Welcome Home to Jamaica
I was reading the New York Times (Friday, May 08, 2009) and came across the following headline: “Abkhazia Lures Its Expatriates, Welcoming Them One by One” (Ellen Barry). Panama currently has an active recruitment campaign to bring home their expats and I also recall the successful call for all Jews to return to Israel.
It started me thinking that Jamaica could benefit if we extended the same welcome to our retiring expatriates. There are more Jamaicans living abroad than living in Jamaica. I would love to see a serious welcome mat extended. Now that I have retired and returned, I was actually looking forward to seeing my old schoolmates but they are now scattered throughout the whole wide world. In my fifty years living in the United States, I had the good fortune of visiting every state of the United States and over half the countries of the world. I met Jamaicans at practically every stop. Jamaicans love to engage each other particularly when we are away from Jamaica. My assessment is that Jamaicans living abroad excel financially, educationally and culturally. The values that were beat into us served us well as we explored the world. Every one of them want to make a positive contribution, particularly to the education of our youth.
What if we actively encouraged Jamaican Expatriates to come home? Their great wealth, advanced education and world experience could translate into development of business interests and the employment of our gifted work force. Their investment capital could improve our banking sector as well as the increased utilization of our restaurants, golf clubs, tennis clubs, boating, fishing, and all our other fabulous recreational options. When I remind my Jamaican friends in the United States about the music, the dancing, Soup and dominoes on Saturday afternoons, Thursday nights at Waterfalls, seaside with the family on Sunday afternoons, fried fish and bammy at Hellshire beach, etc., etc., etc. They just lick their lips. It is not a hard sell. According to Leonard Bennett: “The love of Jamaica can never be erased but, despite the deep longing for our country, there is that ever-present contradiction that deters us from wholly casting our lot to reside there.” My Grand mother's last words to everyone leaving Woodlands District to go abroad was: "Do well and make us all proud of you. May God keep you safe in the palm of his hands. Just don't forget to come back."
I believe it would be worthwhile for our government to establish an office to specifically encourage retires to come home. Shouldn’t we track all three million Jamaican expats and communicate with them regularly. Shouldn’t we have a road show to actively encourage them to return? Isn’t it in our best interest to make the Diaspora feel connected as well as keep the dream of returning home alive? In this age of easy communications, it really would not take much to accomplish this with tremendous benefits to our country. Reducing poverty, crime, streamlining government bureaucracy and offering tax concessions would motivate our fellow citizens to return. While we have the talent and resources right here in Jamaica to greatly improve our condition, and while we should not always look to others to solve our problems, a couple thousand retired expats could help. Those approaching retirement never intended to be away so long. Their goal was to go away, make a lot of money, return to Jamaica and enjoy “the life”. They have just overstayed. Let’s welcome them back.
It is my favorite time of th year in Jamaica when we turn our Dutch pots upside down and live on mango. Mango in the morning, mango in the evening, mango all over the golf course. Mango anyone?
There is no place like home! (Especially if home is Jamaica)
B. Waine Kong (bwaine@bellsouth.net)
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Dear Doc...as always I find myself reading your blog and nodding all the way thru. One of the last projects I worked on before heading here to further studies was a self-sustaining retirement village on 225 acres on the plains of St. Thomas in the Vale...oh how you'd love this property. It was to relieve the retired "returnees" of worrying about security, worrying about construction woes and rip offs, worrying about maintaining the standard of living they had grown accustomed to as so many amentities including health entertainment etc would be provided including a guest lodge for visiting relatives, golf courses, equestrian centre, nursery, orchards, it was a wonderful plan...its still under consideration though it ran into planning difficulties when the north coast highway was announced to be going right thru it. These are some of the things we can do to encourage them to return. Can u imagine what this would have done to the local economic profile of Linstead. Jobs for locals a wide range, savings in the local banks, property tax increases, many spill overs...sigh i hope it does happen. Will keep you posted.
ReplyDeleteBut I do disagree sortof...with one statement......"we don’t have any economic problems that a couple thousand retired expats couldn’t cure". Truth is we don’t' have any problems be it social, economic or political that those of us who are here can't cure. I believe the Diaspora is a tremendous resource but not for one minute do I want to have us looking outward for help...even if it means the Diaspora. We can do it; I believe that all the resources, brains, talent and ideas are here. I think it is. At the risk of oversimplifying it, we lack some and in varying degrees interest and/or confidence and/or courage. I fell in love with this statement from the philosopher Margaret Meade "Never doubt that a small group of citizen can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has." Nice isn't it? True isn't it? But it takes courage. Am I up to it? Are you? Are we?
Loving the blogs..really!!…keep sharing please and thanks again for coming back home.
Dear Jaycee. I love the idea of building the village. It sounds like Heaven. Count me in. I will do whatever I can to support your project. I heard about a project like this in Mexico where expats paid to build their house and provided a lot of work for locals. This certainly would be part of my dream for expats and Jamaica---the synergy is awesome! When these expats left fifty years ago, our community was devastated. We couldn't even get a haircut. While we can argue about what it will take to develop Jamaica, I continue to believe a significant part of the puzzle is for these committed individuals to come home. Thanks for your kind comments and look forward to further dialogue. Waine Kong (bwaine@bellsouth.net)
ReplyDeleteYou are right. I don't think I did justice to what I meant or to what you meant. I do agree that when you consider that almost the same amount of Jamaicans living in the country are living outside its an awesome resource. And if we are going to turn this around (and we are) then no resource should go under or unutilized....including the Diaspora. I just got struck momentarily by the feeling that those of us back here can't cut it. That we need to be rescued by those educated and living in foreign lands..though they are our own something about it smacked of dependency and 'looking out' instead of within and I feel strongly that those of us living here have a greater stake and need to get it going. But I should have thought twice because I've read enough on your blog to know you have never and would never underestimate us...i think it was my own "sensitivities"...my bad.
ReplyDeleteAs its still very much 'on the table' I most definitely will keep you posted on the project if it does overcome the planning challenges and make it to marketing.