Jamaicans celebrating at a recent event in the United Kingdom.

Many Jamaicans have kept and paraded their nationality, while some, like sportsmen, have swopped their black, green and gold flag for the Union Jack.

IF YOU are black and living in England, do not be surprised if you are asked by a supposed Briton where you are from.

And if you have a British accent and visit your homeland Jamaica, people may view you as a foreigner. Again you may be asked where you are from because you do not sound Jamaican.

Dr. Susan Mains, lecturer in the Department of Geography and Geology at the University of the West Indies, Mona, has said Jamaican-born United Kingdom residents "are straddling several worlds".

"On one hand, they have to deal with the definition of being British ... and in Jamaica, those who visit are seen as visitors," she noted.

Dr. Mains, a geographer who has done studies among migrants in the U.K. and the United States, was speaking against the background of a Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll among Jamaican migrants in the U.K.

Mr. Johnson and his team of researchers found that less than 50 per cent of people in his sample, while born in the U.K., did not identify themselves as being British.

"This is particularly interesting and it suggests that argument about inclusion is not being felt by all," Dr. Mains reasoned.

Definition of British

The area of inclusion of which Dr. Main speaks has to do with the definition of being British. The Tony Blair-led Labour Government has spent the better part of the last decade speaking about making England a more inclusive society, which in effect should mean less discrimination.However, judging by the polls, the move towards having a more inclusive society has not borne much fruit. Responding to the question, 'How do you usually describe yourself?', 27 per cent of the UK-born Jamaicans said they were Black Jamaicans. Another 20 per cent said they were Black Caribbean, five per cent said they were Black African and 47 per cent described themselves as Black British.

Dr. Mains has surmised that referring to themselves as black Caribbean people may be an institutionalised response since Caribbean people in England are often viewed as Afro-Caribbean and not Afro-Jamaican.

A second reason, Dr. Mains said, may be due to the level of stigma attached to being Jamaican.

"When I did my interviews there, I found that many Jamaicans defined themselves as Caribbean because the media tend only to portray Jamaica in a negative light. Thus, it is this negative image that is in people's minds and as Jamaicans they are aware of this and because of the fear of discrimination many choose to identify themselves as Caribbean," Dr. Mains added.

Different views

Jamaicans at a recent function in the United Kingdom.

Bill Morris, trade unionist and community activist in the U.K., said the definition of self in Britain has to be understood as where the person was born. A person born in the U.K., he said, is likely to view things and themselves differently from those who emigrated.

"A debate on the description of Britishness is still ongoing and the jury is still out on that one," Mr. Morris said.

The traditional definition of Britishness has included white persons born in England, but with migrants making up a vast percentage of the population questions have surfaced as to who is genuinely British.

Many Jamaicans have kept and paraded their nationality, while some, like sportsmen, have swopped their black, green and gold flag for the Union Jack. Others have kept the black, green and gold close to their heart, but as one woman who spent 12 years in the England said, "When you are in England you are Jamaican, but you don't push being Jamaican in their faces," a comment which may come as a surprise, especially in an era when being Jamaican is a brand.

Sir Bill Morris. - Contributed photos Survey of Jamaicans in Britain

How do you usually describe yourself?	Total	Born in Ja.	Born in U.K.
Black African	5%	4%	5%
Black Jamaican	58%	70%	27%
Black Caribbean	19%	19%	20%
Black British	17%	6%	47%
Where were you born?
Jamaica	72%
UK	28%
Sample size: 400 Jamaicans in the UK.
Poll conducted: March 17-27, 2007
Margin of error plus or minus five per cent
Poll conducted by pollster Bill Johnson of Johnson Research Ltd. More News Print this Page Letters to the Editor Most Popular Stories