Last year at this time, the Ministry of Health was warning us to help control the mosquito population. We needed to get rid of standing water and trash and use repellents. This warning was a result of the horrible ChikV outbreak.

This year, after a long drought and now a bout of heavy rain (Thank God), the mosquitos are out in full force. They are huge and fat and descend on you in seconds. I have been a victim the past couple of evenings, my legs are all scratched up. However, this year, according to the Ministry of Health, the mosquitos of 2015 are not a threat.

This letter to the editor in the Gleaner makes some good points. Why is the Ministry telling people not to be concerned about these “vectors”? Instead, they are saying that they can cause “discomfort.” What happened to ChikV? Dengue? ZikV?

The Ministry is also asking people to contact them to indicate which areas need fogging. Do they not have a “vector control” plan? Did they not foresee the drought letting up and the rains coming? It seems to happen every year…

For the first time in history, a Jamaican has won the Man Booker Prize. Congratulations to Marlon James, whose novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, tells a fictional story of the murder of Bob Marley. In an interview, James revealed that a previous novel was rejected 78 times. A lesson in believing in oneself no matter what.

As it should be, James’ win is the top story for both the Jamaica Gleaner and Observer. Congratulations!

I continue to work with Global Reporters for the Caribbean and was delighted to learn last week that their investigative television program 18 Degrees North won an award for its coverage of the Tivoli incursion in May 2010.

The episode looked at the victims of one of Jamaica’s bloodiest incidents, in which at least 70 people were killed when authorities attempted to extradite convicted criminal Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke to the United States on drug charges. Producer and CEO Zahra Burton and her team worked diligently to uncover the real number of civilian deaths, which is still shrouded in uncertainty. They also paid tribute to the lives lost.

The episode was so well-received (and perhaps in an indication of just how little is still known about the incursion) that the current chairman of the ongoing West Kingston Commission of Enquiry, INDECOM and several other notable parties requested copies of the 18 Degrees North episodes. The episodes have also been mentioned several times in the ongoing testimony.

The team was awarded third place, with the honor officially called the Jamaica Broilers Group Fair Play Award for Excellence. Congratulations to Zahra and the team! Here is the link to the story on the topic. It is clear that more of this type of investigative journalism is necessary here in Jamaica and the Caribbean at large.

Our beautiful baby girl arrived this Tuesday morning. She is perfect and we are in love and blessed and grateful.

This is really cute- Usain Bolt on the Ellen Show challenged by an 8-year-old boy.

A new documentary on the epidemic of the sexual abuse of children here in Jamaica, by Sarah Manley. Check it out here.

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is on the island. On our way home last night, we saw his motorcade pass us by and enter the Governor General’s residence. The motor cade, surprisingly, consisted of only two motorcycles, one black car and one other car. However, there was an aircraft buzzing around all night and this morning still, so I expect that has something to do with the visit.

Cameron will address Parliament today, with the goal of discussing trade and the nations’ historic links. The Jamaican Prime Minister, Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller, however, has a different idea in mind. She wants to discuss reparations. This is the first visit by a U.K. Prime Minister in 14 years. I imagine he is not too keen on discussing Britain’s links to slavery, despite a growing push from advocacy groups. From a Guardian story:

Bert Samuels, a member of the island’s National Commission on Reparations, appeared on Jamaican television to say Cameron needed to “atone, apologise, personally and on behalf of his country” for slavery.

“His lineage has been traced and his forefathers were slave-owners and benefited from slavery,” he said. “We were left behind because of racism.” This appears to be a reference to the fact that General Sir James Duff, Cameron’s cousin six times removed, received more than £4,000 compensation for loss of 202 Jamaican slaves when the trade ended 1833.

Verene Shephard, a University of West Indies professor and a member of the National Commission on Reparations, has also written a piece in the Guardian today. Another group, the Press Association of Jamaica, is less than thrilled with the visit, as it has filed a formal complaint about Cameron’s refusal to take questions from the media.

It is not all bad news, as the U.K. has promised 300 million pounds to the Caribbean (I wonder which islands and for what causes) and 25 million pounds to construct a prison here to house Jamaicans who are incarcerated in the U.K. Hmmmm….

Photo courtesy of Loop Jamaica

With all that is plaguing Jamaica (water shortages, crime, child abuse, the economy…you can go on), this is what draws thousands of people out of their homes on a Sunday. The threat of homosexuality. According to Loop Jamaica, 20,000 people protested homosexuality on Sunday in HalfWay Tree.

Organized by Churches Action Uniting Society for Emancipation (CAUSE), the rally protested homosexual unions. From the story:

According to Chairman of Jamaica CAUSE, Stevenson Samuels, the rally was organised not to fight against homosexuality but to give heterosexuals a voice.

“We are defending anything that frees up the people of this nation. Anything that holds people down, anything that binds people, anything that enslaves people, anything that doesn’t release them from what God made them to be, we are against,” Stephenson told Loop News.

It is hard to understand the logic: to take time out of your day to protest a relationship expressing love. To be so driven by fear and hate…It is hard to understand.