Jamaica farewell

The brief hiatus in posting here over the past couple of weeks (please tell me you noticed) was result of our annual trip to warmer climes, specifically Jamaica.  Just a couple of days after we arrived, the Jamaican government announced a state of emergency in the parish of St James, which includes the tourist hub of Montego Bay.  This action received a remarkable amount of media coverage worldwide, not least back home in Canada, where one breathless news anchor seemed incredulous that Canadian airlines were still flying tourists to such a hellhole.

Jamaica has always had its violent side.  The capital, Kingston, has been a rough old place almost since the days of the pirate Blackbeard.  Many parts of the island, including the parish where we stayed, are tranquil, but violent crime levels in some areas, including Montego Bay, have been rising.  The murder numbers for the island as a whole are startling -- more than 1600 cases in 2017, in a resident population of fewer than four million -- but the fact of the matter is that almost all of these are gang-on-gang killings.  If you abide by the long-standing advice not to wander around Mobay at night, you have very little to worry about.

The murder rate is surprising because the Jamaicans you meet as a tourist, be it at the airport, or driving a bus, or at your resort, are the nicest people you could ever encounter: helpful, friendly and always smiling.  It's hard to believe that they leave their places of work each day and have to cower in their homes because of the risk of getting caught up in gunplay, and the truth is, most of them don't have to live that way. Like the visitors, they know where they can safely venture and where they should avoid.

The Canadian media coverage that we caught on cable TV was particularly odd because Jamaica is just one of a large number of territories that the External Affairs people in Ottawa warn visitors about. Just check out this mind-boggling list.  Other countries subject to the same "use a high degree of caution" label as Jamaica include France, the UK and the UAE, alongside such tourist traps as St Lucia and the British Virgin Islands.  It's not clear why Jamaica was singled out for particular obloquy this past week.  Heck, I could take you to places in our neighbouring city of St. Catharines where you really would't want to linger at night.