Wednesday, February 6, 2013
A tribute to Bob Marley
Its quite uncanny that I happen to be reading Neville Garrick's report (written by Shelia Nopper) of Bob Marley's visit to Zimbabwe today February 6, Bob's birthday. Garrick shared that he believes that the trip to Zimbabwe was the highlight of Bob's career. This, he said is from the point of view of a Rasta, a black man and a freedom fighter. Initially, when the invitation from President Mugabe came for Bob to visit and perform in Zimbabwe for their independence celebrations, it was for Bob alone. But being the type of person Bob Marley was, he told the President that it would not make any sense for him alone to come because he is not just one person, he is an organisation. The long and short of it was that the Government of Zimbabwe, newly independent, did not have the funds to facilitate the entire band and so Bob Marley out of his own fortitude funded the trip to Zimbabwe from his personal funds.
It is likely that Garrick feels that Zimbabwe was the highlight of Bob's career because of what transcended there. Basically "de place mash up" when Bob Marley went on the stage. People who were outside the stadium stormed inside and they had to fire tear gas at the crowd. A funny thing happened, the tear gas blew away from the crowd and into the royal box and everyone on stage had to scatter. After they were able to contain this dilemma, Bob came back on stage with "I Shot the Sheriff" but the high point was when Bob got to singing "Zimbabwe". It was as if the song was the official anthem of the country. Bob just had to hold the mike to the audience and allow them to sing their song.
Garrick shared that is was a very overwhelming experience to see Zimbabwe being liberated and the red, green, gold and black flag replacing the flag of the imperialists. The experience was very uplifting, just seeing and being able to share in the pride and joy of a people. The people loved Bob Marley. They told him that if he were to stay in Zimbabwe they would make him a general. For through his music they saw him as a freedom fighter.
Happy Birthday Bob! The message lives on.
Favourite Bob Marley Song - "Rasta Man live up, Bongo Man don't give up"
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Black Women and Their Men: The Hair and Beauty Debate
“Men and women God made us as his perfect creation, he made no mistake when he made us black with kinky hair…Now take the kinks out of your mind instead of out of your hair” (Marcus Garvey).
For black women, issues of hair and beauty have long since been problematic. Even before the issue of skin bleaching or whitening came to the fore, black women have had to grapple with the notion that straightening one’s hair might be viewed as a rejection of one’s natural self thus denying their identity and admitting (whether consciously or unconsciously) that whiteness and long silky soft hair are the standards by which beauty is to be judged. Some women have had their hair permed from they were little girls by their mothers and or guardians and so have never questioned “Why do I straighten my hair?” A lot of other women have said that straightening the hair makes it more manageable to deal with and yet others have said “it makes me look more beautiful, softer and more refined”.
Added to these reasons and responses from black women are the opinions of our men. Black men have for a while now encouraged and supported the post slavery idea that having ‘nappy’ or kinky hair is unacceptable and have promoted and paid for their women to straighten their hair. In doing so, black men have (without admitting it, and for some, without realizing it) acknowledged that whiteness is the accepted norm by which beauty should be assessed. Black women have taken this phenomenon further with the buying of hair and wearing of wigs which copy the styles of white women. Over the years, as black people we have come to allow ourselves to be defined by something outside of ourselves rather than what lies within.
It is from this context that Marcus Garvey spoke when he said ...now take these kinks out of your mind instead of out of your hair. For blacks, the shade and tone of our skin and the way we wear our hair, have over the years, become political statements. It is political as it is complex because it encompasses gender politics, identity issues and beauty anxieties (the social concerns). Additionally, the politics of beauty is made complex within the issues of racism. The issue is multifaceted and complex, and has over the years become a heated on-going debate among black people in general. Ingrid Banks in Hair Matters purports that “Hair shapes black women’s ideas about race, gender, class sexuality, images of beauty and power” and Noliwe Rooks in her book Hair Raising: Beauty, Culture and African American Women shared that although her mother was staunchly against her wearing her hair anything but natural, her grandmother believed that “hair spoke to acceptance from a certain class of African Americans but had relatively little do with white supremacy, Africa or self-esteem”(4). Rooks recalled that at age thirteen her reason for wanting to straighten her hair was not to disturb her mother who had raised her to be proud of her ‘Africanness’, but that she had recently started a new school, “and absolutely no one there wore their hair in a natural except me. I was determined to fit in with my new classmates” (3).
