If Miss Lisa Hanna will only stand behind Marcus Garvey…

Thursday, August 20, 2015    

WE welcome the news which coincided with our editorial in yesterday's edition on National Hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey, that the house in which he grew up in St Ann's Bay, St Ann, will be refurbished and transformed into a heritage site.

Minister of Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna (file photo)

The actual announcement was made on Monday in a message from Youth and Culture Minister Lisa Hanna and read by Councillor Ian Bell of the Beecher Town Division during a ceremony to commemorate the 128th birthday of Mr Garvey, our first national hero, on the compound of the St Ann Parish Library in St Ann's Bay.

Ms Hanna said that the property on which the house is located was declared a protected site in 1992, and that her ministry remained committed to preserving the legacy of this outstanding Jamaican.

We are not easily swayed by mere words -- and we have heard many before on this very subject - but we take Miss Hanna at her word that:

"We want to create an environment where Jamaicans at home and abroad can visit and pay tribute to a man who left a great legacy. It was he who said that 'a people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots'. Let us continue to embrace our rich cultural heritage and pass on the memories and traditions to the next generation."

We hope to see the minister exhibit as much energy and enthusiasm as she put behind the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) decision in July to inscribe Jamaica's Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park on the institution's list of World Heritage Sites.

We in this space have been excited by the inscription which Miss Hanna described at the time as a "phenomenal achievement" for Jamaica.

For those who came in late, the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park spans sections of the parishes of St Andrew, St Thomas, and Portland; is the largest contiguous area of natural forest in Jamaica, protecting 193 acres of forest on mountain slopes and comprising 10 watershed management units spanning four parishes.

The area is renowned for its rich cultural heritage, being home to the Maroons, whose traditions are recognised by UNESCO as masterpieces of world culture. It is also the first mixed site recommended by UNESCO in the region, meaning that it showcases both natural and cultural values considered to be of outstanding universal value, based on criteria for World Heritage Status, and is among only 32 other such sites around the world. more