LOCAL COMMENTARY

MY TAKE …For what it’s worth

By Carol Hay

Wednesday,  November 2, 2005

(The opinions presented in these articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hay family!) 

Pardon me for speaking my mind again, and shoot me down once more if you must, but I concur with a lot of people’s views on the recent visit by Jamaican Prime Minister P.J Patterson.

What on earth was the Chamber of Commerce thinking by giving him a soap-box to stand on in Cayman? Furthermore, I refuse to believe that those in attendance last Saturday were actually there to champion him or his ideals.

I believe many were there for the “curiosity factor” or just to show support for the Chamber’s 40-year anniversary. Whether the invitation to Patterson was made before or after the visa issue came up is beside the point, as there existed an element of “touchiness” with Jamaicans in Cayman since the hurricane. The Chamber of Commerce should be as their name suggests and nothing else.

It was a poor judgment call and the Chamber deserves a rap on the knuckles for this – it has offended a lot of people and rightly so.

This man and his PNP government have made such a cock-up of Jamaica, we really don’t need to follow his example, take his advice or cozy up to him in any way.

When Jamaica wanted independence, Cayman passed on the offer. Jamaica got it, the Cayman Islands thankfully didn’t.

Mind you, it’s questionable whether Jamaica is truly independent or not. Politically they may call the shots but to be truly autonomous one must have the capacity to support oneself and pay one’s own way in this world… any questions? I wasn’t at the dinner but I’m made to understand through the media reports that P.J inferred that if Cayman introduced visa requirements for Jamaican nationals, then Jamaica could also change its own immigration policies towards Caymanians.

Yes, in true P.J style it’s business as usual; hot-air phrases, empty promises and idle threats.

Don’t start shouting principles when it’s really the almighty Yankee dollar that you’re all about. America has required Jamaicans to have US visas to go to its shores for decades and I don’t think it’s ever been inferred by P.J Patterson or  his cronies that Americans need visas to come to Jamaica.

By introducing Caymanians to have visas to visit Jamaica would be a ‘tit-for-tat’ law and in true Jamaican style – a complete screw up of the system. The inconvenience and cost of having to get a visa to come to Cayman is just a case of the good suffering for the bad.

It’s not a fool-proof way of protecting our shores but I firmly believe it’s a step in the right direction. Furthermore, I truly am sick of people harping on about how Cayman used to rely on Jamaica for jobs, schooling and medical assistance. I’m curious, when does this gratitude debt run out – surely there’s a statute of limitations, or is this fact going to be cast up every time we say “NO” to them?

Yes, I agree, we relied on Jamaica for many things once-upon-a-time, but I feel secure in saying that these things were not given to Caymanians freely. Stop using that to put Cayman on a guilt trip. Enough! From what I can gather, the man did very little to redeem himself the whole time he spoke. He encouraged Cayman to become more involved in CARICOM – did nobody here warn him before he took the podium that this is a hot topic at the moment and most Caymanians are totally against this alignment?

Then again, I’m not sure it would have done any good; P.J is not one for listening to the wishes of people is he? I’m sorry I didn’t go to the Chamber’s dinner. I’m sorry that, should the opportunity have presented itself, I didn’t get the chance to tell this man and his PNP Government what I really think of them. But then again, in some ways, myself and many Jamaicans who call Cayman home, should really thank him.

If it weren’t for PJ Patterson and his predecessor Michael Manley, many of us transplants wouldn’t be enjoying the good life in Cayman today. We had the good fortune to leave and Cayman embraced us at that time.

On the surface this may sound contradictory and some may argue that I’m being hypocritical because my family moved from Jamaica in search of a better life, the very life I appear to be denying my countrymen.

But let’s be realistic here, in the 1970s and 1980s immigration was not such a big issue and the Cayman Islands for one, worked on a quota system.  During the last decade there’s probably not one country in the civilized world that hasn’t changed their policy on immigration controls.

The goalposts and situations have also changed in these Islands and that’s the long and the short of it. Why is this so hard for many people to grasp? The Jamaican Prime Minister also reminded the audience of the many Jamaicans who practice their professions here and contribute immensely to the territory.

Yes, I agree, Jamaica has more than its fair share of highly-skilled, productive, sophisticated people and these Islands have benefited from their know-how, but they also have an abundance of no good louts with criminal minds, devoid of any moral values – I believe the Jamaican Consulate here terms them “high risk” to be politically correct!

It is this element of society that no country wants invading its land. If anything good came out of this little soap box escapade it was the noteworthy statement by Patterson who asked that any legal Jamaican citizens in Cayman should not be discriminated against.

Point taken, but unfortunate as it is, people tend to stereotype, and there exists a certain element of “tarring all Jamaicans with the same brush” so to speak. This needs to be nipped but unfortunately no legislation will fix it.

I’m assuming Mr. Patterson returned to his homeland on one of his bankrupt Air Jamaica planes. I hope he took his words of advice and CARICOM encouragement with him. Meanwhile, Cayman will muddle through without him and if we hit a glitch, we’ll call him!

In the meantime, here’s something to mull over: Jamaica is broken beyond repair, Cayman is not. We’d like to keep it that way thank you very much.

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