THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WRITE in regard to your recent article regarding the number of Jamaican nationals relinquishing their rights of citizenship, and also the parallels drawn between the U.S. and the U.K.
Apart from emotional sentiment and the obvious element of corruption that appears to be spread throughout the world we live in, I can see no reason for Jamaicans who have settled in the U.S. or the U.K. to keep their Jamaican citizenship or dual nationality in these modern times.
As I am sure some of your older readers will remember initially when Jamaicans migrated to the U.S. and the U.K. they faced tremendous discrimination.
I think this is why migrants used to keep their options open so to speak.
Sadly from my own experience the racism that migrants were faced with in the 1960s when Britain opened the door to migrants to build its labour force still exists in the countryside today. It's not hostile; you can just feel that these people who are obviously conditioned by their own experience just do not take to people from other cultures. But then again when did the U.S. or the U.K. have a black president or prime minister? It's about time one of us showed the lead and then maybe the electorate would be more open-minded.
I am, etc.,
NIGEL M STEELE
nigel.steele@talk21.com
London
