KINGSTON, JAMAICA – Few entrepreneurial success stories grow as organically as that of SoChill Clothing, the Jamaican apparel brand that emerged from a casual daily hangout among high school basketball teammates more than a decade ago. What began as a casual idea dreamed up under a tree by friends from Meadowbrook High School’s basketball team in St. Andrew in 2011 has expanded into a global lifestyle label, with its co-founder predicting major long-term influence on the international fashion market.
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Woman gives birth on flight from Kingston to New York
On a routine Saturday flight bound from Kingston, Jamaica to New York City, an unexpected life event transformed an ordinary commercial journey into an unforgettable story of quick thinking and compassionate care. Caribbean Airlines flight BW005, a Boeing 737 Max 8 operating the international route, saw a passenger go into unexpected labour thousands of feet above the Atlantic Ocean, forcing the crew and air traffic controllers to adjust their plans rapidly.
When the passenger’s labour accelerated faster than expected, trained cabin crew immediately stepped in to provide emergency assistance, creating a makeshift birthing space in the aircraft cabin to support the mother through delivery. Recognizing the urgency of the mid-flight medical situation, air traffic control rushed to grant the jet priority clearance for a direct, expedited approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport, the flight’s original destination. Emergency medical teams were prepped and standing by at the airport gate before the plane even touched down, ready to provide immediate advanced care as soon as the aircraft landed.
But despite the coordinated rush to get the plane on the ground as quickly as possible, the baby arrived safely before the jet could reach the runway. Recorded air traffic control audio, first circulated by international media outlets, captured the lighthearted exchange between ground controllers and the flight’s cockpit crew after delivery was complete. When a ground controller asked the pilot “Caribbean five, ground. Is it out yet?”, the pilot confirmed the happy news with a simple “Yes, sir.” The controller responded with a playful suggestion: “Alright, tell her she’s gotta name it Kennedy,” a nod to the airport the flight was approaching.
Following a safe landing, both the new mother and her newborn were transferred to waiting medical personnel for routine post-birth checkups and assessment, and both are reported to be in good health. In an official statement following the incident, Caribbean Airlines confirmed the details of the mid-air delivery, noting that the situation was handled as a standard medical diversion and never required a formal emergency declaration that would have impacted flight operations more broadly. The airline went on to praise its cabin crew for their calm, professional response under pressure, highlighting that the team prioritized both the needs of the birthing mother and the comfort and safety of all other passengers onboard the flight throughout the incident.
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Fabolous makes triumphant return to Jamaica at Vacae Weekend 2026
OCHO RIOS, JAMAICA — After 14 years away from Jamaican performance stages, Brooklyn-bred international hip-hop icon Fabolous captivated a packed crowd Sunday night at Plantation Cove, headlining the highly anticipated Risqué late-night showcase, a flagship attraction of 2026’s Vacae Weekend.
For attendees and event organizers alike, the rapper’s long-awaited homecoming to the island carried special weight: his last show in Jamaica took place all the way back in 2012, and months of growing hype preceded his eagerly anticipated entrance to the stage.
Fabolous exceeded every expectation, bringing nonstop high energy to a set that pulled the biggest chart-topping hits from across his decades-long career. Fans sang out every word to beloved fan favorites including *Into You*, *Make Me Better*, *You Be Killin Em*, and *Shawty is a 10*, never letting their momentum fade from the opening note to the final encore.
The electric chemistry between the headliner and the audience was visible from the second he stepped into the spotlight. Continuous crowd engagement and collective sing-alongs turned his set into one of the most memorable standout moments of the entire Vacae Weekend lineup.
“Pulling off Fabolous’ return to Jamaica after more than a decade is a huge milestone for our team,” shared David Mattie, a representative for the event. “The overwhelming crowd response made it clear that his music still strikes a deep chord with Jamaican audiences, and it brought an unmatched, special energy to this year’s Risqué event.”
Famed for its upscale atmosphere and premium late-night entertainment, the Risqué showcase lived up to its reputation once again in 2026. The event blended A-list international talent, dynamic sets from top DJs, and a style-forward audience to craft an unforgettable experience for everyone in attendance.
