Tenesha Thomas, Gleaner Writer

Several acres of orange on the Green Produce farm in Claremont, St. Ann. - Ian Allen Staff/Photographer

An agricultural project aimed at engaging Jamaican 'deportees' in meaningful activities, as well as assist them to reintegrate into the society, is being established.

The Family Unification and Resettlement Initiative (FURI), based in New York, in collaboration with the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), is working to launch the programme that will involve Jamaicans, who were deported from foreign countries, growing a variety of agricultural crops for specific markets.

Residential base

According to Lawrence Madden, chief executive officer of the JAS, five to 10 acres of land is being sought to develop a farm village for the project. He said the village would also be outfitted to provide living accommodation for the deportees. "We want to establish at that same residential base, a processing unit and a packaging unit," he explained further.

The JAS CEO explained that value-added crops and cash crops, such as vegetables, would be cultivated on the basis of priority for processing in the units. Mr. Madden also reported that broilers and smoke houses would be installed to facilitate processing activities. He pointed out that FURI, in colla-boration with the JAS and the Agriculture Ministry, would be working to ensure that the deportees get the necessary training to operate these farms.

Daunting experience

He noted that a number of these depor-tees were academically qualified and have been trained in a number of fields.

The project comes against the background of growing concerns that many Jamaican 'depor-tees' were being sent here despite the fact that they no longer had family ties here. As a result, many associate with gangs and other people of questionable character as they search for a place of belonging. "When a guy comes at the airport who don't know any family, and don't know if he is to turn left or right, it's a daunting experience," remarked Mr. Madden.

Figures from the Ministry of National Security estimate that about 1,506 Jamaicans were deported from the United States last year, while another 1,273 were deported from the United Kingdom. A preliminary study by the ministry in 2001 indicated that 20 per cent of Jamaicans deported and who had no family ties here, sought refuge in inner-city gangs. Information from the Jamaica Constabulary Force showed that gang violence was responsible for 19 per cent of murders last year.

A new survey done by the Ministry of National Security and the Planning Institute of Jamaica has shown that 53 per cent of deportees reported that they had been involved in criminal activities since their expulsion from foreign countries.

Of those reporting their involvement in crime, 78 per cent claimed that they had committed more than one crime. Another 35 per cent reported that they were involved in drug-related offences, 37 per cent had either threatened to seriously injure someone or had attacked someone with a weapon. Ten per cent admitted to illegal use or possession of a firearm.

While the project may very well provide a meaningful medium for the deportees, Mr. Madden could not say when the project would get under way as the related research was still being conducted.

Carmeta Albarus Rodney, head of FURI and the attorney-at-law representing Jamaican-born Lee Boyd Malvo, said funding for the project was now being sought. Mrs. Rodney has worked with several individuals deported to the island and has also been assisting Malvo who was convicted of capital murder in the United States in 2003.

Feedback: john.myers@gleanerjm.com.

Meet Veronica Davis, a farmer and higgler from Free Hill in St. Ann. Here, she reaps carrot from her farm for her weekly journey to the market. - Photos by Ian Allen/Staff Photographer