THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE UNITED Kingdom seems to be blaming Jamaicans for every thing that has gone wrong and is going wrong with British society. It seems that almost all crimes being committed in the UK are expected to have a Jamaican connection; it is the first thing the authorities look for.
The British media is constantly reporting about Jamaican drug gangs, the Jamaican criminals, the Jamaican 'Yardies' are doing this and are doing that. It seems that 'Yardies' are destroying Her Majesty's perfect society. Jamaicans are being blamed for everything except the terror attack on the World Trade Centre, and if the Home Office announces a Jamaican connection, I would not be too surprised.
If one follows the British media, one would think that every Tom, Dick and Harry who commits a crime and who just happens to be black, is a 'Yardie'.
I am not opposed to the British Government imposing visa restriction on Jamaican citizens; it is the right of the British Government to protect itself from what it considers as a threat to its people, its society and its way of life and if restricting Jamaicans from travelling to Britain returns Her Majesty's country back to the perfect society that it once was, then they have my blessing.
However, I am wondering at what point does the British Government and its people accept some responsibility for the increase in crime and gun violence that is sweeping across the country. At what point does the responsibility of the Jamaican Government end and the responsibility of the British Government start? Are we to assume responsibility for first, second or third generation British citizens with Jamaican lineage? I have seen reports that blame the influence of Jamaicans culture and Jamaican criminals on British youths. The Government is also blaming gangster rap and the influence of Black Americans on black Britons. It seems to be everybody else's fault.
The fact of the matter is these black British citizens have been ignored by their own Government for far too long. They represent the failures of the British society to properly socialise and to properly educate black British youths (regardless of their lineage), so as to make them good upstanding British citizens. They are the product of years of exclusion from mainstream British society, poor education from a failing education system and no prospect of making a proper living in today's society built by New Labour.
I am not here to defend Jamaican criminals; they are blood-sucking scum on both our societies. Nor am I here to oppose the visa restrictions, what I am against is a move by the British Government and media to vilify the entire population of a country based on the actions of a few criminals. Jamaica is a country with many problems, most of which stem from our colonial past and I do agree that Jamaican criminals have no business disrupting the perfect lives of British citizens.
On the other hand, Jamaican prisons are filling up with British citizens caught trying to traffic drugs into the UK. We are also faced with a gun problem. We have no gun factories, we do not make guns but they are in plentiful supply in Jamaica. Countries like the United States of America which manufacture guns do not care where these guns end up or whom they kill so long as they are able to sell them and make a profit.
These are the rules: the bigger and stronger countries set them and I must follow. These countries do not care that their guns and their demand for drugs are destroying my country. Jamaicans must fight a war on three fronts. We must prevent the drugs from coming into Jamaica, prevent the drugs from leaving Jamaica and prevent the guns from coming into Jamaica. At what point will the international community step in and play their part?
I am, etc.,
ANDRE A. STEWART
wumpscut@jamaicans.com
New York
Via Go-Jamaica
