Bad Boy from Jamaica

Book excerpt: Garnett Myrie came into this world on 27 September 1953 and grew up in the hills of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. When his uncle went to the United States as a farm worker in 1960 and brought back Black liberation literature, he became enamored with “Black Power”. He got himself in trouble when he became bold enough to put his fist in the air and shouted for everyone to hear: “I am black and I am proud.” Why should people hate me for loving myself? But he lived in a very conservative rural community where all the women adored the Queen of England and all the men aspired to become English Gentlemen. Eventually, he got used to being treated harshly, became fearless and refused to cry out in pain. He would rub cow-itch (Mucuna pruriens) and scallion on his palm to deaden the skin whenever he thought he was to get a beating, but he was no longer afraid of pain. Unfortunately, he occasionally forgot that he was handling cow itch and inadvertently rubbed his eyes with his fingers or take out his penis to pea which lead to several hours of enormous suffering as washing with soap and water did not help. He was an erasable child, however, each time the people tried to subdue him, like a cork, he would surface again. As he was not getting along in the country, his mother arranged for him to live with her sister in Kingston. While he worked as a security guard, he was introduced to and came under the influence of Dr. Walter Rodney, a radical university professor. When both he and Dr. Rodney became “Persona non-grata” for their radical activities, they escaped to Cuba. Dr. Rodney subsequently went back to his homeland (Guyana) 1980 to run for political office and was assassinated. Garnett joined the Cuba Army and was sent by Fidel Castro to fight in the successful war for independence in Angola. As he was fighting against the South African Army, he had orders to kill all white men he encountered. He became a killing machine. He was personally thanked and honored by both Fidel Castro and the First President of a liberated Angola, Agostino Neto. Having returned to Jamaica, he became a successful husband, businessman and father to a dozen children by ten women while he was happily married. As he grew rich and older, however, he was diagnosed with diabetes and became blind. He became more mellow in his old age and repented his “bad boy” ways to become an influential and beloved leader, husband and father.