Jamaicans flock to America

MANY OF them left Jamaica with mountains of troubles and visions of deliverance for the United States of America.
Soon they were sending home barrels of "made in America" and stories of the newness and cold excitement of life in the Big Apple.

After decades of toil and patience they soon grafted themselves into the culture of the United States. They had evolved into a new breed. Unable to forget their Jamaican roots and at the same time embracing their new home. They had become "Jamericans" - Jamaican-American cultural hybrids.

There are an estimated three million Jamaican immigrants living in the United States today. And as the lure of that country's multicultural ideals, "equal opportunity," economic strength and academic wealth extend a hold on the island, many more Jamaicans are expected to flock the land of the brave and the free. Over the last six years alone, almost 70,000 Jamaicans have migrated to the United States.

These are the ones who more often than not, eventually return to Jamaica with "homesickness" the "twang," huge winter coats, air muffs, Nike shoes and white bobby socks. They unite with their aunts, uncles, and grandparents and bind the severed relations with children they had left behind through "filing at the Embassy," and the promise of a better life.

While for some the move signalled a real chance at survival, others, like U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell and actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, have grabbed at the opportunities of self-improvement and climbed from the Jamaica colonies of urban America into prominent positions in the arts, entertainment, sports, academics and business. Before that, National Hero, Marcus Garvey, had turned America into a platform to launch his black pride campaign where he preached against the injustices done to the coloured people all over the world. Today, Marcus Garvey is a prominent historical figure both in the United States and Jamaica. His life and work are studied in both countries. But it was in his capacity as an immigrant in the U.S. that Marcus Garvey allowed the opportunity to send his message to the world.

As a result of their immigrant status in the U.S. these transplanted Jamaicans were able to exploit the opportunities made available to them through the American economy.

The United States has absorbed a significant portion of the Jamaican population worldwide and total remittances pumped into the Jamaican economy by these persons to date is now one of the country's major foreign exchange earners.