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Caribbean Life, April 7-13, 2022
By Vinette K. Pryce
Members of the reggae fraternity are
reeling from shock and disbelief after
receiving back-to-back tragic news regarding
the Mighty Diamonds, one of the
oldest collaborators of Jamaica’s popular
music genre.
On March 29 reports of a drive-by
shooting in Kingston, Jamaica named
66-year-old, lead singer Tabby the target
of a reprisal murder. Reportedly, the singer
was brutally murdered in the streets of
a community known as Waterhouse by
gangsters in dispute with his imprisoned
son JahMarley.
Three days later on April 1, when
jokesters usually trick unsuspecting
friends to believing the absurd, news of
the passing of 70-year-old Bunny Diamond,
another longtime collaborator
seemed a cruel hoax.
Social media broke the shattering
news.
Marc-Antoine Chetata, the group’s
publisher confirmed the untimely death
explaining that Bunny had been ailing
since suffering a stroke in 2015. He added
that although the cause of death had not
been determined, diabetes plagued the
singer and might have led to his demise.
Many believe the stunning news of
Tabby’s murder might have contributed
to his fatality.
It was no hoax.
No trickery, prank or April Fool’s joke,
Fitzroy ‘Bunny’ Simpson transitioned
days after his schoolmate departed.
“I don’t believe it,” Lister Hewan Lowe,
exclaimed. “I cyaan believe it. Two Diamonds
gone! Just like that?”
Lowe, a former promotion executive at
Island Records expressed grief, he said felt
like a “punch to the gut.”
“They were the nicest guys in reggae…
the gems of the genre.”
By Anna Donch
Schneps Media is pleased to welcome
Emmy Award-winning journalist Jane Hanson
as the new host of the web series 2022
Meet the Candidates! Jane brings over 30
years of experience to the Schneps Media
team, and her sharp eye and incisive questions
are perfectly suited for interviewing
candidates for New York political office.
Jane worked previously as primary
anchor for NBC and hosted “Jane’s New
York.” She has received numerous honors
for her work and community service, and
Dr. Fleurette Harris. Anthony Legg
is a past president of the New York Chapter
of the National Academy of Television Arts
and Sciences.
“I’m excited to join the Schneps Media
team as we prepare for this year’s important
elections in the New York metro area,”
Jane says. “I’ll be helping you get to know
the candidates better through our 2022
Meet the Candidates series, as well as
through debates. It’s all an effort so you can
make good choices at the ballot box.”
Check out Jane’s first video with a candidate
here!
“Acting is the best medicine I have used
throughout my life to help my fellow men and
women achieve overall good health and well
being,” says Dr. Fleurette Harris — actress,
doctor of Oriental Medicine and founder/ CEO
of her own practice, Eye on Well Being, in
Uniondale New York.
The Jamaican born multi-hyphenate began
her professional life as an actress in her homeland,
rising to become one of the most respected
Jamaican thespians of her generation. But
life’s circumstances eventually opened up a
new door for her in the field of Oriental Medicine.
And rather than choosing one path or
the other, Harris has found a way to merge
her dual professions, with, in her own words,
“Incredibly positive results.”
“I became an actor not only because I
have always had a flair for the dramatic,” she
recalls, “But also because at an early age I
realized the power of storytelling to heal, to
educate, and to entertain. The vital role of
drama in education was something I learned
very early at acting school in Jamaica. So the
greatest thrill I have ever known as an actor
is having people approach me after seeing
my work to say how their existence has been
touched or enlightened in some way because
of what they saw me do. Once I embraced the
decision to pursue a career in Oriental medicine,
to me it was a natural progression. I was
still going to be healing lives and educating an
audience about their health and well being,
but in a different way. I was also determined to
put my years of acting experience to good use
in my second career.”
Harris now plans to use her theatrical experience
to share the benefits of Oriental medicine
with her existing and potential clientele,
many of whom have numerous misconceptions
about Eastern medicine practices.
“In Jamaica and parts of the Caribbean
especially, there is a great deal of resistance
to and skepticism about Oriental medicine,”
she laughs. “For example, the mere mention
of acupuncture, which is the chief treatment
of traditional Chinese medicine for curing so
many ailments – is likely to send some people
screaming and running for the door. But I
have found that utilizing drama in the introduction
of these treatment methods opens
up the minds of many in a relaxed and nonthreatening
way. When patients become open
to trying alternative medical options, they are
invariably thrilled with the results.”
Born in Port Antonio, Portland, on Jamaica’s
east coast, Harris attended Titchfield
High School where she excelled in acting and
drama, winning several gold and silver medals
in Jamaica’s annual National Festival of Arts.
She was subsequently awarded a full scholarship
to attend the prestigious Jamaica School
of Drama (now the Edna Manley College for
the Visual and Performing Arts) in Kingston.
Upon graduation, Harris found herself cast
in some of Jamaica’s biggest and best theatrical
productions of the day. Roles in popular
Jamaican television series such Lime Tree
Lane and Royal Palm Estate followed, as well
as in locally shot Hollywood films including
Club Paradise with Robin William and KLASH
featuring A Diff’rent World’s Jasmine Guy.
But at the height of her acting success, a
tragedy was unfolding at home that would
alter the course of her personal and professional
life in future years.
Harris’ mother Pearl Harris was diabetic,
and over the course of many years, Harris
watched helplessly as the disease ravaged her
beloved mom, making her final years, in Harris’
words, “A series of injections and amputations.”
“I literally watched my mother lose limb
after limb to diabetes until she died, and all
I could think of was ‘Is this it? This is all
we have? Insulin and amputations? No other
options? Wow.’ That was the first spark that
ignited in me the desire to see how I might
help people and prevent others from going
through what my mother did. And when that
opportunity came, I welcomed it.”
Sonia Chin and Tabby of the Mighty
Diamonds.
‘Acting is my best medicine’: Dr. F. Harris
Schneps Media welcomes Jane Hanson as Host of 2022 Meet the Candidates
‘Trio of Gems’ —
Jamaica looses
two Mighty
Diamonds
Journalist Jane Hanson.