19 April 2020

 

Dear Friends,

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all our Jamaican sisters and brothers and those who have made this little rock their home.

This is a letter from the Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU) to the Government and people of Jamaica during a time of great testing and challenge. The devastating impact of Covid-19 on almost every country of the world, is on a scale that can only be described as staggeringly unprecedented in our lifetime. There is an overwhelming feeling of bewilderment and disbelief, as many wonder if all of this real.

We wish to place on record from the very outset our heartfelt gratitude to those on the frontline of this battle. There are simply not enough words to salute our health professionals, security forces and other members of the public and private sectors who expose themselves daily in this mission. Let us redouble our efforts to protect them and make them know how much they are appreciated.

The JBU remains committed to leading its members, and those over whom it exercises a measure of influence, to cooperate with the Government of Jamaica (GOJ), in minimizing the spread of Covid-19. We have been offering critical support to both the letter and spirit of many of the regulations / recommendations / strategies, through regular contact with our thousands of members and adherents.

This we have done, not only as responsible citizens, but more importantly based on our missional understanding and imperatives. It is through the lens of our Christian Faith that we have sought to be and do our best in these challenging times. We are determined to walk in the prophetic tradition of forebears such as Samuel Sharpe and Paul Bogle as we strive, along with all Christian communions, to always be the spiritual and moral conscience of this country.

It should not surprise you then, that, in giving critical support to the GOJ’s initiatives, we have found things to celebrate and encourage, as well as, matters that are of some concern. For instance, we laud the GOJ’s efforts at containing the spread of the virus, maintaining regular communication with the country and reaching out to persons whose livelihoods have been compromised.

While understanding the imperative of balancing economic health with public health, we pray for continued wisdom in this regard, particularly in light of recent unfortunate developments linked to the business sector.

We are troubled by reports of stigmatization against persons and communities thought to have been exposed to the disease. This is deeply regretted as such conduct can undermine the twin virtues of empathy and compassion that are so necessary, even as we walk this road together. Unwittingly, incidents such as the GOJ’s perceived inability to land our own nationals recently, can contribute to the attitudes and actions being demonstrated by some of us. In this regard, we urge the entire society to prioritise compassion in all that we do during this period, as we affirm our common humanity.

Another matter that has attracted much debate is the way in which the regulations are rolled out. It is apparent that the GOJ may have formed the view that the least amount of lead time given, the better. One cannot help but wonder if such a view is born out of a particular pejorative perception of Jamaicans, or to be more generous, human beings on the whole. That might explain why so many of the Covid-19 regulations are rolled out with less than a twenty-four-hour implementation timeframe. It suggests that there might be a view that, were Jamaicans to be given more lead time, we would be more ‘difficult’ to manage.

If that is a view lurking in anyone’s mind, we beg to differ. We have great respect for the instinctive and intuitive capacity of the average Jamaican to act in the common good and encourage our leaders to adopt that more positive posture. Were this advice to be taken, perhaps the shopping restrictions visited upon the people of St. Catherine might benefit from a considered review regarding their effectiveness and unintended consequences. Such a re-think could lead to the development of a template for the implementation of other such interventions.

We wish to place on record our concern for the most vulnerable in our society during this pandemic and repeat our appreciation for the efforts being made to reach out to them. Knowing, as we do, that the state’s capacity to care in tangible ways is quite limited, we have, where possible, increased our ministry offerings to the ‘least of these’. It is becoming clear to us, however, that our ability to do so in a lawful way may be curtailed, (as our churches in St. Catherine are discovering), were restriction of movement to become more widely deployed.

The question that torments us is, who will care for those whose welfare has been the church’s remit over all these years, if by legislation we are restricted/prevented from doing so? We are resolute in reaffirming that our missional orientation commits us to the physical, psychological, spiritual, mental and emotional wellbeing of our members and the wider community.

Let it be clear; our support for reasoned containment strategies is not in doubt. We believe though, that our own history of practical engagement in this country, coupled with that of the wider church community, should assure us of the GOJ’s and country’s appreciation of our God-ordained calling and missional commitment.

The aforesaid leads us to strongly encourage the GOJ to consider ways to facilitate, under special conditions, the churches’ leadership, especially to allow pastors/priests, to exercise their ministry without being in conflict with any regulation. For example, in those cases where churches operate feeding programmes, consideration should be given for this to continue even under a lockdown. Pastors and priests should also be allowed to respond to crisis moments in the lives of their members or members of the community. One need not elaborate further, given the wide range of exigencies that can arise.  This case for exemption is grounded, as we have emphasized, in our strong commitment to protecting the vulnerable and marginalized.

Despite the dreadfulness of Covid-19 there are many lessons being taught and some undeniable benefits that it has brought. We think of the environment that has been given an opportunity to ‘breathe’ after years of assault and abuse; we observe that the daily reminders of how indivisibly bound up our fortunes are with each other seem to have unmasked the ills of individualism and may yet lead to the rediscovery of community. Covid-19 has laid bare the unconscionable disparities in our societies that should never have been allowed to exist in the first place. It is making visible those made invisible by the system and there can be no doubt that the picture painted is ‘not a good look’.

Interestingly, discussions such as expanding the social safety net, universal health insurance, living wages, the right to water and sanitation, educational equity, domestic food security, which were condemned to the ideological trash heap as relics of the past, have been resurrected by the arrival of the novel coronavirus. Surprisingly, the notion of ‘informa fi dead’ is  disappearing and we now hear of citizens ‘trusting’ the police and authorities as they speedily report the whereabouts of persons suspected of having been exposed to the disease.

Friends, no one knows when the Covid-19 cloud will lift and there is a palpable desire for some degree of normality to return. But let us admit that much of what we previously accepted as ‘normal’ ought not to be allowed to return. We reaffirm the commitment of our resources to this struggle, even as we pray and hope for a new tomorrow when justice will “roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream”.

 

One Love,

Karl B. Johnson

General Secretary

Jamaica Baptist Union