Ria Bacon: editor & writer

Linguist with wanderlust,
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Currently resident in the Land of Sea with a small tribe of kids and Mr B.

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Ghetto makeover

In the week before Christmas, many of the poorer areas of Kingston get a quick makeover, as hundreds of local residents hack at overgrown pavements and daub the kerbs with whitewash. They are motivated not by a spontaneous burst of civic pride, but rather by the promise of a day’s work, usually paid for by the local politician. For some, it will be one of a few rare days of paid employment each year. It is noticeable, but not surprising, that most of the workers are women.

Although J$1,000 per day is surely welcome at this time of year, it does little to break the culture of clientelism and certainly falls short of providing long-term benefit to the individuals or the community.

As the Jamaican-Chinese proverb says:

Give a gyal a brush an’ she paint for a day. Give ‘er a heducation, a microcredit loan, a clean and safe environment
…

Ah man! Jus’ give ‘er de damn brush, y’hear?!

Painter girls

Related posts:

  1. Ghetto can’t hold you back
  2. Ria Bacon, Photographer
  3. Ghetto girls go global
  4. Business as usual
  5. Cross Roads
December 19th, 2006 | Tags: , | Category: Fnuky Kingston, Photos, Politricks
  • http://realefun.blogspot.com Zinnia Cyclamen

    Love that proverb. ;-)

  • Pingback: Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Jamaica: Earning a quick dollar in the ghetto makeover

  • jordan

    hi, i found your story on Global Voices…

    these women look happy but it seems like a kind of mafia set-up in which they have little choice but to participate in the civic activities…

    what are all the men doing?

    from poland, jordan

  • http://riabacon.com Ria

    The choice was theirs as to whether they wanted the one day of work or not. It’s a tradition of charity rather than coercion. In this particular neighbourhood there are fortunately no gang leaders any more; they were rooted out by the police over a year ago. Other communities are informally ruled by “dons” or “area leaders”, to use a dubious euphemism. They clamp down on petty crime, pay school fees and settle disputes in return for loyalty and protection from the residents — that’s certainly old-style mafia.

    What were the men doing while the women were painting? Telling the women how to paint properly!

    The women were having a good time among themselves and they were very happy to get prints of a group shot I did of them.

  • jordan

    thanks for clarifying, i had the wrong idea about things…another thing, one of my favorite and old professor friends from college, nelson keith operates an ngo in st. thomas connected with edu-tourism (http://www.edu-tourism.org/index.html) — have you heard of it?

    my geoprgraphy isn’t good , are you close to st. thomas? i think his project is partly focused on local development…i haven’t contacted him in years, it’s ashame because he is such a great person (and hard to miss at over 6 feet tall)…

    i just wonder how the orginazation is doing…have a great weekend!

    jordan

  • Pingback: irie.mobi » Jamaica: Earning a quick dollar in the ghetto makeover

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  • http://jamaicaspoliticallyincorrect.blogspot.com Nigel

    It’s not just the poorer areas of Kingston – it’s something that takes place across the island and happens every Christmas and when elections are nigh. It’s usually flimsily disguised as a “beautification program” but everyone knows exactly what it is.

    First visit to your blog, great stuff!!

  • http://www.edu-tourism.org nelson w. keith

    Am responding to Jordan’s query about Edu-tourism in St. Thomas, Jamaica. We are hale and well, physically expanding our residential capacities, and are preparing to create a certificate program with a distinct global twist revolving around service-learning, partnerships, global understanding, empowerment instead of servility. All are invited to give their penny’s worth. We operate from a big tent.

    We are most encouraged by the responses of those who have so far passed through our doors.

    Nelson Keith, President, Edu-tourism, St. Thomas, Jamaica,
    Professor Emeritus