"By Eloquence, Inc." ...The Advantages of being Jamaican

Eloquence, Inc. is a regular reader of “Jamaican Till I Die” and makes some of the best comments on various issues. I especially love her comment on the blog "You Ungrateful Wretch! "  and think it should be a separate blog post for all to see and I would like to thank "Eloquence, Inc." for all the comments since I started this:

In response to: "You Ungrateful Wretch!"

EXCELLENT POST and PERFECT timing as we come to the end of Jamaica's 50th anniversary!

Add the Issa's and the Simonitsch's (founder of Half Moon and the all inclusive resort concept) to that list of big names!

No matter how long I have been away, I know if I could sort out a decent career opportunity down there, I would love to move back home. I am not one of the ones that ever thought anything as a child but that the sun rises and sets on Jamaica... Didn't even want to leave, parents made me. But I realize as I run into Jamaicans from other walks of life, that most think "likkle Jamaica caan do nutten fi mi" and in some cases it's true, because of the social standing they were born into and the lack of the right connections (mostly from not going to the right schools), they are achieving things in America that were not happening for them back home. BUT in some cases they apply themselves to their books and to their job opportunities in America in a way they were not doing when in Jamaica!

I met a great woman in Jamaica who yeah she mixed and red with long hair and lives in big house on Jacks Hill now, but she told her story of how she came from country bush where she use to walk with river water in bucket on her head when young, to now an entrepreneur that moved up in life!

And is not just the light and white doing it anymore. It does take links to get around the red tape but as a minority you have a better chance of respect and making the links in the first place in a place like Jamaica than somewhere like America where as you said, the same things that make you special in Jamaica make you exactly nobody here compared to the 300 million other people that might fit your racial or economic description.

My ability to get put 2 years ahead in US schools is directly due to the Jamaican education system that produced me. I thank Jamaica's culture and education all the time for making me the person that can adapt and survive and have admirable qualities as a person and make me distinctive to folks here, not just another black face. Without being Jamaican that would not be possible. And people don't realize down there that there is a GREAT power and influence on having your child grow up seeing black people in successful positions of every corner of society, in your bank, in your schools...not just out on the streets. America might be the land of opportunity but as a professional most of the black faces you see are at the bottom of the totem pole or out on the streets loafting, especially the men. In Jamaica positive black achievement is everywhere, in the classroom, bankroom, sports field... we don't grow up feeling less than everybody else or with the minority complex.

The culture and education and focus on relationships/links and not just paper contracts and money and the love of children in the society (read how many professional Americans complain of the terrible fight to live up to corporate demands which do not care about family obligations even when they say they do)...these all help people to have opportunities in Jamaica or at least a mentality that allows them to get ahead elsewhere. But I don't think even the poorest among us realize the pride and values and strength instilled in us AS JAMAICANS is what helps them no matter where they are when they get their opportunities.

Some of course are exceptions but for the most part the overall Jamaican culture produces very smart people who value relationships (part of why links end up so important to get anything done!) and family (even if the downside is people might have too many kids at times, but most of the people having them whether rich or poor genuinely love kids and having that family life!).

.... Eloquence, Inc.
eloquence-inc.blogspot
Eloquence, Inc. Career Services

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O green isle of the Indies

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."― Leo Tolstoy.

This writing is inspired by a request of a friend of mine to find positive news from Jamaica about Jamaica, he lives in New York and all he seems to hear, whether through the media or otherwise is how violent we are, how corrupt we are, how illiterate, undisciplined and crass we are and how shortsighted we are.

So as usual I would like y'all to see one alternate view.

I grew up in Jamaica but migrated to the US when I was 15, I enjoyed living in my adopted home, I met many great people who influenced my world view, made lifelong friendships and had many valuable experiences that helped make me who I am today. The main reason for my emigration was like most other Jamaican youth who do, i.e. to pursue higher education and broaden my employment opportunities. At that time, I told my mother I wanted to study film to further persuade her that my need to migrate was a real necessity (but please. at that time I was only really interested in breakin'..I had no interest whatsoever in film making).

