Jamaica – why the boycott?
Published on May 2, 2016, 11:00 pm AST
By Derek Johnson
Cascade
My country, Trinidad and Tobago, has always been a true friend to every other Caribbean island.
Back in the early 20th century, when oil was discovered in South Trinidad, hundreds of Grenadians and Vincentians emigrated to villages in the oil belt—Point Fortin, Fyzabad and La Brea, getting lucrative jobs in the oilfields here. Barbadians gravitated to the Port of Spain area, preferring jobs in the Police Service and the Teaching Service. In fact, history will record that in the 1940’s our Police Service boasted a large percentage of Bajan officers of all ranks.They all raised their families here and became citizens.
Grenadians, in particular, blended their culture with ours over the years, greatly enhancing our calypso music, living peacefully without discrimination. Naturally, Trinis made fun of their strange accents, but there was no intolerance otherwise.
In later years, with economies in the islands and elsewhere deteriorating when the price of oil escalated sharply, we saw another influx of immigrants from other countries.
Today, anyone visiting Arima, Chaguanas, San Fernando or Port of Spain, will hear accents from Jamaica, Nigeria, Ghana, Venezuela, Guyana, along with Chinese from China and Indians from India. The Chinese and Indians, being natural merchants, established groceries and supermarkets, clothing bazaars and restaurants; even people fleeing the Middle East, mostly young men, have successfully popularised their “street meats†when they introduced them to T&T.
All of these immigrants have become an integral part of our landscape.
In times of natural disasters, my country has always led by example—the Haiti earthquake, Jamaica’s hurricanes, and more recently in St Lucia, Dominica and St Vincent. T&T has always been among the first responders—our Coast Guard and Army and Caribbean Airlines with emergency supplies.
Jamaican artistes and their music are extremely popular in T&T, concerts are sold out long in advance and local DJs continue to belt reggae and dancehall, regardless.
There are three questions I would like to ask.
The first is: “Does Jamaica have an open door policy for immigrants fleeing Haiti or the Dominican Republic or Cubans fleeing Cuba? Or do you not have a similar protocol like us?â€
The second is: “When Jamaicans are refused entry to the US and Canada, do they seek to boycott imports from those countries also or make it a national issue?â€
Thirdly, “Why the silence from the thousands of Jamaicans who now reside happily in T&T or even from those who have never visited but who should know better?â€
Published on May 2, 2016, 11:00 pm AST
By Derek Johnson
Cascade
My country, Trinidad and Tobago, has always been a true friend to every other Caribbean island.
Back in the early 20th century, when oil was discovered in South Trinidad, hundreds of Grenadians and Vincentians emigrated to villages in the oil belt—Point Fortin, Fyzabad and La Brea, getting lucrative jobs in the oilfields here. Barbadians gravitated to the Port of Spain area, preferring jobs in the Police Service and the Teaching Service. In fact, history will record that in the 1940’s our Police Service boasted a large percentage of Bajan officers of all ranks.They all raised their families here and became citizens.
Grenadians, in particular, blended their culture with ours over the years, greatly enhancing our calypso music, living peacefully without discrimination. Naturally, Trinis made fun of their strange accents, but there was no intolerance otherwise.
In later years, with economies in the islands and elsewhere deteriorating when the price of oil escalated sharply, we saw another influx of immigrants from other countries.
Today, anyone visiting Arima, Chaguanas, San Fernando or Port of Spain, will hear accents from Jamaica, Nigeria, Ghana, Venezuela, Guyana, along with Chinese from China and Indians from India. The Chinese and Indians, being natural merchants, established groceries and supermarkets, clothing bazaars and restaurants; even people fleeing the Middle East, mostly young men, have successfully popularised their “street meats†when they introduced them to T&T.
All of these immigrants have become an integral part of our landscape.
In times of natural disasters, my country has always led by example—the Haiti earthquake, Jamaica’s hurricanes, and more recently in St Lucia, Dominica and St Vincent. T&T has always been among the first responders—our Coast Guard and Army and Caribbean Airlines with emergency supplies.
Jamaican artistes and their music are extremely popular in T&T, concerts are sold out long in advance and local DJs continue to belt reggae and dancehall, regardless.
There are three questions I would like to ask.
The first is: “Does Jamaica have an open door policy for immigrants fleeing Haiti or the Dominican Republic or Cubans fleeing Cuba? Or do you not have a similar protocol like us?â€
The second is: “When Jamaicans are refused entry to the US and Canada, do they seek to boycott imports from those countries also or make it a national issue?â€
Thirdly, “Why the silence from the thousands of Jamaicans who now reside happily in T&T or even from those who have never visited but who should know better?â€
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