THE EDITOR, Sir:
WITH JAMAICA once again in the global spotlight after the Sniper incident, the issues which surround the matter of returning home, once again come to the fore for many of our young people abroad completing their education.
The scenario is a complex one. Should we remain abroad we face discrimination and a third class-ing of our civilian rights. While token faces of our Caribbean brothers and sisters crack spaces through the glass ceiling of institutional racism for a few of us to follow, the majority remain defeated in countries that may never be considered 'home.'
I personally would never like to see my child grow up in a country where Jamaicans are targeted as criminal elements and potential terrorists to the 'civilised world' to use the most recent example of imperial discourse.
Then there are those of us who return from the 'necessary exile' loaded with all the foreign degrees and exposure as the ultimate in achievement. We return with all the gusto and determination to give back to our homelands despite the media portrayal of Jamaica as a political war zone and a drug haven from which 'yardies', 'mules' and snipers are birthed.
After overlooking the genuine fear factor and braving the cultural re-integration into the Jamaican environment returning graduates are faced with unemployment, private sector snubbery and no network through which to apply their achievements to the betterment of the Jamaican people. So once again, the promising youth look outward to other islands still determined to invest within the Caribbean, if not in their beloved Jamaica. Here, they face alienation due to our public image of crime. Territorialism shakes hands with prejudice against an entire nation of supposed murderers and druggists.
I am a deep believer in self-actualisation. If our Government and our people will not pave the way for our return, then we must pave it ourselves. We must start our own businesses, create our own network of returning graduates and put our knowledge together to make ours a success story that is newsworthy. I am not certain how many returning graduates share my sentiment, but if they do exist, then let us make the first move by making contact and developing a consortium. Jamaica and its image can be resurrected if we simply do not give up.
Still believing in my country
I am etc.,
KALA GRANT
kalanneka@yahoo.com
University of Warwick
UK
Via Go-Jamaica
