JO - The eagle vs the doctor bird

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Observer

The eagle vs the doctor bird

BARBARA GLOUDON

Friday, March 05, 2010


IN THIS CORNER - The Big Eagle... In this corner, the little doctor bird fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world... Ding-ding-ding...a tiny doctor bird flying into the face of a great big eagle, sharp talons, beak and all, to let that old raptor know "don't joke wid wi. Wi little but we very tallawah." In that spirit of tallawahness, we're currently engaged in a battle which has many people confused.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"This business of the request for the extradition of the man who is fast becoming a Jamaican urban legend has gone from a mere formality to high drama. After months of waiting for us to fulfil the request for the alleged accused to be delivered to them to answer allegations of drug and gun-running, the Eagle has decided to turn up the heat. They ramped up our status on the list of countries which they believe need to straighten up and fly right. They tested the patience of one of our prominent citizens by cancelling his visa, subjecting him to public embarrassment. Students of warfare will recognise the "warning shot across the bow"."

"It is not the first time that a Jamaican prime minister has decided to play tough with Washington. In the testosterone-laden days of the 70s, Mr Manley sent packing the US Ambassador who was prone to lapses in appropriate behaviour."

"If the object of the exercise is to get Washington to show us respect, to admit that Jamaicans have constitutional rights which do not "stop at Liguanea", to quote the PM, then why are we going about it this way? Other questions of the day include the query about diplomatic intervention."

&

"(O)ut on the street people want to know what this is going to mean for them. Will America retaliate by cancelling more visas, not only for the powerful but the powerless? The thought of never being able to go to Brooklyn again is enough to send some people into depression.

Never mind all that stuff you see on the news about economic recession in America, Jamaicans still want to go there. We're not afraid of hard times. We are survivors. If anybody can make it in America, it is us. So... please, oonu leave the visa out of it."

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gloudonb@yahoo.com