50 Years Ago

It's is a new week and that means that it is time for a new 50 for 50 prompt challenge. This week the challenge was to write about someone trying to decide what Jamaica needs to do to move forward and it had to be in the form of a short story. Short stories tend to be more a challenge for me because as you know I'm more of a poet, journalist or novelist when it comes on to my writing. But I do enjoy the challenge of remaking my linguistic architecture. Anyhoo, last week I came 2nd so let's see how well I did this week. I will surely keep you posted. And if you want to check out other writers and linguistic aspirants just click the link and check it out. Here

50 years ago when Norman Manley and Sir Alexander Bustamante made the trek into Independence they had but strong hopes and dreams as the backbone for the nation they loved so much. They aspired to develop a country on firm principles, integrity, education, justice and a good financial foothold.

Elsa was but a young girl then. She had just turned 18 and after an entire education system of British Colonial rule she knew little of her country’s history and heritage and more about the colonial masters and their European history. Yet, she entered into the noble profession of teaching with hopes of passing on surmountable knowledge to those soon to come.

So imagine her surprise when she realizes that despite the myriad of changes that have gone on in the world and the newly widespread availability of technology that the world has surely changed but our education system has remained constant.  We continue to stifle the growth of our children’s intellectual development by preparing them to do traditional jobs but not to be innovative in creating jobs. We teach them to be workers rather than entrepreneurs. Why is financial planning and education not popularly taught in schools? How can we expect to have a prosperous economy when our own citizens don’t know how to handle their money?

She wondered ‘how did a country with so much promise end up in such a situation?’ Where we have university graduates who can’t jobs and a people not confident in its government’s abilities to lead and change our future. The fact that every year we have a brain drain of some of our most skilled workers. Who will be left to lead? Why are children having children? Why don’t we have justice for wrong doings? Why? Why? Why? That is all she could ask why?

50 years ago Jamaica showed so much promise for the future and now desolation pervades the atmosphere. When will the change come? Who will rise up and fix all that is broken? Who will amend our education system, heal our financial sector or prescribe more jobs for our citizens? Who will foster creative and innovative minds to make us a sustainable investment? At this point all Elsa can do is ask Who? What? Where? When? Why?