Don’t buy you ticket or plan to visit or return to Jamaica without doing this first!!!

 

COVID pandemic has resulted in a lot of bureaucracy. No turning up to your favorite travel agent to buy a ticket on the spot, anymore. Not only do you have to make sure you have been tested negative for coronavirus, within a certain time frame of your flight, but you also have to complete an online form, including a quarantine assessment questionnaire, and have them all approved, prior to buying your ticket.

            The following process may be daunting but as a June 2020, the success rate was a total of 8,418 approvals that had been granted to Jamaicans overseas who had applied to the JamCovid online Ministry of Health system for permission to return “a yaad”, under the controlled re-entry programme. If you are thinking of doing the same, here is some useful information. You will need to go online and complete a re-entry form which is about a 4 pages long and once approved, you will be free to book your flight.

            Before you go online, make sure you have everything you need with you, as some of the sections time out, for example, the security code, or it is going to ask you the full address of where you are going to stay. No point ringing up the person while you are completing the form, it will time you out. Likewise, you can be looking for information in your wallet, on your phone, in an email, or on you PC- you must have everything on hand ready.

            This article is to prepare you in advance.

So before you start-

1.     Have your phone close by you.

2.     Have the email address you have been given, open so you can access the OTC (one-time code), and put it on the phone, which will be counting down (it gives you a few minutes)

3.     Have your passport with you because you will need to information on it, and you will need to take a photograph of it.

4.     Have full name, email address and phone number full street address of the place you are staying.

5.     Have full name, email address, phone number and full street address of your contact person in Jamaica.

6.     You TRN & NIS number, if you are a resident

7.     Parents full name and contact details

8.     Employers full name and contact details

9.     The last date you travelled to Jamaica

10.Details of your return ticket (if couldn’t back because the airport was closed)

11.The address where you are currently living

12.The dates and names of places you have bee to over the last six weeks. Once you have this, go online.

13.Go online under www.jamcovid19.moh.gov.jm

 

Once you have completed the form, click on the voice note and listen to it. You will need to make an attestation that you have read, understand and agree to all the information on the form and that the information is accurate and true.

You will then get a confirmation email, stating that your application has been received but it is not clear how long this process will take. Once you get approval via email proceed to book your ticket.

Declaration of Freedom

Alphonso McGriff

I’ve got no GURANTEES for NOBODY. If we cross paths and enjoy some time, then wonderful I’m having GREAT CHALLENGES with meeting EXPECTATIONS of myself and COMMITMENTS to myself. I CAN NO LONGER LIE to YOU with the idea of meeting YOUR anticipated expectations and commitments from ME…too impossible, too unreasonable, and too stressful

~

TIME don’t give one single damn about how we use it. IT’S GOING TO PASS REGARDLESS.

~

I have chosen to ENJOY TIME such as much as possible. YOU wanna’ ROLL? That’s cool, If not, then that’s cool also, but EXPECT to be DISAPOINTED if there is any hope that I am going to attempt MEET YOU EXPECTATIONS of ME. That’s OVER.

~

Call it SELFISH. Call it WEAK. Call it INSENSITIVE. If that works for YOU, then that’s BEAUTIFUL. But Imma’ do what works for ME ‘cause there is NOTHING more IMPORTANT in this entire existence than HOW I FEEL ‘BOUT ME.

~

…nothing

A brief tirade on insurgency and government

Written by Carol Lawton Jr.

In the timeline of history one thing holds true in regards to governments, liberation movements and paramilitary groups and that is they wrestling for power within the state. These struggles between the factions may be covert, overt or collaborative. But the end result is always the same as the formal structure now has to deal with the dynamics which will always lead to social unrest.



In the development of dictatorships it is the state failure to control and maintain society because of the compromise given to the factions. Democracy is a scaring concept if the parties involve are not willing to safe guard it. Theocracy in of itself cannot be avoided as in any society one religion will be dominant but with this dominance it must allow allows to seek the own enlightenment in the belief of a higher being. Socialism is an artificial state because of the availability of limit resources yet unlimited wants and the difference in talents and ability between people. Capitalism in its pure state is by far the best but pure capitalism without safeguards to protect the weakest of society will lead to corruption and social unrest hence no system is superior.



What is striking is balance is needed between them all. The strong arm of the state while give the citizen the choice to choose which opportunity to purse to build wealth while protecting the weakest to allow them to have access to the capital that they need to survive. Such a system is the ideal but where to the system begin or end.



To have seen democracies where there is none. Socialism in Capitalism is a paradox. The ism of government is illusion as good governance is about making decisions based upon the need of the state. Hence to allow covert or overt groups to develop system above the platform of government will lead to strife and the eventual take over of government. In war torn region, it is the warlord who governs not the state, in inner city fiefdom it is the don through the collection of gains from transaction (unofficial tax), in war, the military rules the ground, and then the terrorists who rule by fear due to their ability to strike.



The state of government can only exist in peace. Hence peace is the objective of all government in the end regardless of the form. So when a state foster insurgency groups or terrorists with agenda against another state they have entered into a formal war under the veil that they are in the country unknown. Functionaries of the state will always have access to the information hence it will always up the chain of command and the objective is the survival of the state and information is key. So when a country like Lebanon allows for Hezbollah to organize, finance, set support social systems and military logistics system it should not be surprise that if it can not destroy its enemy, it will turn against its host like a parasite as it has already undermined the state in that an entity can wage war against sovereign nation and undermine the state ability to protect its borders and deploy diplomatic policy that leads to peace. Woe be unto a state that believe that it can exist in peace while pseudo governments exist within.