Andrea Downer, Gleaner Writer
NIGHTMARISH STORIES of exploitation, forced prostitution and naked intimidation are not enough to deter desperate Jamaican women from gambling their lives, and losing thousands of dollars for the promise of finding employment overseas.
Each day, these women pore over advertisements searching for that one sparkling gem of an opportunity that will be the panacea to their economic ills. More often than not, their eyes pause at the overseas job opportunities.
These overseas job opportunities trumpet the promise of high wages, and the deals are sweetened with offers of accommodation and other benefits. According to some advertisements, the jobs are available in Caribbean islands, the United States, England and even the far-flung, strife-torn Middle East!
The job seekers are mainly women and young girls. These women beg, borrow and sometimes spend all their life's savings to fund their trips.
Jessica, a 24-year-old mother of two boys, age seven and six, left Jamaica in February this year with the promise of a job, which did not materialise. Unlike some of the job seekers, Jessica had a job here. She had worked five years in an entry-level position with the Jamaican Government.
When she quit her job, she was earning $13,500 per fortnight, but she had been promised two jobs in The Bahamas. Both jobs would allow her to earn J$19,220 per week, almost tripling her income overnight.
FEES NON-REFUNDABLE
Foreign jobs, are available some say, but the application fees, which are non-refundable, whether or not the applicants are placed in jobs, are usually between $1,000 and $3,000. Persons who apply for jobs in the Caribbean are then asked to pay up to US$700 for two weeks' meals, accommodation, as well as transportation from the airport when they arrive on the islands. The money also covers the cost of work permits, which the 'agents' promise to process on behalf of the Jamaican workers, as well as facilitates an extension of their visit. The complete package sometimes includes airfare, which can cost as much as J$30,000.
Pearl, another Jamaican woman who lost $88,000 in a bid to land employment overseas said the money was sent to her by a male friend in the United States.
"I was not working and I called him and told him about the job in The Bahamas and he sent me the money," she explained.
Pearl said she left Jamaica in July this year, but was back home within two weeks, still jobless.
The promised two-week accommodation that she had paid the 'job recruiters' did not materialise.
"I have three children to send to school in September and I have no money left. Nothing," she stressed. "There are no jobs in Jamaica and I have to find a way to take care of them," she insisted.
Names changed.
