'Bawl Out Or Wi Dead!!'

A pall of gloom and despair hovered over the Portmore Pines Plaza in Portmore as Micro, Small and Medium-size Enterprises (MSME) Alliance staged a mock funeral to protest the death of various small and medium-size businesses in Jamaica recently.

The march and protest went under the theme 'Bawl Out Or Wi Dead!' Empathy Funeral Home, located in the Portmore Town Centre, provided the hearse and two empty coffins, perhaps the spirit of the businesses that have fallen prey to the harsh economic climate in the island.

According to the executives of the MSME Alliance, and various groups across the island, high Jamaica Public Service, and National Water Commission bills, the high incidence of crime, hefty interest rates on bank loans and the global recession pushed businesses to failure and others that have not shut down as yet are on the verge of being closed.

Different speakers noted that many businesses failed not because they weren't properly planned and the proprietors did not put in the hard work for them to be successful, but because of external forces.

The Rev Dr Henley Morgan, managing director of Caribbean Applied Technology Centre (CATC), who offered prayers, hit out against all the ills in the country which are forcing MSMEs out of business. He, however, said that this protest was not a "political" one, but something to draw attention to the plight of MSMEs, and their urgent need for help.

In an emotional plea, Marlene, a vendor of the Bamboo Village Craft Association in Trelawny, called on the Government to assist them as they have nowhere to work after they were removed from the craft village in Falmouth recently.

According to estimates by the MSME, more than 400 people came to support the cause, but less than 100 actually joined the march, which took the group around the plaza, showing protest placards, 'bawling out', and singing popular hymns associated with funerals.

President of the MSME Alliance, Dr Rosalea Hamilton, thanked the different organisations which threw their support behind the cause. She noted that many businesses have fallen over the past 20 years because they haven't received any kind of help.

Some organisations that joined the cause include National Council of Taxi Association, Jamaica Vendors, Higglers and Market Association, Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association, and the Small Business Association of Jamaica.