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
FIRST PEOPLE
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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.
P H O T O G R A P H B Y K A Y S I A N L . W I L S O N
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escape
P H O T O G R A P H Y A N D S T Y L I N G B Y K A Y S I A N L . W I L S O N92 FIRST
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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