Clearly, the 28-day renewal program of Justice and Healing/Judgment and Gathering Nyahbinghi of the Ubuntu Movement (JAH JAH NI), is much more than just another barebones project—it is an opportunity for spiritual cleansing and raising humanity’s awareness of denied against her weaknesses.
Ras Dr. Wayne Rose, general secretary of Jah Jah NI notes that the movement is a ‘call for justice’ and a push to end the rule of colonial governments in the region.
He noted that the module of this justice movement is designed for people to live together in harmony, flourish productively and generally to uplift the human spirit.
“It’s a call for a conversation…in restoring self-esteem to ourselves,” says Dr. Rose.
The purpose of the project, Ras Wayne explained, is that “all of us are looking for leadership, we are looking to have someone to help us or something … a movement, an event, an occasion and so we are now based in St Lucia with governance and people and energy innovation.
“And so, we’re looking to break free, and we’re doing it in emancipation month…a month where we focus not just on a legal act of emancipation, but we talk about free thinkers, as free people, what we must do to was liberated economically, politically, socially and spiritually”.
He adds, “All of these things are intertwined or intertwined in our actions in the rituals that we’re doing, in the planning that we’re doing … such as organizing a Maritime Initiative, where it may include the issue of shipping within the Eastern Caribbean – between St Lucia and its Eastern Caribbean neighbours. “
Ras Wayne also highlighted the importance of food security. He said: “What happens if the high seas are closed if the world goes back into a blockade … and China, North America and Europe decide they can’t export food to us. Don’t we have the resources to mitigate them things… what are our resources, in terms of transportation or whatever?”
He asked what improvements could be made to the action points, “in the same way that Marcus Garvey did over 100 years ago when he started the Black Starliner Shipping Company”.
Ras Wayne said that while Garvey’s ideas were essentially a “brilliant initiative”, it was nonetheless fraught with shortcomings. “So we’re looking at what those deficiencies were, how we got a handle on those things through proper planning, proper staffing, and proper organizational and strategic approaches to ensure that we can get the New World economy right , because the Old World is dead”, he declared.
Dr. Rose proposed that it is the ‘people of African superiority’ who come from the continents of Asia and Africa who will revive the world. “It’s within that image that the renaissance has to be…so St Lucia is a leader in that space because we’re operating in St Lucia together in consort,” he said.
Maritime Justice is one of the main subject areas covered in the project as it has a natural lineage in the history of the Black Star Liner movement undertaken by the late Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
The Maritime Economic Symposium and Documentary Show was held recently from August 2 to 4, as a ‘signature event’ featured in the 28-day event.
The event focused particularly on maritime opportunities, trade and interregional/continental trade. “Establishing a Maritime Economic Symposium is in keeping with the vision of the Right Honorable Marcus Garvey, who founded the Black Starliner Shipping Cooperative in the 1920s,” noted an Ubuntu official.
Another highlight of the project was the public screening of the documentary “Discovery, Discovery of the Truth: Cases for Rastafari Restorative Justice”, which was held at the National Culture Center (NCC) on August 3.
On August 1, in continuation of the rituals of celebrating the 13th decade in the life of Haile Selassie I, the 28-day event – UBUNTU Ras Tafari Cultural Center, in collaboration with the Cultural Development Foundation (CDF), was highlighted. commemorated Emancipation Day with a symbolic “Good Over Evil March” at the Governor General’s residence.
The rally presented a list of ‘Righteous Demands for Restorative Justice of Our People’; while the march included local and international representatives from the many “Houses and Palaces” of the Ras Tafari faith, among other righteous people and cultural groups. The march was led by the Ethiopian African Black International Congress (EABIC).
Most important, says Ras Wayne, is the call for more recognition to be given to the Rastafarian community for their humanitarian work and abilities to contribute meaningfully to the development of society.
He said that representatives of the Rastafarian community met with political leaders to discuss these relevant issues “and what we are saying is not to give us something”.
Ras Wayne adds, “We’re saying we have value … use our value for the good of people.”
He noted that the people of Saint Lucia have “high values, if they are used and if they are given a new framework … if they are given a new vision. And this comes sometimes through books (acquiring knowledge) and re-education that who we are, reaffirming ourselves and increasing our worth.”
Ras Wayne sees the Center’s role as an entity to “help people see their full potential through literature, through communication, through seminars and webinars and conversations that are happening all the time.”
He noted the events that are happening on the ground, “where we go to schools…to community centers and talk to young people about their opportunities and then for them to optimize their values”.
Ras Wayne highlighted the ‘extraordinary qualities’ embedded in the St Lucian community, in producing two Nobel laureates. He added that although this phenomenon may have occurred during ‘their time’, it is nevertheless “the same genes in the people of St Lucia and in the Caribbean”.
The Jamaican also spoke of his country’s contributions to regional development, stating that “Jamaica has made its mark, to the extent that it has perhaps lost focus in terms of leadership … sometimes it is a brother or sister country that can reaffirm and help guide.
“So Jamaica has value, but St. Lucia also has value … and we’re saying let’s complement each other using new leadership.”
He noted that in the recent membership dialogue with Prime Minister Phillip Pierre, the country’s leader underlined the importance of “African education and history as part of his educational strategy”. He said the prime minister also wants to ensure that by the end of his term “at least one member in every family pursues a higher higher education”.
In implementation of the government’s youth economy, Dr. Rose asserted: “You have to have young people trained in new technology areas, in the possibilities that no one else has told them about yet. You have to let them flourish and give them the shell, give them the canvas to let them paint their ideas for the future and the new.”
He added: “So all we need to do is facilitate that through information and the kinds of services, or infrastructures that will help young people maximize their potential.”
Summarizing the endless opportunities that await the people of the Caribbean to build a progressive nation, Dr. Rose declared: “August should really be African People’s History Month. In particular, the African-Caribbean people…and the government of Saint Lucia are focusing on three months (July-September) of Emancipation activities for this year.
“So we welcome those things…we actually feel empowered and like we helped empower that.”
He pointed out: “Because it is not what the government can do for us, it is what we can do and we have a great potential. Even in the Rastafari spaces, as in the educational, cultural, spiritual and economic spheres, we have a lot of potential.”
