THE EDITOR, Sir:
IN RESPONSE to Fintan Kilbride, who wrote a letter about my homeland and its people, entitled 'Canadian missed the true Jamaica', and which was published in The Gleaner on Saturday March 27, 2004, I would like to thank him/her for writing what I consider to be a very heart-warming letter. The testimonials are very uplifting to the Jamaican soul.
It is very unfortunate when any of our visitors have such a bad experience that they find it necessary to publish it in our national papers, and especially to advertise it to the rest of the world.
As a Jamaican, I will confirm that Jamaicans are some of the most loveable people anywhere this side of planet Earth, and Jamaica is indeed one of the most beautiful places on this earth. With the hurry that we have to live these days, some people may get that opportunity to see this and agree with me, some people won't. Regrettably, the Canadian visitor who had that bad experience is one of those persons who did not.
So, let me take this opportunity to assure him/her that that is not the norm for our visitors. If there is anything that we are guilty of in Jamaica, it is that we go way out of our way to treat our visitors well, even much better than we treat our own, sometimes.
Most Jamaicans are really warm, loving, caring, sharing, friendly, and loyal people. At the core, that is who we are, and that is what has sustained us over the years.
The ones who create these negative experiences for both Jamaicans and non-Jamaicans alike, are indeed in the minority.
I am, etc.,
CLOVER BAKER-BROWN
cloverbaker@netscape.net
Silver Spring, MD
Via Go-Jamaica
