"His voice was an omnipresent cry in our electronic world. His sharp features, majestic looks, and prancing style a vivid etching on the landscape of our minds. Bob Marley was never seen. He was an experience which left an indelible imprint with each encounter. Such a man cannot be erased from the mind. He is part of the collective consciousness of the nation."

Those words were spoken by the Right Honourable Edward Seaga on May 23, 1981, as he delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Robert Nesta Marley, perhaps the greatest reggae artiste in history, an icon whose name is inextricably linked to this island of ours.

When I woke up Wednesday morning and began reading the international papers online, almost every one of them had a story marking the 30th anniversary of the great man's passing. It was heart-warming that three decades after his death, the world still sees it fit to remember the man, the legend. However, right here in the country of his birth, the print and electronic media paid almost scant regard for the man who virtually put Jamaica on the map.

There were some references on radio, some of which sounded like they were talking about a man that lived in the time of Sam Sharpe and Nanny or long before. I can't recall seeing anything on television. In print, there was barely anything of note.

In THE STAR - the paper I write for and the most widely read daily in this country, there was a story about Vybz Kartel wearing hair extensions. Like wow! I find it very telling that if Kartel sneezes, it's all over THE STAR yet an icon like Marley can't get a few inches and a photograph? While I understand that media is a business and the 'bottom line' is of great importance and Kartel sells papers, I do believe also that there has to be balance about what we present as entertainment and what we present as information.

cultural icons

When you look at how Elvis Presley is celebrated in the United States and how other countries treat their cultural icons, you come to realise that they understand how important these cultural icons are to the continuation of the ideals that are held dear in these cultures. Marley preached about peace, harmony, love and the pursuit of justice. His message has largely been replaced by messages of sexual perversion, lust, greed and entitlement.

And why is this? Some of it is ignorance because we pay very scant regard to history in this country, even recent history and that is why we continue to run around in circles and in many instances descend into the realm of vulgarity and mediocrity. We have no point of reference for where we go and what not to do on our journey in building the nation.

Edward Seaga, a man who understands how important culture is to a nation's success and well-being, suggested that a man such as Marley cannot be erased from our mind. Outside of Jamaica, that Marley cannot be erased is an inescapable truth, as many countries have erected their own shrines to Marley and his legacy. In countries like Bosnia, Argentina, Brazil, and all across Africa where English is not even the native tongue, Marley is a hero. I remember being at school in the United Kingdom when a fellow student from the Solomon Islands came up to me and said: "You are from Jamaica, Bob Marley's country." That is the kind of recognition Marley gets from a man who is from a place where most Jamaicans can't even find on the map.

However, in this country, Marley is being pushed further and further into the background. This, despite him selling more than 300 million records, his album Exodus being voted the Greatest Album of the 20th Century and right across the world he is seen as a legend, the first Third-World superstar. I would wager that Kartel will never surpass those milestones, not even in 10 careers?

We owe it to ourselves and our children to do better. We owe it to ourselves to help keep the flames of the Marley legacy burning bright. They say a prophet is never recognised in his own country. Let us not continue to let Marley be that prophet. He deserves better, much better.

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