Dear Nesta,
I got a favour to axe! Yuh t’ink yuh could put dis li’l islan’ ’pon yuh prayer lis’? An’ get yuh church frien’s to help we out as well? Wuh, I en know wuh happenin’ to we dese days! Evah time yuh turn ’roun’, um is only depressin’ news yuh hearin’! Dis certainly en de Buhbayduss I ’ccustom to!
Now you know Philomena does keep up wid wuhevah affeckin’ Buhbayduss, bofe at home an’ wheyevah else, an’ las’ week she come wavin’ a newspaper at muh wid de lates’! It seem overseas investors don’ counk we fuh much dese days!
A financial adviser from dah big overseas inves’ment firm, Oppenheimer & Comp’ny, get quote recently in a Jamaica newspaper as sayin’ dat aldoh Jamaica been strugglin’ wid duh economy fuh over t’irty years – t’irty years, mine yuh! – dem still is a mo’ attractive prospeck fuh investors dan Buhbayduss!
An’ ’e din stop dey! He went on to say dat we en yet got de art – like Jamaica – o’ dealin’ wid international investors, an’ as a result, we losin’ out in dah arena!
It en no wonder Guvment din get nowhey when duh went-’way recently, offerin’ to sell 2025 bon’s to buy back debt due in 2021! I onderstan’ duh even had to pos’pone plans to raise US$500 millon o’ debt ’pon de international market. As dis gentleman explain, dey en much interes’ right now fuh Buhbayduss debt, an’ he feel mo’ safe to hol’ Jamaica debt at dis time! Lord mek peace! It don’ soun’ good! How we get to dis position?
At dah p’int I c’n believe wuh Philomena was tellin’ muh an’ had to axe ef she had on she readin’ glasses (she got two pairs fuh diff’rent reasons, y’know)! It hurt muh heart, faif, when I remember how we was once ’mong de “top dogs” when it come to de international community, who had neffin but respeck fuh dis country. An’ now, duh gi’in’ we de ‘col’ shoulder?
Fuh a li’l islan’ dat was once well ’pon de way o’ becomin’ a “developed country”, news like dis en good to hear! But I suppose sence we drop to junk bon’ status – I got to fin’ out ef dah change yet – overseas investors regard we in a diff’rent light!
B’looka how we fortunes change, neh? An’ in sech a short space o’ time! To t’ink dat I once us-ed to be pompasettin ’pon muh Caribbean frien’s! Now I got to keep muh mout’ pin, ’specially when it come to muh Trini frien’ – fuh reasons you well know! Nowadays, she dyin’ wid laffter, tellin’ muh I livin’ in “Bartrin”!
De way dis “Bajan ship” tumblin’ hithuh an’ t’ithuh in dese rough seas, mek yuh wonder whey de captain is! I remember when Mr Sandiford had ’e problems, at leas’ he decide to tek de bull by de horns an’ do wuh he t’ought was right to turn t’ings ’roun’, wevver Bajans accep’ ’e decision or not!
Ness, yuh onderstan’ now why I comin’ to axe fuh prayers? Is only a miracle to stop we from slidin’ furthuh! I know you an’ yuh frien’s is good “Prayer Warriors”, but when yuh prayin’, I would like yuh to add-in dis li’l bit! Axe de Fathuh to put de correck t’oughts in de heads o’ de ones in charge, so duh onderstan’ we realize wuh happenin’, an’ so mek a serious effort to bring we outta dis darkness dat evahbody only fumblin’ ’bout in!
Philomena an’ muhself is firm believers in miracles an’ we know dat once wunna sen’ up dem prayers, somet’ing good boun’ to happen, an’ we gine get de “turn ’roun’” we need like never befo’!
Tek care o’ yuhself.
Yuh frien’, Babsie.
