Jamaicans are always been a people on the move. We are a people who have a magnet for opportunity where ever it may be located.
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The continuing global economic tsunami has created a new momentum for a significant movement of peoples, from the diaspora:
Loss of wealth from our 401K and home equity
Increasing unemployment
Limited job prospects going forward
Constant retooling of one’s skill set
An increased sense of strengthening family links
are just some of the factors driving this renewed pilgrimage.
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As always, there is an easy way and a hard way to accomplish this task. Some fool hardily saunter into this experience and usually pay dearly for taking this path. Help is available if we just look.
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It was my privilege to enter into conversation with Dale Pilgrim-Wade who is a resident guru on relocation to Jamaica.
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Ms. Dale Pilgrim-Wade , relocation Expert
Dale Pilgrim-Wade is an Associate with Framework Consulting and currently heading up its Transition Service practice. She possesses a BA. in International Relations, with a focus on Latin America & The Caribbean and an MA in Counselling. She has worked as a Communications Manager with organizations such as the AAMC located in Washington DC, Kaplan College in Boca Raton Florida, and specialized in designing Mentoring & Retention based programmes intended to change student behavioral outcomes.
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Dale is no stranger to Adults in Transition, as she left a career as a College Academic Advisor who specialized in adult student populations returning to college to change careers, to now assisting expatriates settle in a new environment. She currently utilizes her skills and talents for by providing mentorship, support and guidance for expatriate families relocating to Jamaica and in the Carribean.
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Dale has been living in Kingston Jamaica for the last three and a half years, and recently co-authored the ” Trinidadian Executive in Jamaica,” a Framework Consulting study of Trinidadian Executives and the challenges they face as expatriates running companies in Jamaica West Indies
Even with the generosity of the Reggae genre ,singing does not rise to the top tier of my talent bank.
So it is easy for me to refuse the invitation of join a choir, especially the grievance choir. Yes, the grievance choir whose music sheet only comprise the down notes of the US experience with its sins being the lyrics.
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As I pen these thoughts, I listen to the joyous laughter of an Ethiopian family enjoying the community pool. The dad is outside the pool orchestrating a water volleyball game, while each child scream with delight as they vie for dad’s attention.
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A diversity of people can be seen on the lounge chairs occupying the pool’s perimeter; sunbathing, catching up our their summer reading, or plugging some text message into their phones. The pool guard cast a scanning eye to ensure that all remains well. From a passing car comes the waffling sound of some sweet classical Mexican Ballard music. This idyllic melting pot scene provides a symbolic backdrop for this American Independence day week-end for me.
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Being in Washington DC during this holiday’s season, gives one a unique perspective on the greatness of the country. The National Mall comprises an all star display of national icons that are in full regale for the fourth. I thus made my way to the national mall last evening (prior to the coming hordes) to listen to Dick Gregory, a seasoned social critic.
Dick Gregory at the Smithsonian
He was performing at the annual folk life festival, and took his time to share with his irreverent humor, why this was such a great country.
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He chronicled his journey in the US with particular emphasis on the rapid expansion of opportunities for all people buoyed by the civil rights victories. Being on the forefront of the civil rights movement for so many years, his declaration comes with much credibility. This was a refreshingly honest assessment that will bear additional future progress as it gives impetus and affirmation to further national growth.
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I was again reminded to reconsider the foundational aspiration of this nation. The inspiring words of the declaration of Independence and the constitution give energy and vision to so many yearnings and possibilities. I doubt Jefferson fully imagined what those powerful words of the declaration of independence would do to not only form a new nation, but to breathe new life in the innate sense of freedom of all mankind.
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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
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I relish these moving words , while I also hold a deep love for our native land, and a keen appreciation of my ethnic roots. My hybrid nature is symbolized by the umbilical cord of a hyphen. I am a Jam-American.
I find myself being defined by the overlap of the two cultural spheres.
The mores of Jamaica and the cultural presence of my American existence shape my being.
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This will be a dynamic space and that is just fine. It will make me more sensitive to truly being, and thus make conscious choices rather than relying on just drifting along.
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In the US, we are constantly re-inventing itself using the aspiration of a great constitution, and declaration of independence to overcome the challenges of each era. That is the secret sauce of its abiding hope. This is what gives me confidence in this most challenging period.
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Finally, I leave you with this admonition. Don’t take the gust of freedom that we enjoy for granted. It was earned and will continue to be purchased by the spilling of precious blood, and other costly sacrifices.
