Boy, I gine tell ya: this is a serious gine down. I could only imagine how some people must feel, going tuh sleep when the night come and wondering if by the same time the following night, duh might be trying tuh sleep because duh ain’t got nuh job.
I am not here tuh paint a picture of doom and gloom. There is enough o’ dat all ovah this island already, but I hope in my simple way I could bring some kinda hope tuh somebody who might be going through this sorta thing and these kinda feelings all like now so.
The other day I come across a article in the NATION newspaper and one o’ the paragraphs hit home tuh me suh hard dat I had tuh read and reread it ’cause I coulda identify wid it right away.
Ya see, some years back I was in a similar position; I wasn’t prepared for it but I lost my job too and it wasn’t anything dat I did. I, like some o’ these people now, didn’t do nutten wrong nor didn’t get fired, but ya just lost ya job.
Anyway, I getting ahead o’ muhself. Leh we get back tuh the article. It said: losing ya job could be o’ the most devastating and traumatic occurrences anybody could experience.
It brings wid it numerous uncertainties as well as a large amount o’ stress, pain and hurt.
It went on tuh say dat wid it comes varying emotions, rage, frustration, denial and the struggle of adaptation. The article went on tuh say dat it has a profound effect on your mental and emotion well-being, especially when the job loss was unexpected.
Dat last statement really hit me hard because I identified wid it right away. Ya see, I lost a good job one time too and I ain’t do one thing. I wasn’t getting in tuh work late, I didn’t curse nor disrespect the boss.
Actually, I loved my job. I was good at it and making enough money dat me and my children coulda enjoy a good lifestyle . . . but I lost my job just so.
I didn’t know how tuh tell anybody dat I had lost my good job. I was shame. I was hurt. I felt so lost and alone and the rejection was unbearable but who the France cared – I lost the job just so and life went on.
I just went by the beach and sat down fuh hours wid all kinds o’ thoughts flying through my head. I didn’t eat fuh the whole day but I wasn’t hungry. I had a numb kinda feeling. I just couldn’t understand it, up tuh this day I don’t. It took a good few years fuh the hurt tuh ease up and it was one o’ the worst times in my life; but I survived it, thank God!
Look, all like now so duh got a lot o’ people faced wid the possibility o’ losing duh jobs and ya gotta remember dat it ain’t nutten the body do or ain’t do, duh just lost duh job. So if you happen tuh see some people getting on in a way dat duh ain’t accustomed tuh getting on, doan lambaste dem, sympathize wid dem. It could be because dat duh might be grieving ovah the loss o’ duh work, duh bread earnings, duh livelihood, all duh plans, goals and dreams.
All kinds o’ things gine be gine through duh minds all the time, like how duh everyday bills gine get paid. How duh children gine get tuh and from school when the day come. How duh gine support duh family. How duh gine maintain duh mortgage and if duh stan’ a chance o’ losing the home dat duh work suh hard tuh build. How duh gine eat. How dem and duh families gine live now dat duh pon the breadline.
Ya see some people only know how tuh work fuh somebody; dem only know ’bout the boss man not ’bout dem being the boss. All some people come along and do is work fuh somebody.
Duh like getting dressed in the morning, getting in duh nice car dat duh ain’t got tuh worry ’bout ’cause the monthly payments coming outta duh salary. Duh like walking in tuh a nice building and a nice office, sitting down behind a nice desk, going out fuh a hour lunch break, leaving at 4:30 and at the end o’ the month receiving a nice pay packet.
What the France some o’ these people gine do now? This is all duh know, but like me, they have tuh be strong, roll wid the punches, look fuh other options and move on.
Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