It is funny, uncanny and even ironic that ‘black’ magazines, the ones with articles upon articles encouraging black people to be strong and to find their inner self, advocate for, advertise and promote soft straight silky processed hair as the epitome of women’s beauty. When Marcus Garvey wrote and spoke about taking the kink out of your minds instead of out of your hair, he lived what he preached because “in his newspaper the Negro World, Garvey refused advertisements from companies which promoted the straightening of black) hair as well as the lightening of (black) skin" (Rooks 77). In her defense arguments to her mother’s restrictions about straightening her hair, Rooks used the black magazines which advertised and supported ‘whiteness’ as the benchmark to reinforce her point. “As I prepared my arguments and worked on getting up my nerve, I cut out a number of magazine advertisements to show her the styles that interested me. Because majority of my examples came from African American publications (Essence, Jet, Ebony, etc.)” (3).
So it might be true to argue therefore, that both black men and society in general have over the years supported the re-valuing of beauty, by making ‘whiteness’ with its soft silky hair, light skin and green, blue, grey eyes the centre of beauty. Thus making the issues of race, gender and beauty, political in nature. Therefore, although issues of hair and beauty are dynamic and have evolved over the different generations to mean different things both politically and socially, from black pride to stating and accepting one’s Africanness; to being able to become accepted and promoted in certain careers and organisations and or class structures (within the same black society); to one’s acceptance or none acceptance that whiteness is not the standard by which beauty is to be judged; to a freeing of one’s self mentally by taking the kink out of our minds instead of out of our hair and focus on the real important issues in life; the larger issue I have argued, has to do with gender politics. It has to do with black men’s promotion and idea of beauty and consequently their acceptance or rejection of how black women purport that beauty.
Black men, need to discover their ancestry and find themselves by emanating into a consciousness and acceptance that ‘whiteness’ is not the standard by which beauty is to be judged. After this is achieved, then the society, including organisations which they lead, such as the banks and other businesses will not look down on, prejudice, or refuse to accept black women with ‘kinky’ hair or natural hair styles into their organisations. Additionally, black women too, need to come into their own consciousness of why they do what they do. No doubt, power, sexuality and acceptance play a large part in the hair debate but women need to focus on the more substantial issues such as knowing who you are, what you believe in and what are those things that make you happy.
Kayann Henry December 12, 2012
For black women, issues of hair and beauty have long since been problematic. Even before the issue of skin bleaching or whitening came to the fore, black women have had to grapple with the notion that straightening one’s hair might be viewed as a rejection of one’s natural self thus denying their identity and admitting (whether consciously or unconsciously) that whiteness and long silky soft hair are the standards by which beauty is to be judged. Some women have had their hair permed from they were little girls by their mothers and or guardians and so have never questioned “Why do I straighten my hair?” A lot of other women have said that straightening the hair makes it more manageable to deal with and yet others have said “it makes me look more beautiful, softer and more refined”.
Added to these reasons and responses from black women are the opinions of our men. Black men have for a while now encouraged and supported the post slavery idea that having ‘nappy’ or kinky hair is unacceptable and have promoted and paid for their women to straighten their hair. In doing so, black men have (without admitting it, and for some, without realizing it) acknowledged that whiteness is the accepted norm by which beauty should be assessed. Black women have taken this phenomenon further with the buying of hair and wearing of wigs which copy the styles of white women. Over the years, as black people we have come to allow ourselves to be defined by something outside of ourselves rather than what lies within.
It is from this context that Marcus Garvey spoke when he said ...now take these kinks out of your mind instead of out of your hair. For blacks, the shade and tone of our skin and the way we wear our hair, have over the years, become political statements. It is political as it is complex because it encompasses gender politics, identity issues and beauty anxieties (the social concerns). Additionally, the politics of beauty is made complex within the issues of racism. The issue is multifaceted and complex, and has over the years become a heated on-going debate among black people in general. Ingrid Banks in Hair Matters purports that “Hair shapes black women’s ideas about race, gender, class sexuality, images of beauty and power” and Noliwe Rooks in her book Hair Raising: Beauty, Culture and African American Women shared that although her mother was staunchly against her wearing her hair anything but natural, her grandmother believed that “hair spoke to acceptance from a certain class of African Americans but had relatively little do with white supremacy, Africa or self-esteem”(4). Rooks recalled that at age thirteen her reason for wanting to straighten her hair was not to disturb her mother who had raised her to be proud of her ‘Africanness’, but that she had recently started a new school, “and absolutely no one there wore their hair in a natural except me. I was determined to fit in with my new classmates” (3).
