Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
Dawn Butler
Dawn Butler, whose parents are Jamaican, is the Labour Member of Parliament for Brent South in the United Kingdom. The 36-year-old was born in London to Jamaican immigrant parents. On her election to Parliament, she became only the third black woman to have been elected to the House of Commons. There
is a high concentration of Jamaicans in her constituency.
Miss Butler described herself as a woman of action and said she was ready to take the initiative to bridge the gap between Jamaicans at home and those living in Britain. This, she said, was the primary reason for her attending the Diaspora Conference, now on at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.
"There is a disconnect between the two sets of people, even though we are the same. I'm here to find out what I can do to bridge this gap," she said.
According to Miss Butler, the issues with which Jamaicans living in Britain are most concerned are the high crime rate in Jamaicas, as well as issues that concern the island's young people.
"We have to find a way to address the crime problem. I'm not just talking about the Jamaican Government, but all of us Jamaicans at home and abroad, because in the end, it's affecting us all. Back in Britain, if we were to have a get together of Jamaicans like this, the place would be overtaken by the Scotland Yard. It's the 'yardie' stigma. We won't get rid of that until we fix the problem at home," she noted.
Miss Butler said Jamaicans living in Britain had very strong opinions and suggestions on how the crime problem could best be tackled. She said she hoped to use the conference as an avenue to convey those suggestions to members of the Jamaican Government.
