Y L I N G B Y

K A Y S I A N L . W I L S O N

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FIRST MOMENT

P h o t o g r a p h b y V u r a n B a k e r

Before the WaveAlleppy in the province of Kerla

(Southern coast of India)

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we didn’t know it then, but Cynthia Tremblay was what people call ‘a heavyweight’.

She’d been slightly annoyed when we had failed to show up the previous day, and, after we finally found her house nestled between groves of royal palms in Orange Hill,

she curtly informed us we had exactly 45 minutes to get what we needed.

She was leaving town.

HeiressAn

Leaves Town

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At first, we feared we’d stumbled into a hostile environment – a place that all photographers must go but seldom enjoy (especially if your camera gets confiscated and you’re fitted with a petrol-soaked rubber tyre).

But, as the heiress to the Coca-Cola empire began to show us around her remarkable home, we quickly realised that the only problem we faced was the improbability of be-ing able to capture everything the house had to offer. That is, before all the furniture and fixtures were packed into a waiting trailer and shipped to Miami for good.And what furniture it was.

From the impressive mahogany bed in the master bedroom to the little glass flowers and the fine Arabian-quilted pillows, every detail of the house was unusual, requiring a second and third look.

The building itself, designed over 10 years ago by architect Evan Williams (of Redbones fame), was actually on the drawing board for eight years before its final construction. Interesting work for certain, and a radical contrast to the bizarre ‘techno-complex’ he had shown us in Beverly Hills three days earlier complete with dark-green, steel exoskeleton.

“I think a house should always reflect the soul of the owner,” Mrs Tremblay muttered to nobody in particular before stopping in front of a canvas of mangoes and pointing her index finger at the illegible signature: “I wish he’d start painting again, that supermarket is go-ing to kill him.”

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as you read this article, trainee dons are waiting

in the wings to assume leadership of many inner-city

communities.

To be selected for training, a potential don needs

to have certain things in his favour. This includes be-

ing linked through a close ‘working association’ or

family relations to the present don. For instance, in

one garrison community the younger brother of the

current don (whose leadership is under threat) takes

care of the ‘military arm’ while the older brother (the

don) deals with the political, administrative and ex-

ternal affairs of the community. In another garrison,

the current don assumed his position of leadership

after the brutal death of his father and brother.

The elevation to donmanship may differ

depending on the situation and the community. One

thing though is clear, a successful don must demon-

strate the capacity to be kind and considerate as well

as to be cold and ruthless as the situations determine.

This dual characteristic of the don in many cases is

honed through ‘on the job’ experience.

Interestingly, the military leadership of a few

communities has taken a more formal approach by

literally training ‘replacement dons’. In ‘They Cry

Respect-Urban Violence and Poverty in Jamaica

(compiled by UWI Lecturer, Horace Levy), a then

35 year old don recounts how he was trained by a

former don. He explains he was taught to hide his

feelings and to always show his calmer side especially

to his enemy.

This practice made his enemies unprepared for

his attacks. He was also shown how to suppress fear,

which according to him “is more cruel than the ene-

my”. This don was also taught the value of education,

since as he reasons a part of being a don was “to care

for the youths as the future of the community”.

THE MAKING OF A DON vuraldo barnett, executive director, rage

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It was also important that the gun should not be “turned

on yourself, as the enemy was always outside, never

within”.

It seems that the most crucial aspect of this don’s

training was that of administrating and organizing.

He admits that he was taught to organise a communi-

ty as a “fort prepared for war”. As he puts it, it was his

abilities in this area that made his boss select him to

become one of the next dons.

Similar to other dons, he

delegates responsibilities for

sports and entertainment.

He also retains control over

order and stability, settling

quarrels or deciding on some

retaliation, where his word is

absolute.

To increase his chances

of becoming the don, ‘a trainee

don’ must demonstrate a knack

for business. This is critical as

in order to maintain his status

as community benefactor, he

would need to have access to an endless amount of cash.

Consequently, a potential don may be groomed to func-

tion as a ‘drug entrepreneur’ as he learns to organise

drug deals, robberies, gambling and extortion rackets.

After a trainee has achieved the title of don it

now becomes necessary for him to ‘concretise’ his new

status. One way that this can be done is by ensuring that

his connections with the formal society are widened and

deepened. This includes strengthening his relations with

the functionaries of the state, such as the security forces

as well as leaders in the political and corporate spheres.

Simultaneously, the philanthropy and notoriety of

the don’s reputation is promoted via the ‘underground

media’. This includes, word of mouth promotions,

sound system selectors and cable television. These

localised media provide the don with ample ‘big ups’ of his

Christmas Treats, street dances and birthday bashments.

To stamp his image, some

dons may choose to have their

portrait done on the walls of

the community. To further

cement his status, the don’s

deeds may be immortalized in

popular dancehall songs and

his acts of bravery or cruelty

romanticized in the annals of

the community’s memory.

However, perhaps the real

test of a true don is to avoid en-

tanglement with the law while

exercising strong control over

his turf. Oftentimes, this in-

volves a subtle combination of the psychology of ‘ruling

by fear and favours’. It means too, delegating the ‘dirty

jobs’ to subordinates (shottas) who are eager to make a

name for themselves.

Now, at this stage it is easy for one to say of the don

that ‘he has no criminal record’. At this juncture, this

don would begin to move to the level that only a few have

reached. This is called ‘don of dons’.

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P H O T O G R A P H Y A N D W O R D S B Y P E T E R D E A N R I C K A R D S

Everything starts from Scratch

It’s not at every intergalactic truck stop that you come across a character like Lee Scratch Perry.

These days, if you’re lucky -or unlucky, depending on his mood- you might spot him outside some obscure nightclub in Switzer-land trying to tie a piece of rotting meat to his car antenna. But to stumble upon the professor himself, outside his Wash-ington Gardens address with a can of kerosene is not just rare, it’s also pretty bad for the road.

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I lied and told him I was a German techno producer (rumour has it that he’s testier if he thinks you’re a journalist), and he let me snap a few photographs of a weird mural, a pond of turtles, a door, his socks, and a slightly wild fire that was start-ing to melt the road.

“You think you’re going to vin zee Grammy?”, I asked him as he rested his foot on a burning log.

“Hurry up and take the picture”, he replied, “this f***ing thing is burning my foot.”

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FIRST PEOPLE

WHO?

Lisa Davis, ‘Nail Technician to the Stars’.

WHERE?

Outside Ruggie’s salon, Clock Tower Plaza, in the

middle of Halfway Tree.

TRADEMARK?

Free-hand design, putting stripes on people’s

nails – swishy-swishy.

HOW MUCH TO HAVE NAILS LIKE YOUR’S?

$1,200

WHATS’ SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR JOB?

I can’t live without people, and they’re always passing

through my workstation – clients and friends.

YOU LIKE PINK?

No, it reminds me of my boyfriend’s people,

they live in a bubble.

DO YOU GO OUT?

All the time but not uptown

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