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Junelle Bromfield and Noah Lyles tie the knot
Two of track and field’s biggest names have stepped into a new chapter of life together: Jamaican Olympic sprinter Junelle Bromfield and American sprint star Noah Lyles exchanged wedding vows on Saturday, April 4, 2026, in a heartfelt ceremony held at The Conservatory at Blackberry Ridge, located in Trenton, Georgia. The couple designed their big day around the theme “All Shades Melanin”, a celebration of Black identity that wove together their distinct cultural backgrounds into a single, joyful experience.
In an exclusive interview with Vogue, Lyles opened up about the most emotional moments of the afternoon, recalling that he had braced himself for tears ahead of the service but could not pinpoint when the wave of emotion would hit. “I already knew I was gonna cry, I just didn’t know when,” Lyles shared. “But when Junelle read the title of her vows, I was like, ‘Oh, yep, this is the part. This is when I cry’. Her hands shook so much that she couldn’t hold the vow book, so I ended up holding it for her. But I was also crying, so I couldn’t wipe away my own tears. It was a super magical moment.”
For Bromfield, the day lived up to every expectation she had held, bringing together family, friends and loved ones from both Jamaica and the United States. The Olympian joked that guests left with an unexpected story: instead of walking slowly down the aisle as tradition dictates, she ran toward her future husband. “I heard I didn’t walk down the aisle. I heard that I ran,” Bromfield said. “It was definitely a ceremony of unity. It was just amazing to see the different cultures mesh into one. Everybody was having fun, interacting and filled with love.”
Following the formal ceremony, guests gathered for a lively reception that included a special surprise performance from celebrated gospel singer Tasha Cobbs Leonard, capping off a day filled with laughter, tears and abundant joy for the newlyweds.
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‘Irie Feelings’ hitmaker Rupie Edwards laid to rest
LONDON — The global reggae community is mourning the loss of one of its trailblazing contributors, Rupie Edwards, the Jamaican-born singer and producer whose 1975 hit *Irie Feelings (Skanga)* broke into the upper echelons of the British national music charts. Edwards was laid to rest on Thursday, April 2, at a ceremony in Beckton, East London.
Details surrounding Edwards’ passing remain limited, according to his close friend of more than five decades, fellow reggae artist Dennis Alcapone, who first confirmed the musician’s death. No information about surviving immediate family members has been released to the public as of yet.
Edwards’ decades-long career in music began in the early 1960s, when he launched his professional journey as a solo vocalist in his native Jamaica. After cutting his teeth as a solo performer, he went on to record with two prominent Jamaican harmony groups, The Ambassadors and The Virtues, honing his craft and building connections across the island’s thriving music scene. Toward the end of the 1960s, he expanded his professional scope into music production, setting up his base of operations along Kingston’s iconic Orange Street, a hub for Jamaican music production at the time.
Edwards launched his own label, Success Records, which went on to host recording sessions for some of reggae’s biggest names, including The Heptones, Gregory Isaacs and Johnny Clarke. His first major commercial success came in 1972, when deejay Shorty’s track *President Mash up The Resident*, produced by Edwards, became a runaway hit. Two years later, Edwards notched another career win with Johnny Clarke’s *Everyday Wondering*, a track that would lay the groundwork for his most iconic release.
In 1975, Edwards built on the popularity of *Everyday Wondering* by adding his own signature toasting vocals over the track’s instrumental, creating the upbeat, infectious *Irie Feelings (Skanga)*. Distributed across the United Kingdom by leading reggae label Trojan Records, the track resonated deeply with British audiences, ultimately climbing into the Top 10 of the British national charts. It remains one of the few reggae tracks by a Jamaican artist to earn a Top 10 position on the chart in that era.
While Edwards never repeated the mainstream commercial success of *Irie Feelings (Skanga)*, he remained an active and influential figure in the music industry for decades. By the 1990s, he had shifted his creative focus primarily to producing gospel music, while also working with independent labels including Trojan Records and Trybute to reissue his extensive back catalogue, introducing his early work to new generations of reggae fans.
