Cross Regional meeting on Violence Against Children, cool art, and a glimpse of Kingston

Kingston, Jamaica

We arrived in Kingston on Monday morning and headed straight to the first day of the cross regional conference on violence against children, chaired by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children along with Lisa Hanna, the Jamaican Minster of Youth and Culture and also Miss World in 1993 – still beautiful.

After the conference we went to the Red Bones restaurant in New Kingston, where we came across amazing Richard Nadoo and his exhibition “Reverbation of the Silent Echo”.. I was enchanted by the details and colours in his art, and the very complex story connecting the pieces. My favourite piece was already sold which made me really sad but I might get the opportunity to buy something from him at some other point. The food was nice and the atmosphere very cozy in Red Bones, despite the lack of promised live music.

On the second day of the conference participants from different organisations and regions continued sharing their experiences and challenges related to child protection, and the sessions ended with a presentation by Jamaican youth on the issues that they feel affect them the most.

After the conference we went to Bob Marley’s house, which has been transformed into a museum. Photography was unfortunately not allowed, but looking into Bob Marley’s recording studio, kitchen and bedroom, with all of their cool details and cool carpets and beautiful instruments was very interesting, and I actually never knew Bob Marley’s father was an Englishman who died when Bob Marley was 10 years old.

On our last evening I stayed in, relaxing for a bit before the 3am wake up call and airport pick up, and then we did the long trip through Miami airport – back to Belize, back to the breeze, back home. :)

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Richard Nattoo art

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

Shoot the DJ, mon – you’re in Jamaica.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

A car swooshes by. “Y’all wanna buy sum Bob Marley?!” the driver shouts at us, while uniformed police hang out just a block away. Welcome to Jamaica.

Knowing that we had a conference to attend in Kingston on Monday, we decided to fly to Jamaica already on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend there and get a feel of the country. We flew over to Montego Bay on the northern coast of the island early Saturday morning – and got two days in the beach town. The water was clear as glass and people were generally utterly friendly. We had heard so many bad stories about how rude people are in Jamaica, how racist and insulting they can be and how dangerous it is to walk around as a tourist – but we got none of that. People were curious to chat, kids were confident and eager to play, strangers were smiling, and everybody wanted to share their Mary Jane. We kindly declined the offers and only stayed within the safe areas after dark – at most times we were the only foreigners around – and it was completely fine.

We spent our days playing on the beach and in the water, and the evenings having nice dinners. On Saturday night we danced, which was an experience in itself. Little did I know that many of the Dancehall songs have specific steps to them that the entire club does together, and at first I didn’t understand why the people would get all ecstatic, jump in the air and then pretend to “shoot the DJ” when a new song came on. I later got the explanation that “pra pra prra!” with a pistol-formed hand in the air is an expression of joy rather than aggression. “We show the DJ that we like the song, that we appreciate his work!” That’s how normalized the relationship to fire arms is in Jamaica. It’s sad and it’s scary – but nobody seems to mind.

I bought Red-Yellow-Green rasta juggling balls in Montego Bay. Six years ago a beautiful clown taught me how to juggle but I lost the skill as I fell out of love. I decided to learn again, thanks to Jamaica. A bit cheesy, a bit symbolic, it will be a practice in juggling and combining pleasure with responsibilities. Celebrating life and professionalism at the same time. Finding time to disconnect, but continue loving my job and giving it the time it requires.

It will remind me of all the emails sent and the one-hour work related Skype call I had just a moment before taking the photo above. And how I enjoyed it all.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay

Montego Bay

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, JamaicaMontego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, JamaicaMontego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, JamaicaMontego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, JamaicaMontego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica