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buses), on bicycles and by every means
of transport that can be imagined, and
there never has been such a vast crowd
at the Palisadoes Airport at any time:
and there never has been in the whole
history of Jamaica such a spontaneous,
heart-warming and sincere welcome to
any person, whether visiting Monarch,
visiting VIP or returning leader of any
Jamaican party.
Of the welcome, His Imperial
Majesty said later that he was over-
whelmed and deeply moved. It dem-
onstrated, he said, the close ties and
affection which bind the people of
Jamaica to Africa and Ethiopia.
The majority of people at the Air-
port were Rastafarians and members
of Afro-Jamaican Societies. They wore
a kaleidoscope of African dress. They
came from everywhere. They came
from the fastnesses of Wareika Hills.
They came from the wappen-happens
of Western Kingston. They came from
the hill distances of Accompong, from
the Irish top country of Moore Town in
the John Crow Mountains.
They came from Vere and Milk
River, from Johnson Mountains in St.
Thomas, from little villages and big
towns all the way across from Negril to
Morant Point. And they brought with
them thousands of colourful Ethiopian
flags and bunting, palmleaves, fire-
crackers, thunderbolts, drums and the
Abeng – the famous bullhorn of the
Maroons which have echoed across the
hills of Jamaica (and in Africa during
the wars of the Ashanti) from time im-
memorial.
Too much
And the enthusiasm was too much
for mere authority. The police were
surrounded by the tide of it all. The
military only were able to keep some
resemblance of order and this perhaps
because they were armed with bayonet-
ted rifles. The result: All prearranged
ceremony went by the way. People
were not presented; the red carpet was
ignored; anthems were not played; the
Emperor was in fact hurried in ner-
vous haste to the Governor-General’s
car to make his triumphant entry into
Kingston, the capital city of Jamaica,
and to start what must have been the
biggest traffic snarl in the history of
the city. And while this was being done
firecrackers were cracked, thunderbolts
thundered, the sounded and thousands
of people shouted: “Hail the Man, III.
Everything was unprecedented.
Apparently no one in charge of the
arrangements knew what would have
happened and no precautionary mea-
sures had been taken. Emperor’s lane
due to arrive in Jamaica at 11o’clock
was delayed by a stop in Barbados, It
actually arrived here at 1: 35 o’clock
and by the time it had taxied up to the
reception area, it was 1:40 o’clock.
By then it was bedlam. Hundreds
of Rastafarians had crashed the VIP
line of Cabinet Ministers and leading
members of the Opposition and were
weaving hither and thither under and
around the aircraft not caring at all for
still turning propellers. And by the time
the Emperor and his party appeared on
the landing way everything was out
control.
It was not until 2:15 o’clock the the
Emperor was able to leave the aircraft
and board the Governor-General’s car
and beat a hasty retreat from the tu-
multuous area that was the Palisadoes
Airport. Before that it had been rain-
ing. But the rain did not stop the danc-
ing and flag waving of many Rastafar-
ian groups which thronged the airport.
Many shouted: When God comes, the
sun will come out”. It did.
While the rain had been pouring,
all sorts of arrangements were made
by the Acting Prime Minister, the
Hon, Donald Sangster, and the Act-
ing Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon.
Robert Lightbourne, for presentations
to be made in the alternative, firstly at
King’s House, secondly in the walk-
way to the passenger-leaving gates,
and finally to what had been arranged
originally, outside on the tarmac. But
it was not to be. As soon as the plane
touched down; the rains ceased, the
sun pushed out behind its clouds and
the crowd erupted into everywhere and
there was a roar such has had never
been heard at the Palisadoes before as
the first African head of State to visit
Jamaica since Independence appeared
at top of the landing steps.