The news of his passing closes the book on a career that helped shape the sound and global spread of reggae music, leaving a lasting legacy for artists and fans alike. Reporting for this story was contributed by Howard Campbell.
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No crime, no resign
A sitting Jamaican Member of Parliament is pushing back hard against widespread demands for his resignation, pushing back hard against claims that he leveraged his company’s connection to a public hospital’s tax-exempt status to defraud the state out of millions in unpaid customs duties. Dennis Gordon, who represents the St Andrew East Central constituency and owns private medical firm JACDEN Limited, has broken his silence on the controversy first outlined in a January Auditor General’s Department (AGD) report, giving his first full public interview to the Jamaica Observer where he framed the calls for his ouster as a politically driven smear campaign.
In the AGD report tabled earlier this year in Jamaica’s Parliament, auditors revealed that the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) had improperly used its legally granted tax-exempt import status to bring goods into the country on behalf of four private companies. The scheme resulted in an estimated $23.1 million in total lost state revenue, with more than $20 million in unpaid import duties that violate the nation’s Customs Act. False customs declarations, the AGD noted, carry legal penalties including fines and potential criminal prosecution. After the report’s release, UHWI publicly named the four private entities as Supreme Laundry Services, Willman Sales, Scientific Medical Services, and JACDEN Limited, putting Gordon directly in the spotlight.
Gordon confirmed that UHWI did facilitate the import clearance of a shipment of dialysis machines for his company, but he adamantly denies any intentional effort to evade customs obligations. He explained that when the shipment arrived on the island, JACDEN discovered it needed an import permit from the Ministry of Health that could not be processed in time to meet a tight deadline: the biomedical technicians who traveled with the equipment only had 10-day visas to complete installation. Gordon, who says he does not handle JACDEN’s day-to-day operations, noted that his company’s management reached out to UHWI for assistance, a long-standing convention that has been used by multiple entities partnering with the hospital for more than two decades.
Once the irregularity was identified, Gordon says he immediately took voluntary action to correct the mistake. “They reached out to me and said I should pay approximately $10.1 million, which I paid. So, what is the crime?” he asked. The MP also pointed out that he has already provided UHWI with official proof of full payment to customs authorities, closing the gap in what critics claimed was lost taxpayer money. Gordon argues that the entire controversy is a targeted character assassination, what he calls “modern-day lynching” by political opponents with an ulterior agenda. He emphasized that the AGD has not issued any finding of corruption or criminal wrongdoing against him or his company, and that those calling for his resignation lack any moral authority to do so.
“If the auditor general had fined me, had indicted me for anything, I would have been the first to resign, because I did not go to politics for a pay cheque, I entered politics for service,” Gordon stated. He added that the disproportionate focus on his company, while the other three firms named in the report have drawn little public scrutiny, further proves the campaign is politically motivated: “My only crime is my success and that I am a PNP [People’s National Party] Member of Parliament.”
Gordon also pushed back against the narrative that he personally profited from the arrangement, pointing to a long record of donations and accessible care for low-income Jamaicans. He noted that JACDEN has previously donated critical, hard-to-access medical equipment to UHWI, including patient monitors, foetal monitors, and diabetic ulcer monitors, donations that have gone unreported by critics pushing the negative narrative. He added that the dialysis machines at the center of the controversy are used to offer treatment at just $10,000 per session, around half the market rate charged by other private providers, and the clinic has never turned away a patient for inability to pay.
The clinic, he explained, was founded on his commitment to bring affordable medical care to the most vulnerable Jamaicans, a mission he developed after traveling to Cuba to study accessible healthcare models. JACDEN also regularly treats patients referred from the public health system, which currently faces a critical shortage of dialysis machines. Gordon further noted that his company has previously imported two fully paid-for ambulances to serve homebound patients who cannot travel to care facilities, but the vehicles have sat idle in his office parking lot for three months waiting for a required government inspection that has not been scheduled, a barrier to public service that has drawn no media attention.
Beyond the professional and political damage, Gordon says the most painful part of the controversy is the impact it has had on his 96-year-old mother, who has been caught up in the negative public attention. “Listen, you can do Dennis Gordon anything, but just don’t kill my mother. She is 96, allow her to live her life comfortably rather than putting her in this stressful position and situation; that is what bothers me most,” he said.