It is funny, uncanny and even ironic that ‘black’ magazines, the ones with articles upon articles encouraging black people to be strong and to find their inner self, advocate for, advertise and promote soft straight silky processed hair as the epitome of women’s beauty. When Marcus Garvey wrote and spoke about taking the kink out of your minds instead of out of your hair, he lived what he preached because “in his newspaper the Negro World, Garvey refused advertisements from companies which promoted the straightening of black) hair as well as the lightening of (black) skin" (Rooks 77). In her defense arguments to her mother’s restrictions about straightening her hair, Rooks used the black magazines which advertised and supported ‘whiteness’ as the benchmark to reinforce her point. “As I prepared my arguments and worked on getting up my nerve, I cut out a number of magazine advertisements to show her the styles that interested me. Because majority of my examples came from African American publications (Essence, Jet, Ebony, etc.)” (3).
So it might be true to argue therefore, that both black men and society in general have over the years supported the re-valuing of beauty, by making ‘whiteness’ with its soft silky hair, light skin and green, blue, grey eyes the centre of beauty. Thus making the issues of race, gender and beauty, political in nature. Therefore, although issues of hair and beauty are dynamic and have evolved over the different generations to mean different things both politically and socially, from black pride to stating and accepting one’s Africanness; to being able to become accepted and promoted in certain careers and organisations and or class structures (within the same black society); to one’s acceptance or none acceptance that whiteness is not the standard by which beauty is to be judged; to a freeing of one’s self mentally by taking the kink out of our minds instead of out of our hair and focus on the real important issues in life; the larger issue I have argued, has to do with gender politics. It has to do with black men’s promotion and idea of beauty and consequently their acceptance or rejection of how black women purport that beauty.
Black men, need to discover their ancestry and find themselves by emanating into a consciousness and acceptance that ‘whiteness’ is not the standard by which beauty is to be judged. After this is achieved, then the society, including organisations which they lead, such as the banks and other businesses will not look down on, prejudice, or refuse to accept black women with ‘kinky’ hair or natural hair styles into their organisations. Additionally, black women too, need to come into their own consciousness of why they do what they do. No doubt, power, sexuality and acceptance play a large part in the hair debate but women need to focus on the more substantial issues such as knowing who you are, what you believe in and what are those things that make you happy.
Kayann Henry December 12, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Good Deeds - A review of Tyler Perry's latest film
The movie Good Deeds is the latest of writer and director Tyler Perry ‘projects’ and could be deemed as the best so far. Since his days back in 1992 of staging plays, there has been much improvement in the quality of his work and Good Deeds, which is now going into its fourth week of showing at the Carib Cinema in Kingston attest to a steady upward mobility in the fine tuning and progress in his movie content and film career.
Over the years, Perry has focused on themes such as the dysfunctional family and family life in general; Meet the Browns, House of Payne (plays) and the Madea Series (films) are high on the family issue, while, Diary of a Mad Black Woman and the Why Should I Get Married sequels focused on marriage and its accompanying problems. Somewhere in that mix he directed Daddy’s Little Girls which was about a father’s fight for his daughters. Except for Daddy’s Little Girls, Perry’s films have not received favourable reviews from critics but they have made healthy sums of money at the box office.
At the Carib Cinema last Tuesday evening, Good Deeds was totally sold out, not an empty seat visible, and the audience, typical at the Carib Theatre, was fully engaged and participated in the movie by voicing aloud their opinions and emotions. The film is about a well to do black man (Tyler Perry) from a well to do family who was at a deciding point in his life. He managed a successful family business inherited from his father and was engaged to a beautiful and self sufficient woman (Gabrielle Union). His life was in a rut but to the spectator it was a ‘good’ rut. He had everything life could offer so why then was he at work until 3:00am most mornings? He meets a woman (Thandie Newton) who works as a night Janitor at his company and who he felt drawn to and ends up helping. The movie is a critique on society’s values; encourages spontaneity; being true to one’s self and one’s desires; helps; siblings rivalry; the effects of the appearance of a “third” party in what could be termed ‘a previously solid relationship’ and questions if love is enough.
