The Ministry of Education (MoE) will not be supporting a ‘keep the peace’ campaign which was intended for the National Park today with Jamaican dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel prior to a performance here this weekend.
It was the latest fallout here over Jamaican stars and their lyrics and the potential for negative influence, in this case, on schoolchildren.
The organizers of the event, Hits and Jams Promotions, held a meeting with the Education Ministry yesterday, with the former proposing an interactive forum for students with the artiste and other members of his band today at the venue for this weekend’s show, the National Park. The organizers were forced to cancel the forum following the meeting.
According to a release from the Education Ministry, the department has reaffirmed its commitment to moulding the minds of young people. While acknowledging that music plays an integral role in one’s daily life, the ministry stated that part of its mandate is to promote wholesome and healthy lifestyle choices.
The release from the Education Ministry stated that there is the need to maintain an enabling environment where acceptable and desirable activities are fostered and in this regard, extended a call to partners in education and edutainment to work with the ministry to achieve this goal.
The MoE appealed to parents, guardians and civic minded citizens “to join with us as we raise our voices toward a violence free school environment, and to maintain order and discipline on the last day of school.”
The artiste who was born Adidja Azim Palmer and a contingent called ‘the Portmore Empire’ is being brought to Guyana by Conscious Mind Promotions with Hits and Jams being the organizers of the show. The group which includes ‘Black Rhino’ and ‘Gaza Youth’, is expected to perform in Guyana tomorrow. Palmer’s visit to Guyana comes amid a perceived ‘Gully-Gaza’ feud with his arch-rival Mavado, who had a ban lifted here against him in September. Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon later stated that the artiste was given a chance to redeem himself as some sections of society came out against the government’s decision.
Kerwyn Bollers of Hits and Jams promotion told Stabroek News yesterday that today’s intended forum was a good opportunity to have Vybz Kartel provide his fans, more so youths, with “what to be seen and what not to be seen as entertainment”. He said that Vybz Kartel and Mavado, the latter who was born David Constantine Brooks, both came to an agreement earlier this week in Jamaica, pledging to end their lyrical feud which has perturbed educators on the island because of the school violence it has fuelled.
Bollers said that the lengthy meeting held with Education Ministry officials was fruitful though a bit disappointing. He said that the planned interactive forum would have seen representatives from Non-Governmental Organizations such as the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) as well as members of the media participating in the event, adding that Vybz Kartel had given his commitment to participate in the event and he and his contingent would have been open to comments from those in attendance.
He said that Education Ministry officials felt that the forum was a good idea but were not in agreement with two aspects of the planned event, those being: that Vybz Kartel does not suit the image of someone who can be a good influence to school children and, that the Ministry has had several challenges dealing with the last day of school activities over the years.
However, all is not lost, Bollers stated, since according to him, the Ministry has given its commitment to participating in similar events in the future, once such events satisfy certain requirements and he noted that from January next year, Hits and Jams Promotions has a full calendar of activities where similar interactive activities are planned.
The two dancehall stars have given the Jamaican government their commitment to end the feud, which began in 2006 and which has spilled over into violent clashes on the island’s streets as well as in other parts of the Caribbean. “People need to realize that David and I have never had any personal animosity over the years. Sometimes people take things out of context, especially impressionable minds,” Vybz Kartel was quoted as saying in the Jamaican media following the meeting.
Both artistes issued public statements recently that their music was not intended to create negative influences. The Jamaica Gleaner reported that the two artistes met with three government officials on the island on December 8 to bring an end to the use of degrading lyrics they have traded with each other and to also issue a call to their respective supporters to end the fuss.