Anyway, I made the most of the American educational experience, one which provides a wealth of opportunities for anyone who wants to learn. I got a couple of degrees , various certificates and a wealth of knowledge as a consequence of exploring so many of my interests; martial arts, power of the mind, music, engineering, fitness, dance, comic book literature, yoga therapy, shiatsu, Taoism, Zen Buddhism, NLP, and whatever else I could cram into my little brain.

Then… after 7 years I decided to visit Jamaica...

WOW! It is soooo important to travel abroad because that is the only way to know how it feels to return home, home to your family, home, where there is this deep understanding of people and their language and their understanding of you, I now understood what it was that I'd been missing, I now understood what it was that I couldn't quite put my finger on while living in New York.

After my vacation I returned to NY, and for the first time in 7 years I felt consciously out of sorts, I now felt trapped or should I say restricted, in contrast to the relative freedom of the Jamaican lifestyle I just left, for the first time in 7 years I felt like, well… an alien. No more Led Zeppelin, Eric Dolphy or De La Soul, I started listening to Bob Marley every day, I started calling friends and family in JA more often and began investigating what it would realistically take to live there.

You see, I realized:
1) My home was NOT my home and
2) Jamaican girls (in Jamaica) are THE only option

Five years later, I packed up my shit and jumped on the first banana boat home.

I ..LOVE.. Jamaica.

It's been 16 years since I've returned home and it has not been all milk and honey. I have suffered financial problems, lost close friends violently, been mistreated by the police, and been a victim of robbery.

With all those negative experiences, I have never one day regretted my decision to come back home.


I LOVE this place with all my heart and will sink with the ship if I have to (although I know it will never go down)

Jamaican people are heirs to a lush tropical paradise with flowing waterfalls, white water beaches, and deep blue lagoons, we have fertile land which can grow almost anything, and magnificent mountain ranges which provide the most picturesque experience and produces the richest coffee and the best marijuana in the world (I hear).

We are home to some of the most beautiful species of birds, fish, insects and animals in the world.

The Jamaican people themselves are resilient, caring, strong and determined. They are also an industrious, creative and fun people. Jamaicans have an infectious attitude to life and our culture has been greatly influential to peoples all over the world from our street slang, to our music and dance styles, to the resourcefulness shown in our many creative enterprises.

Across the world you can find Jamaicans skilled and exceptional in every field imaginable from simple art and crafts to music, fine art, education, dance, athletics, medicine, literature, filmmaking, quantum physics, poetry, computer science, animation and robotics.

The strength of the Jamaican people however lies in how we come together as a community, daily, I see evidence of how this society behaves like a large family; cars stop to allow kids the cross the street, young people go out of their way to help the elderly with heavy bags, we join partner plans with total strangers, in the rural areas people will wave to motorists as they drive by, today on the bus, a young lady stumbled on entering the bus, I said "hush" and we ended up talking about her educational aspirations for the 15 minutes that she rode the bus, the same kind of thing happens whether you're on line at the supermarket, the bank or a utility company, you talk to people as if you've known them for years, no sweat.

It would be easy to over-romanticize the Jamaican experience without addressing its harshness-- the dinginess, the criminal element, the lack of leadership, the ways we are selfish, inconsiderate, and cruel to each other. These traits however usually manifest anywhere that the pursuit of material possessions dominates people's consciousness over any sense of good will.

However, when we badmouth our society or any society, person or experience for that matter, we are looking at the situation from a very limited narrow perspective, one usually based on emotion, prejudice or egotistical tendencies.

From a Taoist perspective.

If you seek to look at a situation, look at the entire case history, the total picture, the evolution, the causes and effect using observation, reasoning, reflection and contemplation then you will eventually understand the how and why.

Once there is deep understanding then there is no need to form strong opinions that cause emotional disturbance inside you or between people. Resist the ego.