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So as you enjoy that picnic and fireworks, utter a prayer of thanks and vow to contribute yourself to making a difference that other immigrants even from Jamaica can aspire and wonder about this great country.
A wise man , William Simms shared this keen insight about pioneers:
“Genius is the very eye of intellect and the wing of thought; it is always in advance of its time, and is the pioneer for the generation which it precedes.”
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Well, this is a great description of a pioneering woman , named Felicia Persaud.
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FELICIA PERSAUD, CEO
Hard Beat Communications, Inc
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She migrated from Guyana to the US, and through her profession of journalism, she received deep insight into the myriad of challenges faced by immigrants. She has generously given of herself in getting vital information that has been making life changing implication for many.
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Just consider this, she created ‘Immigration Korner,’ after she recognized the need by many Caribbean and other immigrants for correct information on the U.S. immigration laws. The column now appears in several papers including The Amsterdam News and The Haitian Times, in addition to its online home at: www.immigrationkorner.com.
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The column has obtained rave reviews from many immigrants who submit dozens of questions weekly and Persaud’s knowledge on the issue is now sought consistently by many Caribbean radio and local cable television hosts.
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She is a frequent guest on many of the Caribbean and Caribbean American, radio shows and has been quoted on the BBC, CNN, the New York Daily News, the Miami Herald and the Washington Post among other main stream newspapers.
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Well, she is smart enough to know that codifying an issue into law has much sustaining power, so she has set out to ensure recognition of our Caribbean ancestry. She has promoted the introduction of legislation that would afford recognition of our Caribbean ancestry in future census. Here are four reasons you should care about the census.
·Census affects funding in your community
Census data directly affect how more than $300 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education, transportation and much more.
· Census affects your voice in Congress
Mandated by the U.S. Constitution, the census is also used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and to redistrict state legislatures
· Census affects your representation in state and local government
Census data are used to define legislature districts, school district assignment areas and other important functional areas of government.
· Census informs your community’s decisions
The census is like a snapshot that helps define who we are as a nation. Data about changes in your community are crucial to many planning decisions, such as where to provide services for the elderly, where to build new roads and schools, or where to locate job training centers
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It was my privilege to have a conversation with this pioneering woman.
.The major activities of this month fall into several categories, namely:
Celebration of our cultures
Recognition of our achievements and stars
Discussion of our political power
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I have waited this long to comment on this recognition for several reasons.
My ambivalence on being bullish on this month is related to how settled we are with just achieving the recognition. Maybe I need some education on how much we have achieved .
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Let me be impolite and state the obvious, CARICOM, the binding Caribbean organization is coming apart like an egg that has been battered before it has been boiled. It is going to take some serious collective investment to ensure that this organization will function as a viable organ of Caribbean power.
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Within the diaspora, there is however a unifying item that is surfacing. It has to do with opportunities at Ivy league schools. The recession is impacting opportunities at these institution. Africans and Caribbean Americans are securing 40% of these positions which is engendering a jaundice feeling.
The 2010 census also provide us in the diaspora with a means of coordinating our efforts to benefit from a Caribbean-American designation.
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Let’s not burquarize our present reality. If we are going to move forward , we will need to clarify our unifying core, and practice a mature competition where we differ. Nothing wrong with friendly competition where we understand the stragetic alliance and history we possess.
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As we enter the final week of June, practice some courage and engage a person from a different Island about what binds us and where you may differ. Please come back and share your findings.
Ambition and the desire for a better life beat in the heart of every Jamaican.
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One of our wise men Ambassador Anthony Johnson, our ambassador to the USA captured it well in his recent presentation on the history of education. He sees Jamaicans as a dynamic bunch always on the move, be it escaping the throes of slavery, working the sugar cane fields of Cuba, or building the Panama Canal.
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In contemporary times, some of us are blessed with the pole vault of education, and have successfully used it to improve our station in life in the diaspora. Some of us have been able to migrate and find good jobs to sustain a middle class life style.
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There is another important work group that we need to appreciate. The seasonal workers represent the abiding spirit of Jamaicans who want to make a difference for their families. The technical name is the H2 workers, named after the visas granted to temporary workers (both in agricultural and non-agricultural areas). The program in the US started in the 1940’s during the labor shortage of World War II.
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Well, how did these workers fare in realizing their dreams?
In 1990, the most significant documentation of the issues surrounding the agricultural seasonal workers was captured by renowned filmmaker, Stephanie Black.
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Her pioneering work captured the drama and injustice happening on a sugar cane plantation in Florida. This is just one of her many excellent documentaries capturing important issues related to Jamaican and other Caribbean life.
