Dear Editor,
'I man born ya, I nah leave ya, Sweet Jamaica'.
Yes, I have been a resident of the United States since 1976, but I am and will always be a Jamaican. One of the reasons that I have never pursued citizenship is because over and over again it is proven that, in the United States, there is no justice for blacks.
Don't get me wrong, even over here [US] being Jamaican gives you a better chance at some things, because when they are being "racial" they love to say, "oh, not you, you are Jamaican," like they don't see that I am black. Well, I am black, so the injustice that affects black people affects me. I may reside here, but my heart, body and soul will always be in sweet Jamdown. And, I thank God every day that I am Jamaican. Not to say prejudice doesn't exist, as we have black people bleaching to turn brown, "brown skin" black people sticking up their noses at darker skin persons, etc. What I do know, though, is that certain things would just not happen in Jamaica.
Imagine your 17-year-old boy goes to the corner shop to buy candy and a drink. He, like most children today, is on his cellphone with his earpiece in, chatting to a girlfriend. Rain is falling so he puts his "hoody" over his head and is going home... no, he is not running, he is strolling,
and is walking through a neighbourhood to get back to his dad's house. What happens next is appalling. Someone sees this child and assumes he looks suspicious and should not be in the neighbourhood. They confront him; a tussle occurs and he is shot. You go to court and the verdict is not guilty for killing your child. Really!? Not on Jamaica's watch.
Having a child is a blessing. And I say this with a heavy heart as I wasn't able to bear any. However, I have nieces, nephews, friends with children, and this hurts me to the core as I feel for Trayvon's parents. May God be with them, and may God continue to bless this sweet land, Jamaica.
RIP TM, and walk good, GZ.
Iam AJamaican
jamaicamirhatid@hotmail.com
Justice across the waters
-->
'I man born ya, I nah leave ya, Sweet Jamaica'.
Yes, I have been a resident of the United States since 1976, but I am and will always be a Jamaican. One of the reasons that I have never pursued citizenship is because over and over again it is proven that, in the United States, there is no justice for blacks.
Don't get me wrong, even over here [US] being Jamaican gives you a better chance at some things, because when they are being "racial" they love to say, "oh, not you, you are Jamaican," like they don't see that I am black. Well, I am black, so the injustice that affects black people affects me. I may reside here, but my heart, body and soul will always be in sweet Jamdown. And, I thank God every day that I am Jamaican. Not to say prejudice doesn't exist, as we have black people bleaching to turn brown, "brown skin" black people sticking up their noses at darker skin persons, etc. What I do know, though, is that certain things would just not happen in Jamaica.
Imagine your 17-year-old boy goes to the corner shop to buy candy and a drink. He, like most children today, is on his cellphone with his earpiece in, chatting to a girlfriend. Rain is falling so he puts his "hoody" over his head and is going home... no, he is not running, he is strolling,
and is walking through a neighbourhood to get back to his dad's house. What happens next is appalling. Someone sees this child and assumes he looks suspicious and should not be in the neighbourhood. They confront him; a tussle occurs and he is shot. You go to court and the verdict is not guilty for killing your child. Really!? Not on Jamaica's watch.
Having a child is a blessing. And I say this with a heavy heart as I wasn't able to bear any. However, I have nieces, nephews, friends with children, and this hurts me to the core as I feel for Trayvon's parents. May God be with them, and may God continue to bless this sweet land, Jamaica.
RIP TM, and walk good, GZ.
Iam AJamaican
jamaicamirhatid@hotmail.com
Justice across the waters
-->