Jamaican One Love School Tour with Reggae artists Abijah, Luciano, Denroy Morgan, Ernie Smith, Swade, Mackie Conscious and I’ngel Chanta a huge success.

Greetings, Everyone;

We have just returned from Jamaica where we organized 12 free "Gathering of the Healers Concerts" around Bob Marley's birthday week throughout the island. Concerts were held at almost every major college or university (Mico, C.A.S.E., Edna Manley School of Performing Arts and University of the West Indies (UWI) and at several large high schools, including two large inner-city schools in Kingston, Haile Selassie and Denham Town High Schools.

The concerts were a huge success with a powerful electric energy bringing many students and faculty to tears. Appearing with me at all concerts was Abijah, one of Jamaica's most popular young reggae artists and a true "One Love Tribal Drummer." Reggae artists Swade, Mackie Conscious and I’ngel Chanta joined us at the inner-city schools as well as at our final concert at UWI where we were also joined by Reggae legends Luciano, Ernie Smith, and Denroy Morgan. Paul Barclay’s band, Katalys, played at the concerts. No artists were paid to perform but rather did so to help the country. Our family covered all expenses and gave away over 500 copies of our new book, The Gathering of the Healers: The Healing of the Nation. The concerts were free to the students and schools and nothing was sold at any concert.

The final two and a half hour UWI concert, on Bob’s birthday, February 6, was broadcast live to the entire island via the “Richie B Show,” Jamaica’s most popular radio program. Richie B promoted the concert on his program for several days prior to our broadcast so hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans tuned in and shared our vision of healing Jamaica through individual acts of One Love and forgiveness. Abijah and I were also interviewed on many TV and Radio shows including Smile Jamaica!, The Bev Manley Show, RootsFM, Empress Nerissa’s Cable show.

This year's Gathering of the Healers, whose theme is "One Love/ Big Up The Youths," was a combination of musical performances and speakers (healers) discussing with the audience the healing qualities of forgiveness and sharing the vision of Jamaica healing itself as a society. Our mission is to encourage Jamaicans to be the first country to heal itself by individuals healing their personal relationships through love and forgiveness. In essence, to live Bob Marley's words--not just listen to them. We asked every student attending to forgive “as many as they can, as soon as they can, as much as they can” in the days and weeks following the concerts. Our hope is that with tens of thousands of youths, and hundreds of thousands in the radio audience, hearing this message, it will begin a wave of One Love and forgiveness spreading over the island.

Around the world, Jamaicans are known for their love. Bob Marley and reggae music, both global expressions of One Love, were birthed in Jamaica. Also almost all the “One Love Reggae” artists, such as Abijah, Luciano, Morgan Heritage, Ernie Smith, Bushman, Beres Hammond, Bob Marley’s children, Don Carlos, Dennis Brown, Garnet Silk, etc. are still Jamaican. Also, love often finds its most fertile ground, not among the rich and powerful, but among those economically and politically disenfranchised as exhibited by the work of such great teachers of love as Christ, Gandhi, Dr. King, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Tutu and Mother Teresa. Also, it is the young, the most hopeful and idealistic, which usually give birth to most renaissances in thinking and paradigm shifts.

That Jamaica might set an example for the world in healing their society by individuals committing to healing their personal relationship is possible and definitely worth the effort. It's really a "no-lose" proposition. For everyone joining us, their own life becomes more healed no matter what the national outcome.

Both the Jamaican Hotel and Tourist Association and the Jamaican Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce have expressed interest in assisting us in continuing our concerts so we plan to return in April and do 16 more school concerts and 4 public benefit concerts. We are also considering launching a “60 by 60” Campaign, challenging all Jamaicans to lower the crime rate 60% by Bob Marley’s 60th birthday on Feb. 6, 2005. We will ask everyone to lower their personal bitterness and resentment 60% by then and see the impact on the country.

One Love, Robert, Julia & Alicia Roskind

Authors of "A Gathering of the Healers: A Healing of the Nation" and "Rasta Heart: A Journey Into One Love."

Visit our new Website at: www.rastaheart.com