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The very much acclaimed Life and Debt captures the issues surround the impact of the IMF on Jamaica. This will be an important work to revisit, given Jamaica is inching back to dialoging with the IMF in light of the prolonged global economic meltdown.
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H-2 Worker won both the Best Documentary and Best Cinematography at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival. This important work was re-released on DVD at the end of April,and so we can add this treasure to our educational archive.
We recently caught up with Stephanie for an interview, where she shared her reflection on this fine work and her perspective on the current seasonal worker issues.
This DVD captures the human drama as you can never imagine. The letters shared between spouses, the impact on the kids, the relationship of the men in the bunk, the rip off of these men set in the larger economic struggle of an Island (represented by these workers) trying to find its sea legs in a unforgiving world.
Our struggle will continue, and we can use the past experiences to help us support and influence new policies. Our youth need to appreciate the weight of the journey and this movie provides the big picture context. Channeled anger can be used to strengthen our determination to overcome. Let us remember:
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We are a people of “nuff hope”, a hope that will keep us striving, and striding until we reach home.
On the eve of the 100 day milestone of the Obama presidency,
A group of Caribbean networks met on Capitol Hill in Washington DC to network and access this young presidency. This was a reception hosted by the Virgin Islands Development Institute and the Caribbean Professional Network.
Invited guests included:
Members of the Caribbean diplomatic corps.
Members of the US Congress.
Members of the Caribbean Congressional Caucus.
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Her Excellency, Glenda Morean-Phillips , Trinidad & Tobago’s US ambassador, and Ambassador Albert Ramdin, assistant Secretary General from the Organization of American States provided the perspective from the recently concluded summit of the Americas, hosted in Trinidad. They highlighted the successes of the summit:
Avoided confrontation and the rebuilding the partnership based on listening to each other.
$30M for Caribbean security improvement
$448M for micro financing to spur entrepreneurship
New energy and climate cooperation
Attention to the Haitian issues.
Follow up meeting of Caricom leaders in Washington
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The US congressional perspective was provided by Honorable Yvette Clarke, congresswoman serving the 11th. district in new York. She has strong and deep Jamaican roots.
She was present at the summit of the Americas and shared that there will be an active congressional engagement on Caribbean related issues. She also noted how embracing folks from Caribbean islands were of Obama. She has introduced two key pieces of legislation that will have import to the Caribbean community. These are:
A Bill to protect those who have immigration troubles from mercenary fraud.
A bill to have folks of Caribbean origin be recognized and thus counted in the upcoming US census.
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Finally, Dr. Ron Walters, professor of government and politics from the University of Maryland, shared the scholar’s perspective on the Obama 100 days. he noted the power of the Black vote in the recent elections which he translated into 100 electoral votes. His professional assessment was for us to pay attention to the second 100 days, as this is the time slice that most presidents make their mark.
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The accomplishments he noted were the change of the US foreign policy, and the management of the multitude of crises, the economic one being chief. He also noted the power of the symbol of an intact Black family as a great model. He shared concern of the lack of an urban policy but noted that a new office is being created to address this vital issue.
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He challenged us to keep a sharp eye on the stimulus monies flow, and he noted the need for increased unity between the African American community and the Caribbean community. Our week-ends and evenings need to have time invested in our local community engagement, not just crab grass battles was his final cry.
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So what is your perspective on the first 100 days?
A feature story in Business week featured a mass migration of Indians and Chinese back to their native land. H1B visas issues, frayed family ties, along with career opportunities are major contributors.
I could not help but think about Tom Friedman’s book, ‘The World is Flat”, where technologies, and mega trends have upset the apple cart and are driving a new globalization era.
Tom’s Ten flatteners
Friedman defines ten “flatteners” that he sees as leveling the global playing field:
#1: Collapse of Berlin Wall–11/’89: The event not only symbolized the end of the Cold war, it allowed people from other side of the wall to join the economic mainstream. (09/11/1989)
#2: Netscape: Netscape and the Web broadened the audience for the Internet from its roots as a communications medium used primarily by ‘early adopters and geeks’ to something that made the Internet accessible to everyone from five-year-olds to ninety-five-year olds. (8/9/1995). The digitization that took place meant that everyday occurrences such as words, files, films, music and pictures could be accessed and manipulated on a computer screen by all people across the world.
#3: Workflow software: The ability of machines to talk to other machines with no humans involved. Friedman believes these first three forces have become a “crude foundation of a whole new global platform for collaboration.”