As of this report, the *Sunday Observer* has not been able to reach the principals of the other three private companies named in the AGD report for comment, leaving their responses to the allegations unpublicized.
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Sumptuous sacred music feast
On Palm Sunday evening, centuries of sacred choral tradition came alive inside St. Augustine’s Chapel on the North Street campus of Kingston College, as the Diocesan Festival Choir presented its critically acclaimed concert ‘Hosanna to Hallelujah’ under the skilled direction of conductor Audley Davidson. Joined by a small chamber orchestra, the nearly 20-member ensemble delivered a moving, meticulously curated program that kicked off Holy Week for local music and faith communities alike, earning resounding applause from a packed house.
The evening opened on a striking note with Arthur Hastings’ *Hosanna to the Son of David*, performed entirely a cappella. The rich, layered four-part harmony filled every corner of the historic chapel, its grand tonal texture announcing the start of the liturgical season with fresh, reverent energy. After the opening number, the choir repositioned at the front of the chapel, where attendees noticed a long-awaited update: the ensemble debuted brand-new royal blue uniforms for the performance.
Next up was J.S. Bach’s beloved *All glory, laud and honour*, a piece that highlighted Davidson’s precise, commanding leadership. His tight direction kept every chorister locked in, and the balanced dynamic shading the group achieved earned high praise from listeners. Following Bach’s classic was a less frequently performed selection from George Frideric Handel’s *Judas Maccabaeus*, *See the conquering hero comes*, which showcased warm, elevated tonal work particularly from the choir’s female sections.
A modern arrangement of Fred Bock’s *How majestic is your name* brought a welcome shift in tone, accented by a lyrical obbligato from guest soprano Lori Burnett that drew warm, appreciative applause from the audience. The only solo performance of the afternoon came from baritone Jourdain Masters, who delivered a haunting, narrative-driven interpretation of Geoffrey O’Hara’s *I walked today where Jesus walked*, retelling the story of Jesus’ journey to Calvary through thoughtful vocal expression.
While the familiar hymn *Jesu, grant me this I pray* was broadly well delivered, the performance faced a small misstep: one brief stanza lost melodic clarity amid the vocal blend, with a few tentative entrances from the ensemble. The choir quickly rebounded, however, delivering masterful performances of Paul Bliss’ arranged *Calvary* and Felix Mendelssohn’s *See what love* from *St Paul*. The seamless handoff of melody lines between voice parts and the cohesive blend on display served as a masterclass in sacred choral performance.
The first half closed with David Clydesdale’s arrangement of *Lift up the lamb*, built around the iconic *Ode to Joy* melody. The ensemble shifted smoothly between staccato and legato phrasing, with the chamber orchestra providing robust, supportive accompaniment that left audience members eager to cheer as the interval began.
The second half opened with an audience participation performance of Michael Burkhardt’s *Lift high the cross*, featuring a rousing trumpet solo that set the tone for the remainder of the program. Returning to the stage, the choir offered another a cappella selection: William H. Smith’s arrangement of the spiritual *Walk together children*. Marking the first time the group has integrated gentle choreography into one of its performances, the choristers stayed perfectly on pitch and maintained their tight, polished form throughout the number.
Accompaniment returned for Bob Chilcott’s *God so loved the world*, with a talented ensemble of local instrumentalists supporting the choir: Alex Gray and Stephen Shaw-Naar shared organ and piano duties, Okiel McIntyre and Shanneil Christian played trumpet, Avory Crooks and Travis Wedderburn took trombone, and Delroy Franklin played timpani.
For many in attendance, including the show’s reviewer, the standout performance of the entire evening was *When thou comest (Inflammatus et accensus)* from Gioachino Rossini’s *Stabat Mater*. The selection showcased the choir’s exceptional ability to tackle complex, serious sacred repertoire, with Burnett returning as a featured soloist alongside an ensemble that fully understood the emotional weight of the work.
