Congrats!!! Wolmer's Boys Win (2010) Champs

Copied from the Jamaica Observer
Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Heroes Circle-based school, which won the first staging of the Championships back in 1910 at Sabina Park, also won the title in 1915, 1917, 1924, 1927, 1929, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1949 and 1956.

The victory charge was led by Dwayne Extol, who won the 400m, placed second in the 400m hurdles, second in the 200m and clocked 47.89secs on anchor in the 4x400 relay to secure the title.

The team was coached by Christopher Harley, David Riley, Gregg Scott and Lamar Brown.

Abandoning Elderly Relatives A Cruel Act

Jamaica Observer
Tuesday, March 09, 2010

We are moved by the Sunday Observer's revelation that some Jamaicans are abandoning their elderly relatives in the St Ann's Bay Hospital and, even worse, refusing to accept them back home after their hospitalisation.

The story of Rosemarie, the 86-year-old woman who has been living in the hospital since 2008, is enough to melt the coldest of hearts.

No member of her family, she said, had bothered to visit her. In fact, according to Rosemarie, her relatives had turned over her care and well-being to Jesus.

That kind of neglect is not easy to accept, and that was obvious in her sotto voce comment during the interview: "Sometimes I feel like jumping through the window."

While we do not get the impression that the treatment meted out to Rosemarie is widespread, we cannot accept the fact that it is being done. Indeed, the Sunday Observer reported that Rosemarie is one of nine such senior citizens at the St Ann's Bay Hospital and that there were 27 abandoned senior citizens there in 2008.

Equally disturbing is the experience of social workers who report that when they try to return some of these seniors to their relatives, the attempt is greeted with threats of violence.

"We have had cases where persons have picked up stones to stone us or draw knives at us when we go to return their relatives, and so we have to call the police to come in and assist us," said Ms Kerrian Adair-Campbell, one of two social workers at the hospital.

The problem is so bad that, according to Ms Janet Boswell, the senior social worker in the region, the police have, in some cases, advised that the senior be left on the verandah or steps at their relatives' home.

That, of course, is tantamount to dumping people like animals or produce and is highly unacceptable, especially that it is coming from the police who ought to have more than a passing acquaintance with the law.

What is clear from the story is that many people, including the CEO of the hospital, Mr Eon Jarrett, are unaware of the provisions of the Maintenance Act which, basically, states that every person who is not a minor has an obligation to maintain their parents and grandparents.

The Act also gives authority to any local authority or other Government agency that is providing assistance to the elderly or any other dependant to make an application to the Court for an order for the maintenance of that dependant.

Mr Jarrett, therefore, has access to a remedy for the problem he's experiencing at the St Ann's Bay Hospital. We would suggest that he and his counterparts at other State-run hospitals across the island implement a programme to inform patients' relatives of their obligation under the law. That, added to the follow-up visits done by social workers to ensure that seniors are not being abused by reluctant relatives, should help create a culture of appreciation for these most vulnerable members of our society.

Of course, we are not unaware of the fact that the neglect that some parents experience from their children has its genesis in the parents' limited, and sometimes lack of contribution to their children's upbringing. However, two wrongs simply cannot make a right.

And each time we feel anger and resentment at the parental neglect we may have suffered, we should reflect on the words of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr: "...He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."