MY NAME is Carlton Allen and in 1995 I won a scholarship by IICA to learn Spanish and pursue a B.Sc in Agriculture in the Dominican Republic. This was featured in your newspaper in June of 1995 accompanied with photos of Andre Forbes and myself. I graduated in 2000 as a bilingual agronomist. I refined my skills by pursuing a M.Sc in Agriculture Diversification by means of scholarship from LOME IV and graduated in March 2002.
I have been trying to return to Jamaica ever since to render my services but I am unable to find employment. I applied to the offices of the Services Commission and the College of Agriculture, Science and Education in Portland but to no avail. What should a bilingual agronomist with two degrees, a family to support, a desire to work and live in his home country do? Does hard work really pay or is it an illusion? The Government did not help me to get a university education, can they at least help me to find some employment? Am I being forced to look elsewhere?
