Staff Writer - Kerran Monroe
This year Jamaica is supposed to be celebrating 50 years of “independence”. This is supposed to be a “proud” year for our nation, having gained “independence from the British Monarch. However, something tragic has happened that may impact or even overshadow the Jamaica 50 celebrations. Yea you guessed it, the death of the queen of pop music, Whitney Houston.
A couple of Saturday nights ago I was watching Television Jamaica (TVJ), then suddenly breaking news: Whitney Houston dead. At that moment, the first thing flashed in my thoughts was, “there goes Jamaica 50”. No doubt Whitney Houston is a mega star and a talented singer. If anyone deserves the title Diva, it is her. However, I do not want to see our celebrations being overshadowed by the death of a non-Jamaican. This may sound harsh but it is just the truth. This news has already overshadowed the death of radio talk show host, Wilmot “Mutty” Perkins; we cannot afford to make it kill our celebrations.
I have to say though that as a Jamaican, I am not a big celebrator of Independence Day, because I think it is one of the biggest acts of deception. On the other hand, there are Jamaicans who see the significance of the day and they do celebrate it and for them it is a time of reflection. Therefore for these persons and for the organizers of the Jamaica 50 celebrations, it would be unfair to see all their hard work go by the way side, due to the death of someone who is not a Jamaican.
Additionally, February is also Reggae month, and there are a series of events planned to celebrate the genre of music, Jamaica is best known for and the tragic death of the pop star has already done some damage to the Reggae month celebration. We all love Whitney, despite all her blunders but I have to say Jamaica first. As a result, I hope this will blow over by August when the Jamaica 50 celebrations would have reached its climax.
