THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WRITE regarding Devon Dick's commentary on overseas Reggae Boyz:
We are all interested in seeing our local 'boyz' progress, get out of the squalor in which some of them live and really do well. It is indeed the same drive to better ourselves that see many of us land in strange and at time unfriendly countries.
So, I cannot help but bristle when people like Devon Dick engage in narrow-minded diatribe about who is Jamaican and who can represent Jamaica. The remark about carrying a Jamaican passport or knowing our national anthem is the pinnacle of his idiotic criteria. I bet a lot of the criminals in Jamaica can recite the entire anthem while murdering their brothers. I would also wager another bet that many of our upstanding citizens with passports shove their money offshore and engage in activities unbecoming of a 'good Jamaican'.
Our football team has improved for many reasons including playing overseas but also because of the professionalism, skills and competition brought on by our overseas boyz. What happened in the Honduran game when Richard Langley went out? The midfield collapsed. Also look what happens to team effectiveness in the midfield when Langley and Hyde are on the field together.
If indeed you are not going to play our sons, most of whom were brought up as Jamaicans and maintain an affinity for Jamaica, then maybe we should stop feeding our son Grace foods and other Jamaican-made products. Perhaps then Rev. Dick and others with similar sentiments will begin to feel the impact of how Jamaican we are when the fragile economy buckles further.
There are 2.6 million Jamaicans on the island and approximately the same overseas. As long as we contribute our pittance, directly or indirectly to our people's well-being, then we have a right to represent our country.
I am, etc.,
GARY DAWKINS
dehyaso@yahoo.com
Alexandria, VA
Via Go-Jamaica
