14/10/2023
It was the last question that sparked the most emotion. First of all, no one affirmed the positive by raising a hand.
Then, when I asked: Really, nobody? Two ladies sheepishly raised their hands, looking around to see who else was coming with them.
Remember, these young women, 17 to 18 years old, are our future generation of power for nation-building.
While I was not surprised, I didn't realise it was this bad; the reality is that our youth is disinterested in participatory democracy.
As my mentor, the late Professor Aggrey Brown would often instil, to have actual development, asking and understanding 'the why' is crucial.
Consequently, I asked: Why would you not participate in voting? Then the hands started to fly up fast. I allowed every girl to express herself. As they spoke, pieces of my heart began to tear.
One young lady began with: "Jamaica is just too hard…" and explained her difficulties when she tried to open a simple bank account to get a summer job last year…..
In Jamaica, we constantly speak about the metrics of measuring our progress. For example, we say we are doing well when there is a fiscal surplus, excess international reserve balances, low unemployment, and lowering our debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio.
Notwithstanding these yardsticks, the most critical one, in my mind, is how we have positively impacted the lives of our citizens, especially our youth's perceptions of what they need to become successful in their own country.
It is this metric that we must seek to address urgently.
For more insights click the link below and read my article “Our Youth Need Hope they Can Trust.”
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/our-youth-need-hope-they-can-trust/