The concert closed with two final moving selections: Gilbert Martin’s arrangement of *When I survey the wondrous cross* and Ludwig van Beethoven’s *Hallelujah* from *Christ on the Mount of Olives*, leaving a peaceful, reverent afterglow that lingered long after the final note faded.
In his opening remarks and prayer, Bishop of Kingston Garth Minott shared a key piece of the ensemble’s history: founded in 1924, the Diocesan Festival Choir carries a century-long legacy of musical excellence. This Palm Sunday performance, Minott noted, reflected exactly why that tradition has endured for 100 years. Sacred choral music demands rigorous attention to detail, tonal precision, and emotional depth, and the 2024 *Hosanna to Hallelujah* concert delivered all three, giving attendees a rich, moving start to Holy Week.
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Alliance over isolation
In a landmark address at The University of the West Indies’ Mona campus last Wednesday, former Jamaican Prime Minister and revered Caribbean statesman PJ Patterson delivered the annual Norman Manley Distinguished Lecture, using the platform to sound a clarion call for renewed regional cohesion and expanded strategic partnerships across the Global South. With a decades-long record of advancing Caribbean integration and deepening ties between the Caribbean and continental Africa, Patterson warned regional leaders that the global gap between the enforcement of domestic law and widespread disregard for international law is growing at an alarming rate, making collective action non-negotiable for small island developing states.
Patterson opened his argument by calling for a urgent reevaluation of diplomatic and economic ties between the Caribbean archipelago and Latin America, arguing that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) must be transformed from a procedural body into a powerful collective force capable of defending regional sovereign space from external interference. He specifically urged immediate, targeted action to deepen economic integration and technical collaboration with Latin American heavyweights Mexico and Brazil as a first step toward strengthening CELAC’s influence.
His current work advancing cooperation between the Caribbean and a unified global Africa has reinforced his conviction that the two regions share irreversibly aligned interests on the most pressing global issues of the 21st century: climate justice, multilateral institutional reform, and urgent global debt restructuring. Patterson framed the deepening of economic, social, and cultural bonds between the Caribbean and Africa as a pivotal strategic priority, rather than a symbolic gesture.
Turning to the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Patterson highlighted the regional bloc’s long-proven capacity for collective action, noting that Caricom must leverage diplomatic skill backed by specialized technical expertise to lead on the global stage, rather than simply conforming to external demands in the name of survival. He argued that a coordinated united front across key Global South blocs—including the African Union, Caricom, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP), and the Group of 77 and China—gives the Global South the collective weight to reshape the outdated, exclusionary global order.
“The Global South can no longer be content to react to agendas set by others,” Patterson emphasized. “We must set our own priorities. Our unity amplifies our moral authority. It is about reshaping an archaic global order to make it inclusive, fair, and sustainable for all our people.”
To illustrate the tangible power of regional collective action, Patterson pointed to two landmark historical negotiations that delivered wins for both the Caribbean and its external partners. The first was the 1975 Lomé Agreement, a trade and aid pact between the European Economic Community and ACP nations, negotiated as a single regional bloc rather than a collection of individual states. That historic negotiation, led by Jamaica through a dedicated regional negotiating mechanism, laid the groundwork for all future external economic talks and established the European Union as the Caribbean’s largest donor partner to this day.
The second example was the 1990s Shiprider Agreement negotiations with the United States, focused on counter-narcotics cooperation in Caribbean waters. When the U.S. presented its initial draft, Caribbean leaders refused to either reject the deal outright or surrender their sovereign interests to accept unmodified terms. Instead, they gathered in Barbados, selected Jamaica to draft a revised model agreement aligned with all regional nations’ sovereignty, and negotiated a final pact that delivered mutual benefits for both the Caribbean and the U.S. A 2004 amending protocol between Jamaica and the U.S. formalized expanded cooperation: the agreement allows coordinated ship boarding, overflight operations, and information sharing to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs from South America through Jamaican territorial waters to the U.S., while explicitly protecting the sovereignty of Caribbean nations and banning the use of force against civilian aircraft in flight.
