I dont see anyone arguing, other than you, that life for the average Jamaican is tough. There is really not any more to that story. Everyone knows that. It is your other observations made by only visiting the island that demonstrates that there is more to many of the things you call "reality".Originally Posted by negrilsand
The reality is that I am from the US, moved here over 20 years, earn Jamaican wages, pay Jamaican taxes, have mostly Jamaican friends, use the Jamaican medical system and live IN the Jamaican system. I am not being told about it, or reading it from some second or third hand source, but knowing it because it is in my face each and every day. And I like it that way.
Fantasy. Interesting word, but let's talk about the reality of that violent crime you mention. Kingston was 26th on the list of murders per 100,000 in 2014. And that has to take into account the "inadequate" healthcare you propose. People who would be saved in the North American hospitals dont have that advantage here because of the state of the healthcare here. Yet, St. Louis came in as the 18th most murderous cities, Detroit at 22 and New Orleans just behind Jamaica at 28th. So two American cities had more murders per 100,000 than Kingston, with New Orleans coming in a close. And that is with all the superior healthcare that is so lacking here, since even Jamaican politicians go to the US to seek their care. So people are murdered everywhere, especially in St. Louis, Detroit and New Orleans.
Speaking of US healthcare, a friend of mine and Jamaican politician recently was referred by his regular doctor in Kingston to a specialist in the US for his back problems. The Honourable Roger Clarke had been given the "all clear" by the American specialist to travel back to Jamaica after his recuperation. He was in a Florida Airport and had a heart attack, and was rushed to a nearby hospital. He died there. In the American hospital. I guess Jamaicans should avoid US hospitals now since they cannot adequately treat our politicians.
I have many returnee friends, even in Manchester, and their stories follow more along the line of this returnee:
"I have spent the last 17 years of my life working towards the American dream. By society’s standards, both here and there, many would say that my husband and I have achieved it. The high profile careers with six figures coming in, the large single-family house, the cars, all tied in a bow for the family of 5 (3 children).
Having now slumbered my way into dreamland, I find that I have awoken to the American nightmare many of us who took the same path that I did have come to know. "
http://transitionsunshine.info/2009/...g-home-shares/
And this one:
"I decided about 6 years ago that I had to find a way to come back home, come hell or high water. I felt that if I stayed in Canada my life would just get lonelier and lonelier as the years went by.
I have now been back 4 ½ years and I have no major complaints. At first I was angry, because I had to start over from scratch to build a business, and I had already gone through that in Canada.
Building my business in Jamaica was much easier than building one in Canada. It is much easier to network here, and I found when I went to one person to let them know what I was doing, that person would point me in the direction of others who would be interested in my business."
http://transitionsunshine.info/2008/...me-to-jamaica/
It doesnt seem that your notion that returnees go to resorts first is common knowledge is all that common. More like something that a Jamaican told you to see if you would believe that nonsense. Jamaicans have a wicked sense of humor.
I find your comments on the housing schemes and unfinished houses equally amusing. Why would a visitor to the island need to know anything about the government programs? I have seen schemes such as Orange Bay and Whitehall grow up right before my eyes. Phase I at Orange Bay is incredible! But I live here as a "longer time settler" as you call it.
And dons who are dead or in jail leaving their mansions unfinished? Someone is having a good laugh at your expense on that one. Didnt it occur to you that even dons have family and friends who would finish the work if the money was available, which it would be even to a dead don? Those structures are for the most part built little by little, with NO MORTGAGE on family land and can take decades to finish. That is the reality, not some don induced joke.
I have to take what someone writes by the beliefs the person holds. To quote you "Watch your valuables where ever you stay. I love Jamaica and Jamaicans , but they will steal whatever is not nailed down. "
http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...961#post146961
