:: Life And Debt

Behind the beautiful Jamaican images of a gorgeous beach, sun-tanned tourists, the backdrop of surf as a wedding takes place, and generally luxurious surroundings, lies a serious discrepancy. He history of Jamaica and its interactions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and US aid shows how the economy has suffered.

This scenario forms the basis of the documentary by Stephanie Black. We contrast the lovely Montego Bay, a haven for holiday dwellers and Kingston, home of the “Free Market Zone”, where workers come in the tax-free IMF-sponsored sweatshop for a pittance, to help produce for big companies. It does little for the country’s coffers and for putting food on the dinner table.

Naturally, tourists don’t see the local plight. The tourism industry continues to thrive as the slums of Kingston are well and truly kept out of sight. The documentary makes all these connections in an aggressive manner. The huge national debt makes the island paradise look like hell and somewhere from which one can sense an upsurge of discontent to the point of a possible revolution. The rise in anti-globalisation movements can be attributed to situations like this, and even lead to concerted campaigns.

The film/documentary includes history lessons and archival footage of speeches that has led to the accumulated national debt. Stephanie Black uses interviews with former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley from 1976. They give a clever viewpoint. There are also interviews with the farmers who lost their businesses because of “free trade”, and the virtual slave workers. Black puts her case well in believing that the IMF exists only for the benefit of large Western nations, and not fulfilling its aim at globalising the developing nations’ economies.

Overall, it’s an insightful and relentless picture of an example of a third world country struggling into the new millennium and being a pawn in the battle for control.

Screening at the Lumiere Cinemas