Patterson also referenced Article 18 of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which established a dedicated council of Caricom foreign ministers tasked with coordinating the bloc’s foreign policy. While he acknowledged that member states have held divergent positions on issues ranging from diplomatic recognition of China and Taiwan to global debates over Japanese whaling, he emphasized that Caricom’s greatest global power comes from speaking with one unified voice in international forums, setting aside internal divisions to vote as a cohesive bloc.
Reiterating his core thesis, Patterson stated, “We do best when together we exercise the tremendous power and intellectual mastery of the entire community to confront the common obstacles and challenges which we face in the post-colonial world. There can only be one verdict: A culture of regionalism is always superior to insular diplomacy.”
Within the 56-member Commonwealth, Patterson noted that the Caribbean bloc holds enough collective sway to push major powers including Canada, Australia, India, and the United Kingdom to expand inclusive global governance beyond their own narrow interests, extending benefits to smaller member states across Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. He warned that rising “narcissistic hegemonism” poses a growing threat to smaller sovereign states across the Global South, and that the Caribbean has already proven its ability to lead collective action through the Lomé negotiations.
“ We cannot afford recklessness or confrontation. We must provide the leadership as we did for the ACP, in steering a course which enhances our full sovereign interests. We are no longer pawns of European conflicts nor tenants at will in anyone’s backyard,” Patterson concluded.
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Filtered Feelings: The cost of comparing our lives
How has the concept of happiness shifted over generations? This question has grown increasingly pressing to examine as modern life reshapes what we prioritize and how we measure well-being. For generations of Jamaicans who grew up in rural areas between the 1960s and 1990s, happiness was rooted in simplicity. While daily life presented significant economic challenges, it was rich in shared experience: children gathered to play outdoors after dark, walked to school in groups, swam in local rivers, and split whatever small resources they had with neighbors. Whole communities looked out for one another, fostering an unspoken, deep sense of belonging that permeated daily life. Even people with very few material possessions rarely felt poor; their wealth lay in social connection, collective community, and grounded perspective on what matters most.
Recently, I spoke with dozens of elderly Jamaicans, several of whom have lived more than a century, and found striking consistency in how they describe lasting happiness. Nearly all framed well-being around three core pillars: showing care for others, letting go of grudges easily, and nurturing a gentle, generous heart. Most remain active in local churches and community groups, contributing in quiet but meaningful ways that bind their neighborhoods together. Their lives make one truth clear: happiness has never been a purely material pursuit.
Today, our collective definitions of happiness have grown broader, but also far more complicated. Many people now tie well-being to visible markers of success: the neighborhood we live in, the car we drive, the prestige of our career. Others frame it around family, personal freedom, or hitting individual career and life goals, with financial stability, access to healthcare, and the ability to travel all shaping how we experience contentment. But one new, powerful force has reshaped modern understandings of happiness: social media.
The 2026 World Happiness Report highlights a worrying global trend: falling well-being among young people, especially in high-income developed countries. One key contributing factor is the amount of time young people spend online, constantly consuming others’ curated content and comparing their own lives to unrealistic highlights. This shift has pushed us to measure happiness by external metrics—likes, shares, picture-perfect moments—rather than how we actually feel internally. In many communities, deep connectedness has been quietly replaced by constant comparison; the shift is subtle, but its impact on collective mental health is impossible to ignore.
Even amid this global shift, Jamaica offers a critical lesson on what lasting happiness actually looks like. In the 2026 World Happiness Report, Jamaica ranks 49th overall in global well-being—but ranks first in the world for the frequency with which its people help strangers. That single statistic says volumes about the national character that sustains well-being across generations. Despite widespread economic and social challenges, Jamaican culture is defined by deep resilience: the ethos of “one love,” enduring community ties, and shared faith shape how people experience daily life. While many Jamaicans do not have abundant material resources, they consistently find joy in connection and purpose.
Perhaps the core of happiness has not changed as much as we think—what has changed is how we pursue it. Too many of us now look outward for validation, when the things that actually sustain contentment have been close to us all along: strong relationships, a clear sense of purpose, good health, and service to the people around us. Every person faces hardship in life; that is an unavoidable part of the human experience. But holding onto resentment, chronic stress, and regret does not serve us—it erodes both our mental peace and our physical health. Letting go of these burdens is never easy, but it is essential to long-term well-being.
