Commentary

No ratings for Bob's birthplace

Jackass sey di worl' no level. Jackass sey de celebration fi Bob inna 'im birt'place no mek it.

There are Marley celebrations here, Marley celebrations there, Marley celebrations everywhere. The real big one, of course, was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where hundreds of thousands turned out to honour the Gong. In

Jamaica, Knutsford Boulevard was turned into Marley Road, so to speak, for a night, and there were celebrations in Negril and a festival in Trench Town, where Marley lived after relocating from Nine Miles in St. Ann.

Whoah! Whoah donkey! Did somebody say Nine Miles? There was a celebration there too, last Friday night, and Jackass did saddle up and clop clop his way up from Claremont on winding roads, which hardly have a pothole, for the party.

Show neva mek it

But Jackass was rather dissapintid. Sure, it was a $500 show in these days of at least $800 for a 'big show', but that is no excuse for no backdrop. Weak lights. A little fenke fenke stage. Uncut grass between the patches of red dirt. Nah sah, the Marley celebrations in his home town jus' neva mek it.

What made it worse was that the show(yu know, the main part of the proceedings) did not start until 2:00 a.m., which is ridiculous. In that cold place? Nah sah.

But the world is not level at all. Look at the size and organisation of the Marley celebrations in other places. Look at the effort that was put into them and the level of support that they enjoyed. Then look at the fenke fenke effort in his home town.

Not a Marley in sight

And, to make it worse, there was not a Marley in sight, even though the official announcement of the concert (entitled 'Dem A Go Tiad Fe See Me Face') took place at the Tuff Gong headquarters on Marcus Garvey Drive.

So if the immediate family does not make it to the session, what about the rest of the people? Why should they make the trek to the district to honour Bob Marley?

It struck Jackass that Bob Marley is really and truly an export. We normally look at it from the point of view that he enjoyed acclaim from outside Jamaica long before he was really honoured at home. In addition to that, he was embraced by white people long before the black population really took on to him.

Where is Bob?

However, he is also an export from Nine Miles, so that the celebrations in New Kingston are of far greater significance than those in his home town and where the mausoleum with his body is, by the way.

OK, so it is a far trek to Nine Miles. But that is absolutely no reason why 'Dem A Go Tiad Fe See Me Face' cannot be supported by the presence of a Marley and somebody from the Jamaica Tourist Board. And better facilities, too. If Bob Marley is to be truly honoured, there cannot be a better place to do so than the community in which he was born, can there?

Jackass sey de worl' no level. Jackass sey di Marley celebration dem inna de hills him use to run up an dung inna chaka chaka like.