The society has evolved from colonialism*, a system where the ruling class brutally victimized and oppressed the slave class, some people believe that this system no longer exists, but it can only be eradicated if we look inside ourselves and root out these attitudes. Jamaica's biggest problem is social discrimination which is directly related to colonialism, it is the basis for our lack of harmony and unity, it makes one set of people believe they are better than another because of their social class, education, skin colour and language skills. It is ignorance of the highest level.

*(In contrast, first world countries have developed thru imperialism)

Some of us have a deep resentment for other classes and we don't know where it comes from, we wonder why our educational system, favours only a few and we blame the government, but we don't see that the unseen framework for the society insists that a certain percentage of the society remain subservient.

We think individuals are where they are ONLY because of their attitude, maybe, but if so, the attitude comes from somewhere not easily purged.

The colonialist mentality is the root of the lack of self worth, the selfishness, insensitivity, cruelty and greed in our society and any other society that was exposed to it.

Most people ignore what they can't see and that's why so many people downplay our past as being so influential. If you want to test this hypothesis, just look at what your opportunities are, and current access to resources then take into consideration your family history and the amount of "help" your predecessors got. Whether skin complexion, access to successful family members, or gracious benefactors etc.

People today pay a lot of attention to being a critic and having THE opinion on how to change situations, but only a few take the time to work on their own personal development, only few know how to change and improve their own situation without expecting others to do it, only few have the required self control and self discipline to change.

To uplift our people, we need to look within ourselves at our own shortcomings; our country is simply a reflection of its people.

Ideas eventually become reality if persistent, so attitudes that reflect anger, aggression, intolerance, selfishness, hotheadedness, prejudice, thoughtlessness, divisiveness, unchecked materialism, and egotistical motives will show clearly in our society. If you want a better society you should cultivate better attitudes.

Yes... Michael Jackson was right, start with the man in the mirror.

Only through the pursuit of self awareness, right action, integrity, order, self love and inner harmony can we heal ourselves and our beautiful country.

If there is to be peace in the world,

There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,

There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,

There must be peace between neighbours.

If there is to be peace between neighbours,

There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,

There must be peace in the heart.

-Live with awareness

-Train Hard

-Have Fun
-Peace, love, health, prosperity and happiness

Breakboy Nrg

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Jamaica Returning Residents Info

You have been living away from Jamaica for some 20,30 or 40 years, in all that time you have not been a regular visitor to the island but now you have decided that it is time for you to retire and you want to retire back home in Jamaica. In all the time you have been away you have been carrying around these romantic memories of how life use to be, how wonderful life was in the area where you grew up and you have spent all these years dreaming and pining about returning home to recapture the moments.

There is nothing wrong with this except, you have been away from Jamaica for such a longtime and like anywhere else life change, people change, places change, some for the better and others change for the worst but you would not know that because you have disconnected yourself from Jamaica and like Neo from the Matrix, you have been living in a romantic dream world.

First let’s clear up a few simple facts about Jamaica Today:
First Fact, Jamaica can be a Blood Sucking Black hole when it comes to money, once you prime that pump with a few dollars it quickly transforms into a transatlantic money sucking vacuum cleaner.

Second Fact, there are people in Jamaica who have mastered the art of the “Hard Luck Story”, all they need is a willing ear and before you know it you are sucked into another dimension, the twilight zone where they ride you like a Jackass without giving you a drink of water. Heck even the Government have mastered this fine art, they sell poverty, hard luck stories and "poor ting pickney look", (kind of like puss in boot from the shriek movie) to every lending agency willing to listen. Jamaica it seems has mastered the art of existing at the mercy of others, so do not believe everything you hear because there is a method to their madness, they live by the saying” When you find a jackass, you ride him to pasture”.

I am not saying you are not supposed to trust people because some of the nicest people I have met are Jamaicans in Jamaica, just apply common sense.

Building your Jamaican Dream Mansion:
So you have chosen to build your dream house instead of buying a readymade house, well one word of advice “You cannot be an Absentee Builder”, if you are going to build your house in Jamaica then you must be in Jamaica to oversea what is happening. I am not saying you cannot find a trusting developer to do the work for you, but there have been so many reports of people sending their money to Jamaica to build a house and when then come home, no house and no money.

