More than 2000 signators secured so far
A petition requesting that Jamaica’s government and parliament immediately declare three consecutive days of national mourning, fasting and prayer, repentance and reconciliation has already amassed more than 2000 signatures and is expected to be sent to the authorities soon.
The petition, which was read recently by executive director of the Freedom Come Ministries International, Apostle Jeffrey Shuttleworth, has been signed by Christians from several denominations across the island. Among the several requests in the petition is that the political leaders publicly repent and pledge to end corruption, crime and violence in Jamaica.
The government has been asked to urgently establish a Ministry or Commission for the Family to promote wholesome family values, including human sexuality and gender according to the divine design in the bible. Another request that has been made is for parliamentarians to immediately reverse the recent salary increase for members of the political directorate. The decision to raise the salary of politicians to more than 200 per cent has attracted widespread criticism and has seen several groups calling for a roll-back.
The petition which was read to hundreds of people who gathered inside Emancipation Park on June 25 for a “Jamaica Arise” event, also called for a fixed timeline for the implementation of improved salaries and fringed benefits for all Jamaican workers, in order to halt brain drain of productive people from the country.
A request has also been made for the constitutional reform process, the African, Caribbean, Pacific- European Union (ACP-EU) partnership agreement, the NIDS (National Identification System) and the cashless society push to all be placed on hold, until several issues affecting the country are effectively ventilated. The petitioners also want the aims and objectives of these plans to be clearly defined and agreed upon through a process of broad public consultation.
These are the issues that have been highlighted in the petition. It is believed that the Jamaican society is under-sieged as evidenced by:
- The brazen, brutal, murderous acts on and among our children.
- Chronic addiction to pornography, among students since he COVID-19 lockdown.
- High levels of psychological distress among our youths, leading to suicidal and ant-social tendencies.
- The hundreds of our children which go missing every year, many of whom have not returned home.
- The chronic and debilitating levels of frustration among workers including teachers, nurses and professionals, leading to migration for better rewards.
- The increasing rate of poverty among our people and the fast worsening plight of the working poor, with many falling further beneath the poverty line.
- The unrelenting high murder rate, the frequent cases of domestic violence with deadly outcomes, the flagrant robberies, many of which has resulted in loss of life.
- The prevalence of obeah, witchcraft and other occultic practices in every sphere of Jamaican life and even involving our children.
- The undermining of the divine concept and structure of the family, including the marginalization of righteous men and women as role models.
- The realisation that our children have become prime targets for miseducation and misinformation about their sexuality and gender identification due to deliberate and misguided gender confusion policies being channeled through the formal education system, social and mainstream media.
- Sexual deviance and perversion in all levels of society.
- Politicians showing a lack of empathy and compassion regarding the will of the electorate as evidenced by their awarding themselves with unconscionable and unpopular salary increases.