Life And Debt

Synopsis: Behind the idyllic image of Jamaica as the perfect tourist location is a country in debt, with little hope of ever paying it off. After Jamaica became an independent country in 1962, due to problems they faced adapting to their newfound freedom, they called on the assistance of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. This assistance came at a cost that they could not have foreseen and has placed their citizens in a situation that seems impossible to escape.

In the light of current negotiations over the issues of tariffs and subsidies through the World Trade Organisation, this documentary could not be more timely. The complexities of world politics and the ramifications of globalisation are not the kind of issues one can hope to understand in 86 minutes. The beauty of this film is that it allows an audience without any prior knowledge of the subject to gain some insight into how globalisation is affecting developing countries.

We are introduced to Jamaica as if we were travelling there as tourists ourselves. We follow a group of Americans who have flown to Jamaica for their ten days in the sun. As they lie on the beach, take part in beer-sculling competitions and view the ‘carefree’ lives of the locals, a gaping hole appears between the visitor’s limited exposure and what life is really like in Jamaica. Cutting between our privileged holidaymakers, and the local farmers who cannot compete against the importation of cheap American farm produce, one starts to wonder how two such extreme lifestyles can ever come into balance.

A ‘free zone’ is set up in Kingston, where Jamaican women are employed for minimum wages under slave-like conditions to assemble garments sent over from America. It is meant to provide work in order to alleviate high unemployment, however it seems to create more problems than it supposedly solves. Potatoes from Idaho and subsidised powdered milk are too hard to pass-up for these people struggling to make ends meet, unfortunately it is destroying the prospect of many of their local producers from continuing to supply local products.

This is a confronting documentary that will be an eye-opener for many who have not kept abreast of such issues and a film that deserves our consideration.

 

 

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