We hunger to cuddle and be cuddled. We hunger to gaze upon and to be gazed upon. We hunger to touch and to be touched. We hunger to caress and to be caressed. We hunger to understand and to be understood. We hunger to listen and to be listened to. We hunger to speak andContinue reading “We Hunger”
Author Archives: donalddeanchambers
Story’s tragedy, a ray of hope
THE EDITOR, Madam: The Sunday Gleaner (November 5, 2023) story, ‘I was only trying to protect my father’, describes Jamaica’s psychosocial temperature. The story is an interview with Tameka Henry, the mother of the 11-year-old boy, Fytzroi Robinson, who “came to national attention two weeks ago after a video went viral of him being pepper sprayed thenContinue reading “Story’s tragedy, a ray of hope”
Hospitality In Action – Lessons for the Church
In the ferocious ebb and flow of the waves of Macqueripe Beach, Trinidad, the spirit of hospitality and welcome was encountered and experienced. Macqueripe Beach is located in Macqueripe Bay on the north-western end of the peninsula of the island of Trinidad at the end of Tucker Valley Road. It’s a small pocket beach frequentedContinue reading “Hospitality In Action – Lessons for the Church”
God & Natural Disasters
THE EDITOR, Madame: While the recent 5.6 magnitude earthquake physically and emotionally shocked Jamaicans to the core, it precipitated the rise of an age-old religious conviction that natural disasters are God’s way of punishing wicked people. With successive socio-economic and natural disasters distressing Haitians, we heard similar views due to Haiti’s practice of its indigenousContinue reading “God & Natural Disasters”
White Elephant Economic Model
THE EDITOR, Madame: An article entitled “Multimillion-dollar white elephant,” published in the Sunday Gleaner on August 20, 2023, by Mark Titus, solidifies my unwavering opinion that Jamaica, notwithstanding signs of so-called economic growth, is on a slippery slope of unsustainable development. The article reports that the Montego Bay Sports Complex, a gift from the VenezuelanContinue reading “White Elephant Economic Model”
The Brawls
THE EDITOR: Dear Sir/Madame, Within one week, two Facebook videos which were labelled “brawls” went viral – the “Riu Brawl” at the Riu Hotel in Jamaica and the “Montgomery Brawl” in the United States. The “Riu Brawl” video displays two seemingly African American guests shouting aggressively at a hotel waitress. The obviously dissatisfied guests angrilyContinue reading “The Brawls”
Bling Versus Substance
THE EDITOR, Madam: Notwithstanding the poor state of Jamaica’s education system, I sense a growing consciousness that enables Jamaicans to distinguish between “bling” and substance. Deep in our guts, we feel disenfranchised, discouraged, and alienated from decision-making on national issues affecting our lives. Since the Andrew Holness administration’s overwhelming victories in the 2015 and 2020Continue reading “Bling Versus Substance”
Real Food
My consciousness awakes slightly before the break of dawn, but my physical body refuses blatantly to rise with it. So, I lay stretched out in bed with a cotton cover sheet trying hopelessly to protect myself from the unruffled wind of an electric standing fan. Lying crookedly flat on my stomach, I feel the pangsContinue reading “Real Food”
Solitude and Prayer
Accompaniment
A Jamaican saying characterises our Caribbean culture: “mout mek fi sey anyting”, meaning that the mouth can easily express words without the attendant action. Pastors readily preach up a storm; parents verbally give strict instructions, sports coaches constantly explain techniques, and politicians use persuasive language. And friends, forever give verbal advice. What is often lacking,Continue reading “Accompaniment”
Beloved Reflections 