Dennis A. Minott | How silence dependably fortifies daily evil

One silence listens, another grieves, and another protects a frightened person from retaliation. None of these deserves our contempt. Yet there is also wicked silence: the calculated see-no-evil, hear-no-evil posture of people who understand the injury, possess the means to challenge it, and decide that their creature comforts and their latest little paramour dolly-house romp-times deserve priority over somebody else’s humanity. In Jamaica, such silence becomes the lavishly upholstered tool of abandonment.

Calling something evil requires evidence and moral judgement, not merely dislike of a politician. An allegation is not a conviction; inefficiency is not automatically corruption. Yet knowingly tolerating preventable suffering crosses a moral line. When decision-makers recognise serious harm, possess the means to reduce it, and consciously refuse to act, neglect becomes a moral failure that treats human beings as collateral damage to institutional convenience.

Patient accounts published by the Jamaica Observer on September 27 described waiting from Friday until Sunday for a bed at Kingston Public Hospital, while another report spoke of a three-year surgical waiting list. Other patients praised compassionate staff and effective treatment. That balance counts: dedicated professionals often keep strained services humane.

Abandonment begins when testimony becomes background noise. A patient’s exhausted voice should trigger an answer, investigation where necessary, and a remedy. It should not require a viral video. Announcements, buildings, and budgets must be judged against the person waiting in pain. Silence beneath a thunderstorm of publicity is still silence.

The auditor general’s January report on the University Hospital of the West Indies identified governance, procurement, and contract-management deficiencies. Audit findings do not establish that every official is dishonest. They nevertheless demand correction, disclosure, and follow-through. Health Minister Christopher Tufton’s announced oversight reforms merit acknowledgement. They also require dates, responsible officers, and published results.

The Government’s August announcement of 60 locations offering free public access cannot, by itself, answer a community’s complaint about reaching a particular bay. Coastal development must answer questions about lawful routes, fishing livelihoods, and consultation. Citizens are not hell-sent enemies of tourism because they ask whether development includes them. A country marketed as paradise must remain a homeland for citizens.

The Gleaner reported on October 3 that the Insurance Association of Jamaica said only 49 per cent of US-dollar-denominated claims had been fully settled and paid by the end of September. Complexity may explain delays. It cannot make prolonged uncertainty harmless. Workers and small operators need explanations, realistic timetables, and effective redress.

Now consider the accommodation proposed for the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA). In the news report, “Opposition cites law in push for public property to house NaRRA”, The Gleaner described an announced J$115 million annual rental for Digicel’s downtown Kingston facility and subsequent government scaling back following public criticism.

The report recorded Opposition Leader Mark Golding’s invocation of Section 4(4) of the NaRRA Act: existing government capacity should be used where lawful, practicable and appropriate. Ministers should publish the alternatives examined, comparative costs, and reasons for their choice. This controversy warrants scrutiny. It does not, by itself, prove corruption or illegality.

Fairness requires acknowledging Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon’s explanation, reported by The Gleaner, that one suggested alternative had leaks and significant electrical problems. An unsuitable building is no solution. But that strengthens the case for documented assessment. Public criticism has prompted a response. Sustained scrutiny must secure the evidence. Reconstruction must serve distressed communities with demonstrable financial discipline.

There is also partisan silence: the sudden loss of moral vocabulary when the accused wears our preferred colour. A scandal unacceptable under one administration becomes complicated under another. Neither the Jamaica Labour Party nor the People’s National Party owns a licence to my conscience.

Consider, too, astroturfing: organised advocacy disguised as spontaneous public opinion. Where apparently independent voices conceal common direction, sponsorship, or control, readers are deceived about who is speaking and whose interests are served.

Precision matters here also. A pseudonym does not establish deception; repeated agreement does not prove coordination. We must neither invent puppet masters nor dismiss legitimate disagreement. But credible evidence of concealed orchestration deserves investigation. Who commissions the messages? Who pays? Editors and platform operators should investigate documented manipulation and disclose substantiated findings.

A patient describes neglect; a citizen questions procurement; a fishing community challenges exclusion. An orchestrated chorus can bury the complaint beneath ridicule, diversion, and personal attack. Noise becomes a club for silencing. Media organisations knowingly tolerating deception risk helping powerful interests abandon the public journalism exists to serve.

A hundred echoes cannot transform a slave-catching assertion into evidence. Nor should a-n-y citizen need an army to be heard.

And what of churches, universities, business associations, and influential professionals? Institutional respectability should strengthen the courage to question serious harm. As an educator, I cannot ask young Jamaicans to develop disciplined minds then invite them to suspend judgement before powerful adults.

We must never shame frightened people into reckless exposure. Vulnerable employees and threatened witnesses may need protection before publicity. The greater duty rests with those whose security, office, or standing permits action. Courage includes preserving documents, supporting complainants, and defending independent journalism.

Let every institution confronted with credible evidence answer: What happened? Who must correct it? When will the public see results?

We must speak truthfully, act lawfully, and persist beyond the news cycle. When clear evil reigns, silence threatens Jamaica. And abandonment must never become our respectable national habit.

Dennis Minott, PhD, is the CEO of A-QuEST-FAIR. Send feedback to: a_quest57@yahoo.com or columns@gleanerjm.com.