Now you have it in your head that you are going to build that dream house to rival all other dream houses, your version of Buckingham Palace. The problem is you are going to build this mansion in a village that may not have improved in all the years you have been away, in fact the area may have declined and you are now building a $40 or $50 million Jamaica dollar house in a location where the houses cost on average $1 to $3 million Jamaican dollars. Yes the quaint little village that you grew up in is now impoverished and maybe crime ridden but as I said you would not know that, because you did not do due diligence, you have been away for 20, 30 or 40 years and did not keep up with changing times, you have no idea what is what and who is who and as they say “Location, Location, Location”.

So you built a mansion, a sight to behold, the talk of the town, you import the expensive luxury automobile, wear your pinstripe suit with a bowler hat and cane driving down to the local village market to pick up a few provisions, all the while attracting the attention of the wrong type of people, those that want, what you have and God forbid they decide to come and take it off you. It would be wonderful if the rural country village you grew up in, remained wonderful, charming and peaceful just a darling of a village and I am sure most are but you cannot just move into an area you have not lived in for 20, 30 or 40 years without having firsthand intimate knowledge of life in that area. This place is now completely foreign to you, the people are also foreign to you and you are foreign to them but here you are with all your wealth and worldly possessions on display for all to see, in an area where poverty is all around you.

Common Sense and Street Smart
Whatever street smarts you learnt in your adopted country should return with you to Jamaica, don’t be naive just be sensible. If you are planning to return to Jamaica to retire, then make plans to visit Jamaica often, especially in the years leading up to your retirement. Spend some time not just in the place where you grew up but in other places, research all areas, ask questions about different areas, about the crime rate in those areas, stop by the local police station and talk to the officers on duty, read the daily papers, watch the nightly news online, monitor the property value in different areas, research the schools in the area. Disregard whatever concept or notions you had about life in Jamaica 20, 30, 40 years ago, wipe the slate clean and rebuild Jamaica in your mind from the ground up. At the time when you migrated you may have been in a certain social class but you may have evolved or devolved depending on your experiences and now belong in a completely different social class.

If you are going to build a $40, $50 million Jamaica dollar mansion then try to build it in an area filled with other mansions that value close to that amount, since that is now your wealth bracket and people in that wealth bracket have in place the appropriate security measures to ensure the safety for themselves, family and property, that may also be the right social circle to engage your mind, filled with like minded people. For example Vineyard Town 20, 30 or 40 years ago was a nice place to live but today you would not want to build a 50 million Jamaica dollar mansion in the middle of that area, why? because it is a ghetto, for that price try Norbrook, Waterworks or Jacks Hill, the view from Bracknell Avenue is perfect all year round.

I have a relative who came back to Jamaica for a visit after 40 years away from Jamaica, while staying with us he complained to no end that he hated where we lived, called us bourgeoisie and proclaimed that he was going down to Barbican to be with his “black brothers and sisters”, his words not mine, we tried very hard to talk him out of it but could not, we told him to exercise caution. That night he put on his best English threads and off he went down to Barbican for a drink at Beenie bar with his “black brothers and sisters”. On my way past the bar I stopped in to see if he was OK, he was having a whale of a time and was about to buy the 5th round of drinks for the entire bar, its was as if the man was trying to redistribute the Queen's wealth, people from all over Barbican filled the bar trying to get a drink from the very generous, rich English Gentleman, so I left him and went on my merry way.

In the wee hours of the night after spending all his money buying drinks for Barbican and under a couple drinks he decided to make his way home, but some of his “black brothers and sisters” must have been watching him because they pounced soon after he left the bar. He had no money left but they took his Jewelry, his clothes and his shoes, he had nothing left but his knickers (underpants) he was saved by some of his “black sisters” who had been drinking with him, they came to his rescue and escorted him home, for all I know it was their friends who jumped him. I am not saying Barbican and Beenie bar is a no go area, not at all, my friends and I have on occasion stopped in Barbican at Beenie Bar for a couple drinks over the years but it is an area that requires certain amount of street smart, especially after 1 am in the morning, use some common sense. I am sure there are parts of London that he would not have gone to flashing money about, the same for almost every country, I do not understand why the same level of street smart did not hold true for Jamaica.

