The harder times become …

Economically speaking there are a number of ways that show how times are very bad in Jamaica and that it’s likely things are going to get even worse.

Bauxite - a knock on effect of a global downturn in car production means less demand for aluminium and alloys, hundreds of jobs have been lost in Jamaica’s bauxite industry.  Job losses also hugely in tourism, construction, finance and even at the rum factory.

Debt burden – Jamaica owes a trillion dollars in debt so government will not be able to invest in spending programmes to stimulate growth.

Remittances – some people rely on the money sent to them via Western Union and the like,  from abroad.  With relatives in the UK and the US losing their jobs and tightening their belts, less money is coming in this way.

Food prices – going up.  Imports continue to outstrip exports see details on this here This makes the cost of living extremely high.

Personal stories of hardship are not unfamiliar in a place which has always experienced terrible poverty.  Perhaps the new story of hardship in 2009 is that it is effecting the people who had previously thought of themselves as doing OK, who were holding their heads above water – who did have a job and regular income, who are living in the new build properties but who are now facing huge uncertainty.

Jamaica’s drug economy

There’s a TV programme on UK cable, called UK Border Force which is a reality show that shows the people caught at UK airports with drugs in their bags or on immigration violations.  I was talking to a friend about how people on there must be crazy to attempt it, knowing how tight security at airports is nowadays.  One man on the programme was carrying drugs on his body and was carrying a false passport – now he might be extremely stupid but it’s much more likely that he was doing it under duress and was actually just extremely desperate.

So it seems is the case for more people now that the economy is under great strain in Jamaica.  A senior Jamaican policeman – Carlton Wilson tells the Sunday Gleaner how he thinks that,

Drug-smuggling is a lucrative business and with the economic meltdown, more couriers are trying to move drugs out in small portions

see full article

It certainly does follow common sense that desperate times lead to people taking desperate measures, but a while back now I did a report on when the hugely sensitive ion scanners were put in at Norman Manley airport – they were an effective deterrent, but one of the latest seizures involved an accomplice at the airport.  With the economic situation as it is, the capacity for airport bribery is surely much more pronounced.

Always interesting to hear from people who feel these measures might persuade them to take what is a reduced risk of getting caught to deliver drugs from A to B.  Life is all about connections and if you know people who can hook you up to earn extra cash this way then it is no wonder that reported cases are rising.

What else is economic desperation leading Jamaican people on the breadline to do?

Jamaican public transport

I always prefer to use public transport in most places where I go as this can often give a sense of what the country is really about. 

I have travelled the trains across India and been amazed at their chaotic efficiency.

Just got back from the States (which is why I have not updated this blog for a while) and had a great time on the Washington metro with its orange carpetted trains.   A sling back to the seventies but built to last. No public transport whatsoever in Detroit (due to the dominance of the auto industry).

Jamaica now – a report today in the Gleaner (see it here)warns that drivers of buses and cabs may not be properly insured or indeed hold a legal driving licence. 

I know of many people who have bought their driving license as opposed to undergoing any kind of test.  There have been cases of drivers abducting, raping and even murdering passengers.  See an article here about this.  Unlicensed seems to be the order of the day.  I went in a cab once and the driver merely tried to extort more money out of me.  I refused and he got real nasty.  I had to run out. 

The buses from the station in Kingston out to the country were OK.  It has been quite a good experience for me taking those.  The buses going around Kingston were always so packed that it is a nightmare.  I’ve experienced many a tightly packed train and bus in London but in Jamaica it seems much more packed.  Don’t even think of taking a pushchair anywhere – the step onto the bus needed a lift up. 

I love the loud music and DVD ’s on the buses you pay abit extra for – but the driving is very erratic – some young guy is always driving with too much bravado.

So what I thnk this tells us is that corruption and bribery is endemic, causing danger to public health, that young guys driving and music are a cocktail of testosterone and foolhardiness.  And that nastiness and violence are not too far away.  Oh – and I always get car sick on those windy roads.