THE EDITOR, Sir:
IN A letter published on June 22 entitled 'Welcome Home Deportees', Michael Spence complained that deportees sent from the United Kingdom whom he calls our brothers and sisters, should be afforded a warm welcome on arrival back in Jamaica.
He also suggested that they may have been wrongly treated in similar manner to the political persecution of Marcus Garvey by the United States authorities in 1927. This outrageous suggestion, equating the great political deeds of Marcus Garvey to criminal activities of deportees, some of whom have committed some extremely serious crimes in the UK, is one of the most disgusting things I have ever read.
Jamaicans have been living in the United Kingdom in large numbers since the 1950s. As a community we have striven to live by our hard work and at times had to fight to maintain our existence as an honourable people in a foreign land. And through our efforts have gained the respect of other immigrants and minorities and ordinary people from the host nation, often in the face of extreme provocation, racism and violence.
CREATING MAYHEM
Today, however, there are some very dangerous individuals from Jamaica on the streets of Britain causing absolute mayhem, promoting drug-peddling and violence to such a degree that the UK authorities have imposed visa restrictions on all Jamaicans. According to certain spurious arguments, many Jamaicans find themselves in prison because they are allegedly desperate. Desperate for what? Food, clothing or shelter? NO! Desperate for jewellery, cars, designer clothes and anything else to try to show off themselves.
I would suggest that Mr. Michael Spence park himself at one of the Jamaican airports and ask these deportees what they are being deported for. He will then find out that not one of them has been fighting any injustices in the UK. Instead, he will get a real picture of the horrific things that they have been doing that brings nothing but eternal shame to our people and has nothing to do with the political work of that great and wonderful Jamaican internationalist, Marcus Garvey.
I am etc.,
ANTHONY FERRON
ferron53@yahoo.co.uk
Lordship Lane
London
