Show of unity by Jamaican celebrities offers lessons for our stars

On Easter Sunday night, Jamaican artistes of the popular reggae genre staged the biggest live music convert yet to be seen anywhere during these unprecedented coronavirus pandemic days.

Rules of social distancing and avoidance of crowds were employed with organisers arranging for the artistes to perform in turns, in the solitude of downtown Kingston studios.

Those who couldn’t make it, or were abroad at the time, dropped in their music videos or joined the concert via live links to offer messages of hope.

Running under the slogan “Jamaica Together we stand,” the show - dubbed “Covid-19 Relief Telethon” – ran for six straight hours and was broadcast to a global, concert-starved audience through regular broadcast and social media platforms.

The project, midwifed by Olivia Babsy Grange, Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports, was part of efforts by the government of Prime Minister Andrew Holness to raise $10.5 million (about Sh1 billion) to help in Jamaica’s fight against the Covid-19 disease.

Grange is patron of the “Together We Stand Global Alliance” which announced that proceeds from the concert will go into a special fund to specifically purchase personal protective equipment for healthcare and frontline workers, testing kits and patient management.

What was striking about the concert is that all artistes performed free of charge!

And they were the biggest names you could ever think of in the Jamaican reggae space who would otherwise have cost an arm and a leg to assemble for concert.

The Marley family was all there, including Stephen, Julian, Ziggy, Damian Jnr Gong and even their legendary father Bob Marley’s second wife Cindy Breakspeare, a former Miss Jamaica.

The list of seasoned roots and dancehall performers also included Gyptian, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Capleton and Freddie McGregor, who all blended well with upcoming stars such as Munga, Runkus, Garnet Silk Jnr, Gee Whiz, Ikaya and Ras I for a memorable performance.

The show ran from 3pm to 9pm, Jamaican time, and was hosted by an array of top MCs, including Dahlia Harris, Oliver Samuels, Naomi Cowan and Chris “Johnny” Daley.

What struck me as inspiring is the fact that all these artistes performed for free, offering their undivided attention, solidarity and service to the fight against Covid-19.

“It’s our duty and our time to give back to our health workers who are toiling out there feverishly to make sure our people are safe,” summed up McGregor, whose all-time greatest hits include Big ship, Gate pass to your heart and Let him try.

They were joined by Jamaica’s star sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Usain Bolt and Danusia Francis who all sent inspiring messages besides making donations to the charity.

Jamaican cricket legend Chris Gayle matched Bolt’s donation of 500,000 Jamaican dollars (about Sh400,000) to the cause.

“The coronavirus has taken control of every country all across the world, but with resilience and determination, we will all overcome,” Sports minister Grange articulated.

“Our (Jamaican) music has penetrated all corners of the world and responds to any feeling,” she added in proudly Jamaican fashion.

In Kenya, there are many lessons we can draw from the Jamaican experience. Especially that the more fortunate need to rise up and help their fellow countrymen in this hour of need.

Sadly, even our well-heeled, so-called celebrities would rather queue for government rations than share a small part of their wealth with the vulnerable.

Pulling off a concert like the Jamaican one in Kenya would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, and I will be extremely happy to dare our “celebrities” to prove me wrong.

Especially after President Uhuru Kenyatta recently loosened the purse strings and withdrew Sh100 million from the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund to help cushion creatives, a move that has virtually caused a stampede with almost everyone demanding a slice of the small cake.

In Kenya, the mentality seems to be “what can the country do for me,” rather than, like in the Jamaican case, “what can I do for my country.”

President Kenyatta’s well-meaning gesture should be followed up by a serious audit of the artistes to ensure that only the deserving benefit.

We need to see quality music with sober lyrics that can educate us and entertain our children, in equal measure, rather than acts of twerking and incoherent scripts.

Meanwhile, hats off to the Kenyan government and Ministry of Sports for lining up assistance for vulnerable sportsmen and women who have been dealt a severe blow by the coronavirus pandemic.

Identifying needy cases

I’m told plans are underway to bail them out with Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed and her Principal Secretary Joe Okudo, through the various federations, working on modalities of identifying the neediest cases, just as is the case with performing artistes.

It would be reassuring to see our “celebrities” join the government in this effort, just as is happening in Jamaica where an all-out assault on the pandemic has restricted the island nation to just 72 confirmed Covid-19 cases (as at Sunday’s count), with just six of these from local transmission.

Finally, let’s follow the directives from government and public health authorities so that we help flatten the curve and reinstate our sportsmen and women back into gainful employment.

Wash your hands regularly, maintain social distancing, use face masks in public places and stay at home, or as the Jamaicans say, pull up in a de yard!

Makori is the Editor (Sports) at Nation Media Group. [email protected]