"Only tourists call Jamaica 'paradise'"

[Papa Georgie]

I agree. Only tourists call Jamaica Paradise.
More Jamaicans live abroad than in Jamaica.

[jon c.]

I would certainly agree that the policies of the US do not often serve the best interests of many people throughout the Americas (and the world). I think it's a stretch to suggest that cheap tourism is even a consideration in these policies. The entire hospitality industry is exploitative, the relative impact just varies by nation. The hotels and restaurants in the US profit in part due to grossly underpaid, and in many cases illegal, labor.

[gerryg123]

Life is hard in Los Angeles, too!

[kim in socal]

My daughter worked at Disneyland for 3 years and it was what she called "hell" and at minimum wage less union dues plus unpaid time in costuming and having to park off site and shuttle over to the park added up to just about working for free...
Add gas and it was a total loss...
The only reason she really stayed so long was cause she loved the unlimited access for her and all the free passes she got for friends/family.
Happiest place on earth??? Not for employees...

[Mr. Twister]

kim in socal >>>>> Excellent analogy!!!

[rastagal]

I think it goes both ways. A friend of mine got married and moved to Italy a few years ago. Now he is experiencing what most of us do on a daily basis..get up, go to work, come home, and go to bed. He talks about how he misses the life he had in Jamaica...while he may be making more money, he no longer has a "life". It's gone from work to live to live to work....

[wench]

I hear that.

[Marko]

Life for most Jamaicans is very hard.

for many life is hard all over da world........
Jamaicans make the best of it and actually it's not so hard for some Jamaicans in Jamaica

I know Jamaicans that have made it to the good olde USA and now they really have to work for a living.......
and most Jamaicans in the states will tell you that Americans deserve everything they have cause they work so hard....

mi know many Jamaicans that made it the good olde USA and had to return to Jamaica......

All you Negril-aholics out there, does this not bother you? Just wondering...

mi have lived among the Jamaicans so I have a different perspective than most tourist...........
and NO it does not bother mi how dem Jamaicans have it der.......

the thing that we have here in N America that they don't in Jamaica is more opportunity.........
that is why so many Jamaicans try to get out of Jamaica........
and wi actually have more Jamaicans living in Florida than all of Jamaica.........
so that should tell you alot why there are so many Jamaicans in N America.......

Cool Runnings, Marko

[A_J]

spottycatz - re it being my fault - yeah it must've been that "hassle me" sign i was wearing on my back :-)

mr twister - yes, been all over the country. mi wife's from Kingston so i've spent time there. it's been about 10 years. maybe it's not actually gone downhill in that time but it's just me getting more and more tired of it. true, the overt hassling disappears outside the tourist areas, but the "take care of mi" culture seems to be pervasive. if you're the white guy, you are expected to pay for everything & it's perfectly fine for even the most remote acquaintance to aks for tings. ("hey, nice cellphone, can you buy me one?" "nice kicks, can i have them?"). one of my theories is that the tourism-based economy has led to this, because the source of wealth is it literally falls out of the sky with the tourists and you grab what you can get. rather than something to be earned with hard work. i'm not that widely travelled worldwide, but i've visited a couple other countries with similar per-capita income as Jamaica and have not experienced this.

[Nurse Marcia]

Something to think about - 45% of Americans don't pay income tax.

It's a slippery slope when we make generalizations based on our experience only. Paradise is where and what we make it.

It's Saturday, I'm drinking coffee and relaxing. My living room is paradise for me right now