Big wishes for Jamaica 56 — Female acts want the country to grow

As the country gears up to celebrate its 56th year as a free nation, a few female artistes have come out to share their wishes for the 876. These entertainers say they are proud of Jamaica, and highlight that while there are many issues that need sorting out, the country has made a lot of progress in 56 years of independence. They also want their fellow countrymen and women to do more to ensure the progress is not stalled.

Dancehall artiste Spice celebrates her birthday on Independence Day, and she told THE WEEKEND STAR that for obvious reasons, the day is very special to her. She considers herself blessed to share a birthday with her country and wants all Jamaicans to realise how blessed they are as well. She said that her wish for Jamaica is that the country will try harder to hold on to more of its assets.

"This day is an extremely special day for me as it is also my birthday and my dream for the country is to see Jamaica become more independent. We should have owned our own highway," she lamented. "I want the Government to stop selling out the country, because while we are independent, if they keep selling pieces of the country to different foreigners, very soon we won't own our country anymore. Also, I want all these Chinese contracts that they signing to stop, and I want them to stop sending for foreigners to work. They need to start supporting the locals with labour so the youths can become more independent."

With that said, the artiste expressed that she is most proud of the progress the country has made in aiding lower and middle class men and women to own their own homes.

LACKING UNITY

Dancehall's first lady D'Angel also has wishes for the country.

"As the country celebrates 56 years, I can't stress enough how much unity is lacking in our society. We have to learn to love more and treat each other like family because we are one. Also, men need to respect women and children more and stop abusing and killing them," she said. "Fathers also need to stop being absentees in their children's lives, especially the boys they need strong leadership and to be taught how to be men, especially in these trying times. I'm tired of seeing single mothers struggling. The fathers need to play their role so our boys can learn to be better men."

Raine Seville, who is set to release a new track as a tribute to Jamaica on Independence Day, also shared her wishes for Jamaica 56.

"I definitely would want the cost of living to drop, it a get outta hand now. The dollar value is really low, is like we money nuh worth nutten again. I am happy right now with the number of roads I'm seeing being fixed, we definitely needed that, and I want to see more developments like these as we celebrate more years as an independent nation. I also want people to live more loving. Me wah people walk free a road, me wah people be more willing fi help others too."

Meanwhile, Stylysh says she wants more opportunities for young people as the country continues its development.

"I want more inner-city youths to get the opportunity to be educated. I would love for people to try and get a skill or something and do less lurking on corners because the devil find work for idlers," she said. "My ultimate wish for the country is for a lower crime rate. We want to go back to the days when people live until them grow old and die."