Good Deeds is particularly good because it is devoid of the pretentiousness that is present in the Why Did I Get Married sequels and the horrific drag of Madea, present in his other films. Good Deeds is evidence that Perry’s talent as both a writer and a director has matured and that his reputation and financial success are affording him to be able to attract a more auspicious professional set of actors such as Thandie Newton from Beloved who brought real depth and feeling to her role as someone who experiences hard times. The diverse music track is also worth mentioning and brings a lot of texture and feeling to the plot, conveying the necessary emotional dimension at the right time which regulates spectator’s reaction and moods from laughter to tears to anger.
Over the years, Perry has focused on themes such as the dysfunctional family and family life in general; Meet the Browns, House of Payne (plays) and the Madea Series (films) are high on the family issue, while, Diary of a Mad Black Woman and the Why Should I Get Married sequels focused on marriage and its accompanying problems. Somewhere in that mix he directed Daddy’s Little Girls which was about a father’s fight for his daughters. Except for Daddy’s Little Girls, Perry’s films have not received favourable reviews from critics but they have made healthy sums of money at the box office.
At the Carib Cinema last Tuesday evening, Good Deeds was totally sold out, not an empty seat visible, and the audience, typical at the Carib Theatre, was fully engaged and participated in the movie by voicing aloud their opinions and emotions. The film is about a well to do black man (Tyler Perry) from a well to do family who was at a deciding point in his life. He managed a successful family business inherited from his father and was engaged to a beautiful and self sufficient woman (Gabrielle Union). His life was in a rut but to the spectator it was a ‘good’ rut. He had everything life could offer so why then was he at work until 3:00am most mornings? He meets a woman (Thandie Newton) who works as a night Janitor at his company and who he felt drawn to and ends up helping. The movie is a critique on society’s values; encourages spontaneity; being true to one’s self and one’s desires; helps; siblings rivalry; the effects of the appearance of a “third” party in what could be termed ‘a previously solid relationship’ and questions if love is enough.
Good Deeds is particularly good because it is devoid of the pretentiousness that is present in the Why Did I Get Married sequels and the horrific drag of Madea, present in his other films. Good Deeds is evidence that Perry’s talent as both a writer and a director has matured and that his reputation and financial success are affording him to be able to attract a more auspicious professional set of actors such as Thandie Newton from Beloved who brought real depth and feeling to her role as someone who experiences hard times. The diverse music track is also worth mentioning and brings a lot of texture and feeling to the plot, conveying the necessary emotional dimension at the right time which regulates spectator’s reaction and moods from laughter to tears to anger.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The De-Kay by Kay Ordeen
I didn’t paint my toes and I didn’t groom my hair
I had been sick and under repair
I didn’t mean for them to stare
I just wanted to remain bare
To see if he would still care
Needless to say he failed
But to his own avail;
He says he still loves me
But he left out
“only when you are pre-tty”
Now that I am healed, my emotions are cold
And they refuse to respond to his breathless hold.
He cannot understand what he has done to me
To have ignited such repeal.
Because all I’ve been is polite
For in me there is no spite
And in my body there is no fight
I was not screening him, I’m sure
But he has failed his own tests galore
Now we should go our separate ways
But instead we latch on to these our ending days
Is there hope for us I ask?
As I gently put on back my mask
I get stronger every day
And rebuild my walls from their de-kay.
I had been sick and under repair
I didn’t mean for them to stare
I just wanted to remain bare
To see if he would still care
Needless to say he failed
But to his own avail;
He says he still loves me
But he left out
“only when you are pre-tty”
Now that I am healed, my emotions are cold
And they refuse to respond to his breathless hold.
He cannot understand what he has done to me
To have ignited such repeal.
Because all I’ve been is polite
For in me there is no spite
And in my body there is no fight
I was not screening him, I’m sure
But he has failed his own tests galore
Now we should go our separate ways
But instead we latch on to these our ending days
Is there hope for us I ask?
As I gently put on back my mask
I get stronger every day
And rebuild my walls from their de-kay.
Rock Music Coming Out of Jamaica?
Last Thursday, February 16, 2012, the Institute of Caribbean Studies and Reggae Studies unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona hosted the 15th Annual Bob Marley Lecture. Over the last four years that I have been attending this particular lecture, the various presenters have sought to look at issues emanating from Bob’s life such as: the politics involved in the relationship of the Wailers; Africa; Rastafari and Dancehall. But this year, Professor Mike Alleyne, a UWI PhD in Literatures of English Graduate, colourfully and excitedly exposed a rather captivated audience to “For the Record: Bob Marley’s Island Albums and the 40th Anniversary of Catch A Fire”
The presentation was filled with some lively and vivid slides of album covers and a sharp demonstration in sounds of the different kinds of mixing of Marley’s music over the years. This year, the lecture was actually about Marley’s music, how it was made, mixed and marketed.