Once you move back or even visit Jamaica it is NOT important for everyone in Jamaica to know you are a returning resident or visiting Jamaica, you are Jamaican then just be Jamaican, in other words, you do not need to follow Ms Lou's advice and say “Poo” instead of “Pa” simply because at times, fitting in works better and to your advantage, sometimes not standing out is what you want to do. There are people who talk more patios and act more Jamaican when they are at home in foreign countries but when they come home to Jamaica they are transformed into a proper English Gentleman and Southern Texas ladies with accents people in both England and Texas would never recognize.

The impressions Jamaicans have of returning Jamaicans was in fact created by returning Jamaicans because of their need to show local Jamaicans that they live in a foreign country, have been changed by it and made it, they have arrived. I know people who spend up to six months’ salary on two weeks’ vacation, splashing it from the minute they set foot at the airport. A person I know would start to splash cash the second he set foot back on Jamaican soil and boast how he spent several grand while still at the airport, I then heard he went back to NY and called another friend to borrow some money to pay for his rent.

Crime in Jamaica
The number one concern for returning and visiting Jamaicans is the issue of crime and rightly so, no one wants to return to a place where guns are barking every night like “mawga” dog on the street and bullets passing your ears more times than buzzing mosquitoes. But if we take the time to study the pattern of crime across the island one would realize that the majority of murders and criminal activities are localized to handful of parishes and very localized within those parishes to a hand full of ghetto locations. If one could look at a murder map of Jamaica, one would realize that the vast majority of Jamaica and Jamaicans are safe and living in peace, the people in these places rarely hear a gunshot or experience any crime what so ever. We have three Counties and 14 Parishes in Jamaica with a population of over 2.8 million people and most of those people and location go about their business in peace and enjoy life as much as anyone else in the world.

I am by no means saying that Jamaica does not have a crime problem, it is a fact that our murder rate has been over 1000 for the past couple years but 98% of those murders occurs in a handful of Ghetto communities within a hand full of parishes and everyone can list these troubled no-go communities. We know which ghettos in Kingston, St. James and Spanish Town and we know to stay clear of them and they seem to stay clear of everyone else.

One of the problem or recent development is that these days, we are now so very connected, a fender bender car crash can happen on Hope Road at 3:00PM and at 3:02PM news of the crash is instantly broadcast to Jamaicans worldwide, Jamaicans living in Germany are aware of the accident as Global satellite systems disseminate information at the speed of light to internet servers and smart high tech hand held devices worldwide. Back in the days if three murders happened today we may hear about 2 in printed or electronic media the next day or over the next couple days and a fender bender would never even make news that would just be idle chatter by the people who saw it. People outside of Jamaica may never hear of it at all, the Daily Gleaner used to be monthly in the UK and people in NY would have to wait for the Star to publish every couple weeks, so most crime would go by with most Jamaicans at home and abroad not knowing it ever happened.

Coupled with the fact that news media’s are competing with each other to see who can find and report the most negative news, because bad news sells and is addictive to most Jamaicans. We are now bombarded up to the nanosecond with every criminal activity, every accident, every little thing and at the rate it is coming in it has started to have on effect on the minds of Jamaicans worldwide, we cannot assimilate that much bad information at that rate about our little rock.

Do your Research and Practice Diligence
There are some wonderful places in Jamaica to live, in almost every County, every Parish but thorough research is required, integrating yourself into any society is a strategy that you must learn and understand. I have read reports after reports of returning residents complaining that after spending every red cent they have to return to Jamaica they are now too broke to leave, disappointed at the condition of the area they moved to or shocked that paying bills is such a manual process, while others complain about the crime rate. The fact is what they are complaining about is known worldwide and not a secret just requires due diligence, research and then research it again, understand what you are leaving behind and what you are coming home to and where you are coming to, weigh the pros and cons with an open mind before making that move.

Jamaica Nice Every time!!!

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