In my role as Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness, I see every day how deeply interconnected our mental and physical health truly are. The ways we think, relate to others, and structure our daily lives all shape our overall well-being. Happiness is not some abstract, distant goal we have to earn—it is something we actively build through the small choices we make every single day.
The fundamental pillars of happiness have not changed: treat others with kindness, practice compassion for yourself and those around you, give back to your community whenever you can, prioritize your physical and mental health, and strive for balance in all areas of life. Happiness does not require great wealth, and it can never be measured by outward appearances alone. It requires awareness of what matters, intentional choices to prioritize connection over comparison, and a willingness to focus on the things that bring lasting meaning.
In a world that constantly pulls our attention outward, to other people’s highlight reels and external markers of success, the most important step we can take is to turn inward. Because in the end, happiness is not something we scroll past on a screen—it is something we live, every single day. This article was written by Dr. Chris Tufton, CD, MP, Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness.
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Fear hangs over Easter mass after Nigeria shooting
JOS, Nigeria – Just seven days after a mass shooting claimed roughly 30 lives in central Nigeria’s Plateau state, Christian worshippers gathered for Easter Sunday Mass in the capital city of Jos under a heavy cloud of insecurity.
The region’s most important Christian festival, a moment traditionally marked by joyful, packed congregations, looked drastically different this year. One of the city’s largest churches, standing just meters from the site of the deadly Palm Sunday attack at an open-air bar, saw attendance fall to less than half of its normal capacity. The state-imposed curfew, which restricts movement between 3 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time, has left most city streets eerily deserted, with only a handful of civilians venturing out for essential activities.
Along the road leading to the church in Jos’ Anguwan Rukuba district, just one single police checkpoint was visible, a sparse security presence that has done little to reassure residents. In response to last week’s attack, Nigerian military authorities announced they had deployed an extra 850 troops to the restive state to bolster security. But for many worshippers, the reinforcement has come too late, and official promises of protection ring hollow.
Standing outside the beige facade of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), 57-year-old congregant John Abo Galadima told reporters he sees no real improvement in local safety. “I don’t feel safe in the community, because the government is not doing enough…in terms of security,” Galadima said. “There is no sufficient security presence here.” To compensate for gaps in state security, church leadership has arranged for its own private security team to screen all attendees before allowing entry to worship services.
Fellow worshipper Marian Mark Andy echoed Galadima’s concerns, explaining that widespread anxiety kept many adherents from joining the Easter celebrations. “I don’t feel safe. People are afraid, they could not come to church,” Andy said.
During his sermon, Reverend Luka Musa Madaki led the congregation in prayers for an end to violence while urging attendees to remain constantly alert to potential threats. “As people of God, you need to stand up, spiritually and physically. The attacks are coming to us too much. You should always remain vigilant and reach out to each other,” Madaki told the assembled crowd.
While Plateau state has a long history of repeated rural violence, much of it tied to long-running resource conflicts between farming and herding communities, last week’s attack in Jos marks a rare and particularly alarming episode of urban violence. Jos itself is home to a mixed population of Christians and Muslims, most of whom have coexisted peacefully for generations. But the region has a decades-long history of deadly ethnic and sectarian tension that has sparked large-scale outbreaks of violence in the past.
This most recent attack is part of a grim pattern of bloodshed in the landlocked state. In one of the deadliest recent incidents, nearly 200 people were killed in December 2023 during raids targeting majority Christian communities across the state. The worst sectarian violence in Jos’ modern history dates back to September 2001, when five days of rioting left nearly 1,000 people dead.
The ripple effects of the attack extended to the city’s Muslim community as well. During weekly Juma’a prayers held the Friday after the shooting, worshippers gathered at Jos’ central mosque under significantly heightened security, with both soldiers and police deployed to guard the site. In his post-prayer sermon, the chief Imam of Jos, Sheikh Ghazali Ismail Adam, called on all believers to prioritize mutual respect. “Dignify humanity, uphold fear of Allah and…promote peaceful coexistence,” Adam urged his congregation.