The term ‘Island Albums’ refer to those Albums which were executively produced and marketed by Chris Blackwell’s Island Records. Alleyne in his presentation looked at the first such album, Catch a Fire, now in its fortieth year, in relation to all the other Island Albums which came after and compared their successes. Of course he spent quite a bit of time on Catch A Fire showing his audience how the mixing, the album cover and the sequencing of the songs contributed to its success on the overseas market.
It was rather surprising to hear that it was marketed as ‘rock reggae’ over and against ‘raw reggae’ to the international community as Blackwell believed that at that time in 1972 rock music was what appealed to patrons. And so, Catch A Fire was popular and successful beyond Jamaica because of its foreign rock infusions in the mixing of the songs. To demonstrate his point, Alleyne played a piece of the local version of Stir It Up and also the rock version which was marketed abroad. This, much to his audience pleasure and delight. Indeed the sounds are different, but the question is which sound is better and is there an ‘authentic’ sound for reggae music? In order to make the discussion a little more complicated, Alleyne showed Marley in an interview who when asked about the mixing answered “…plenty music get lost in mixing”.
In the cross cultural synthesis of Catch A Fire, even the album cover was rock focused. Alleyne believes that “the cover represents the epitome of album packaging”. And it was not until later on that the cover with Marley smoking the ganja spliff came out. The other Island albums, Survival, Kaya, Rastaman Vibration, Uprising and even Exedous were not as popular as Catch a Fire which was a work of artistic contradictions.
This year’s Bob Marley lecture is the best I have attended so far and undoubtedly, this was due to the high quality of the presentation. The venue, the Neville Hall Lecture Theatre added some amount of essence to the affair over and against the laid back, free flow attitude that one usually gets when events of such cultural importance are held at the Undercroft.
The presentation was filled with some lively and vivid slides of album covers and a sharp demonstration in sounds of the different kinds of mixing of Marley’s music over the years. This year, the lecture was actually about Marley’s music, how it was made, mixed and marketed.
The term ‘Island Albums’ refer to those Albums which were executively produced and marketed by Chris Blackwell’s Island Records. Alleyne in his presentation looked at the first such album, Catch a Fire, now in its fortieth year, in relation to all the other Island Albums which came after and compared their successes. Of course he spent quite a bit of time on Catch A Fire showing his audience how the mixing, the album cover and the sequencing of the songs contributed to its success on the overseas market.
It was rather surprising to hear that it was marketed as ‘rock reggae’ over and against ‘raw reggae’ to the international community as Blackwell believed that at that time in 1972 rock music was what appealed to patrons. And so, Catch A Fire was popular and successful beyond Jamaica because of its foreign rock infusions in the mixing of the songs. To demonstrate his point, Alleyne played a piece of the local version of Stir It Up and also the rock version which was marketed abroad. This, much to his audience pleasure and delight. Indeed the sounds are different, but the question is which sound is better and is there an ‘authentic’ sound for reggae music? In order to make the discussion a little more complicated, Alleyne showed Marley in an interview who when asked about the mixing answered “…plenty music get lost in mixing”.
In the cross cultural synthesis of Catch A Fire, even the album cover was rock focused. Alleyne believes that “the cover represents the epitome of album packaging”. And it was not until later on that the cover with Marley smoking the ganja spliff came out. The other Island albums, Survival, Kaya, Rastaman Vibration, Uprising and even Exedous were not as popular as Catch a Fire which was a work of artistic contradictions.
This year’s Bob Marley lecture is the best I have attended so far and undoubtedly, this was due to the high quality of the presentation. The venue, the Neville Hall Lecture Theatre added some amount of essence to the affair over and against the laid back, free flow attitude that one usually gets when events of such cultural importance are held at the Undercroft.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Natural Disasters: Let us be mindful
On January 12, 2011, the world and Haiti remembered the great devastation which Haiti experienced in the form of an earthquake one year ago. To date, the country, with all the 'promised' international aid and assistance has made very little progress in rebuilding as 800,000 people are still living in tents and make shift dwellings. The makeshift homes are made up of tarpaulin and pieces of cardboard boxes while the lesser quality ones are made up of sheets or other sown together pieces of cloth.