#4: Open sourcing: Communities uploading and collaborating on online projects. Examples include open source software, blogs, and Wikipedia. Friedman considers the phenomenon “the most disruptive force of all.”
#5: Outsourcing: Friedman argues that outsourcing has allowed companies to split service and manufacturing activities into components which can be subcontracted and performed in the most efficient, cost-effective way.
#6: Offshoring: The internal relocation of a company’s manufacturing or other processes to a foreign land in order to take advantage of less costly operations there. China’s entrance in the WTO allowed for greater competition in the playing field. Now countries such as Malaysia, Mexico, Brazil must compete against China and each other to have businesses offshore to them.
#7: Supply chaining: Friedman compares the modern retail supply chain to a river, and points to Wal-Mart as the best example of a company using technology to streamline item sales, distribution, and shipping.
#8: Insourcing: Friedman uses UPS as a prime example for insourcing, in which the company’s employees perform services–beyond shipping–for another company. For example, UPS repairs Toshiba computers on behalf of Toshiba. The work is done at the UPS hub, by UPS employees.
#9: In-forming: Google and other search engines are the prime example. “Never before in the history of the planet have so many people-on their own-had the ability to find so much information about so many things and about so many other people”, writes Friedman. The growth of search engines is tremendous; for example take Google, in which Friedman states that it is “now processing roughly one billion searches per day, up from 150 million just three years ago”.
#10: “The Steroids”: Personal digital devices like mobile phones, iPods, personal digital assistants, instant messaging, and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
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On the heels of these thoughts, I ran across a fellow Jamaican blogger who is pioneering a back to Jamaica phenomenon. In our email conversation, he shared that he sees a similar trend happening in Trinidad.
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I will wager a bet that the current economic tsunami with its far reaching rippling effects will rearrange many lives and some of us may find ourselves heading home.This will be reverse immigration’s X factor.
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We are used to returning in our golden years, but what about those of us still in the prime years of our lives?
I am planning a more extensive conversation with him, and would like to represent a comprehensive inquiry. We will be using some webcast technology to allow folks to listen in.
What questions flood your mind around this issue?
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So, please submit your questions either here or at the email recessionbegone@gmail.com. Will be taking questions through Sunday, March 8, 2009.
I have been told that I am multi-talented, however prophesy has never been a gift mentioned before. I am not looking for this burden. However, on my first post US election comment, I mused about the coming tension between the middle class and the poor. I saw the grip on the middle class slipping away like a greased hog on its way to the butcher. (My grandpa was a butcher, who I spent many summers with learning the trade). Sinking home values, reeling 401K or other retirement vehicles, and now mounting job losses will stoke the embers of nativism.
For some reason as I perused my electronic paper a few days back, the following title grabbed my eyeballs.
Americans and Europeans share deep concerns about immigration
This was from Monday’s Washington Post. Here is an executive summary:
People on both sides of the Atlantic express sharply negative views of illegal immigration, and roughly half of respondents said they think immigration in general is “more of a problem” than an opportunity for their societies. The European nations surveyed were the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
At least 80 percent of respondents in all surveyed countries called for stronger border controls.
In all countries, only a small percentage supported temporary immigrant work programs.
More than half of Americans say that immigrants take away jobs from U.S. citizens,
86 percent view them as hardworking and many also believe they create jobs by opening businesses and investing.
Asked what criteria are most important for allowing foreigners to immigrate, more than 90 percent of both Europeans and Americans said they must respect their new country’s laws and institutions
A strong majority also said they should speak their new country’s national language.
Most also said immigrants should arrive with a job offer and a high level of education.
More than two-thirds of both Americans and Europeans said legal immigrants should have full access to social benefits, including health care, nearly one-quarter of Americans and people in the United Kingdom said they “strongly oppose” granting them such benefits.
Your religious beliefs also carries significant consequences.
42 percent of Americans said immigrants should come from a Christian country
less than one-third of Europeans agreed.
Asked specifically about Muslims, 61 percent of Americans said Muslim immigrants have much to offer culturally, yet only 54 percent said Western and Muslim ways of life are reconcilable.
In Europe, even fewer people — 47 percent — said the two cultures could be compatible.
History has verified that people facing the psychological and social pressures of downward mobility will respond negatively. There are steps we can take to minimize the impact of these sentiments. But before we explore these, let’s make these finding sink in. Share your observations.
In the coming weeks, let’s collaborate on a solution set. Remember, we are all in this together!