As if the earthquake was not overwhelming enough, later in the year (2010) Haiti was hit with a cholera epidemic where so far about 2,500 people have died. With all the attention that that country has been getting, no semblance of order has been able to take form there so as to benefit the Haitian people in any meaningful way. The general consensus is that the country's political leadership lacks the capacity and is not up to the task to make any real impact in rebuilding the country.
Haiti has not been the only country struck by disaster. Sri Lanka is now feeling the effects of a massive flood in which more than 360,000 of its people have been displaced. Twenty Seven persons died as a result and 12 are missing and fear dead.
Brisbane, Australia's third largest city has also experienced weeks of rain and flooding where more than half of its buildings, both residential and commercial, have been completely covered by flood waters. So far, at least 22 persons have died and 50 are missing. Many residents have had to vacate their homes forcing them to stay with family and friends as 40,000 homes have been affected.
Brazil too has suffered devastation from a massive mud slide. Urban planners have said that the devastation was able to escalate due to the illegal buildings which exist mainly in what we would call "the inner-cities" in the north of Rio de Janeiro. And they too struggle to restore order to their country in which 500 persons have died as a result and vehicles cannot drive because of blocked roads.
With everything that is happening around the world, I cannot help but wonder if our (Jamaica's) time will come. Of course, there might be some scientific explanations and no doubt numerous speculations as to why so many natural disasters are taking place but whatever the reason, we need to be mindful of what is going on around us and help in any way we can.
As if the earthquake was not overwhelming enough, later in the year (2010) Haiti was hit with a cholera epidemic where so far about 2,500 people have died. With all the attention that that country has been getting, no semblance of order has been able to take form there so as to benefit the Haitian people in any meaningful way. The general consensus is that the country's political leadership lacks the capacity and is not up to the task to make any real impact in rebuilding the country.
Haiti has not been the only country struck by disaster. Sri Lanka is now feeling the effects of a massive flood in which more than 360,000 of its people have been displaced. Twenty Seven persons died as a result and 12 are missing and fear dead.
Brisbane, Australia's third largest city has also experienced weeks of rain and flooding where more than half of its buildings, both residential and commercial, have been completely covered by flood waters. So far, at least 22 persons have died and 50 are missing. Many residents have had to vacate their homes forcing them to stay with family and friends as 40,000 homes have been affected.
Brazil too has suffered devastation from a massive mud slide. Urban planners have said that the devastation was able to escalate due to the illegal buildings which exist mainly in what we would call "the inner-cities" in the north of Rio de Janeiro. And they too struggle to restore order to their country in which 500 persons have died as a result and vehicles cannot drive because of blocked roads.
With everything that is happening around the world, I cannot help but wonder if our (Jamaica's) time will come. Of course, there might be some scientific explanations and no doubt numerous speculations as to why so many natural disasters are taking place but whatever the reason, we need to be mindful of what is going on around us and help in any way we can.
Friday, October 15, 2010
The 33 - The Chilean Miners' Rescue
I believe that the story of the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners who spent sixty nine days underground could be named the story of the year. It is indeed a story of human resilience and perseverance, solidarity, hope kept alive and of a people determined to work together to keep 33 of their people alive, safe and well.
On August 5 this year 33 miners from Chile were trapped underground when a tunnel collapsed while working at the San Jose Mine located about 700 km north of Santiago. Mining is one of the main earners of foreign exchange for Chile and provides 40 percent of income for Chileans. So on August 5, while they were doing what Miners do, there was an explosion, the mine caved in and sent them underground. For the first 17 days no one knew if they were alive or dead. Families waited in hope and with faith never ceasing to pray. Then after much drilling and searching, a face surfaced on one of the devices and a note was sent subsequently telling the world that all 33 of them were alive and ok. A note the President, Sebastian Pinera kept with him for the entire time the miners were trapped underground. Hope soared and families waited with great anticipation while the government worked on a plan to get them out alive.
The rescue effort in and of itself was remarkably coordinated. Headed by the Minister of Mining, it involved hundred of rescue workers, some who are experienced miners, engineers and basically a wide variety of technical expertise. The NASA team from the United States played a significant role giving advice and sharing technical equipment all of which contributed to a mastermind of turning what could have been a disaster into probably the most remarkable, joyful, touching story of the year.
Now that the 33 are out, everything is not smooth sailing. Thankfully, except for two of the men, all of them are in very good health and at the time of writing most of them have been sent home. But the not so nice issues surround some of the men, their wives and their mistresses. It has come to light that about 5 of the men have more than one family. Some of the sweethearts (or second families) claim not to have known about the legitimate families and of course the wives did not know about the sweethearts. An expert consultant in relationship (man-woman) matters could tell from the first "hugs" out of the hole which of those wives had found out that their husbands have been having affairs. Then there is the matter of the pact that the men made while underground that they would evenly divide proceeds gained from any interviews done by anyone or a sub-group of them. Will this hold? or will some dipping into the cookie jar occur?
Another issue that needs to be carefully looked at and monitored is the psychological state of both the miners and their loved ones. The mothers, the sisters, wives and children who do not wish for their men to go back and work in the mines. No one can imagine what they went through, especially in the first 17 days when no one knew if they were alive, nor did the miners know that Chile had not given up on the possibility that they might be alive. The special bond and comradeship that was formed by the men while underground is what is going to keep them healthy. In other words, they have to keep the group active and alive and in doing so they have to help each other and their families as well. In maintaining the bonds formed, this will lessen the psychological deterrents that may arise as a result of the ordeal itself. Hopefully they will keep the pact so every can benefit.
The story is still unfolding, the President has closed the Mine saying no mining will be done there again. He has promised to improve the working and safety conditions of Miners in Chile through renewed and revived legislation. The younger members of the 33 can go back to school if they so desire. The men themselves have given thanks to God over and over and so has the President. The ordeal has united the country and has given its people a renewed hope and sense of pride.
On August 5 this year 33 miners from Chile were trapped underground when a tunnel collapsed while working at the San Jose Mine located about 700 km north of Santiago. Mining is one of the main earners of foreign exchange for Chile and provides 40 percent of income for Chileans. So on August 5, while they were doing what Miners do, there was an explosion, the mine caved in and sent them underground. For the first 17 days no one knew if they were alive or dead. Families waited in hope and with faith never ceasing to pray. Then after much drilling and searching, a face surfaced on one of the devices and a note was sent subsequently telling the world that all 33 of them were alive and ok. A note the President, Sebastian Pinera kept with him for the entire time the miners were trapped underground. Hope soared and families waited with great anticipation while the government worked on a plan to get them out alive.
The rescue effort in and of itself was remarkably coordinated. Headed by the Minister of Mining, it involved hundred of rescue workers, some who are experienced miners, engineers and basically a wide variety of technical expertise. The NASA team from the United States played a significant role giving advice and sharing technical equipment all of which contributed to a mastermind of turning what could have been a disaster into probably the most remarkable, joyful, touching story of the year.
Now that the 33 are out, everything is not smooth sailing. Thankfully, except for two of the men, all of them are in very good health and at the time of writing most of them have been sent home. But the not so nice issues surround some of the men, their wives and their mistresses. It has come to light that about 5 of the men have more than one family. Some of the sweethearts (or second families) claim not to have known about the legitimate families and of course the wives did not know about the sweethearts. An expert consultant in relationship (man-woman) matters could tell from the first "hugs" out of the hole which of those wives had found out that their husbands have been having affairs. Then there is the matter of the pact that the men made while underground that they would evenly divide proceeds gained from any interviews done by anyone or a sub-group of them. Will this hold? or will some dipping into the cookie jar occur?
Another issue that needs to be carefully looked at and monitored is the psychological state of both the miners and their loved ones. The mothers, the sisters, wives and children who do not wish for their men to go back and work in the mines. No one can imagine what they went through, especially in the first 17 days when no one knew if they were alive, nor did the miners know that Chile had not given up on the possibility that they might be alive. The special bond and comradeship that was formed by the men while underground is what is going to keep them healthy. In other words, they have to keep the group active and alive and in doing so they have to help each other and their families as well. In maintaining the bonds formed, this will lessen the psychological deterrents that may arise as a result of the ordeal itself. Hopefully they will keep the pact so every can benefit.
The story is still unfolding, the President has closed the Mine saying no mining will be done there again. He has promised to improve the working and safety conditions of Miners in Chile through renewed and revived legislation. The younger members of the 33 can go back to school if they so desire. The men themselves have given thanks to God over and over and so has the President. The ordeal has united the country and has given its people a renewed hope and sense of pride.
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