Why do jamaicans find it so easy to beg.

[Rob]

MissBlue,

Thanks for the explanation. Since I see the number of people who are successful in the transition from other countries to Jamaica being a very small percentage of the total of those who give it a try, just so I know where you are coming from, what would be your best guess as to the percentage you have seen move to the US and decided to stay in relation to the total number that have tried?

The percentage that I have seen make it here successfully is running in the 2% to 5% range, a very small fraction of those who have tried...

Lisa and I have been kicking around the numbers a bit, and since she moved here approximately 5 years ago, we can only think of one and possibly two (the jury is still out on that one) people who have moved to the Westmoreland/Hanover area and have successful businesses. We can count over 40 people that we know have tried...

[MissBlue]

oh i couldn't even begin to formulate even a guess - although I spend the majority of my time in the West Indian community - probably 90% of my friends and acquaintances are yardie & trini, with a few grenadians, guyanese and other neighbor island emigres in the mix - still - my sample size is so small, and so personal - just my own circle of friends -- I couldn't even guess about the overall percentages. Even though I'm peripherally friendly/familiar with hundreds of other emigres I meet and/or play music with in New York City, I don't know them personally well enough to know their private circumstances to even make a guess. I can tell you that this is a HUGE topic of conversation among them though, they are often equally as frustrated about this whole beggy-beggy business, as many of we tourists. many of them are constantly saying things like "if my ppl at home only knew how hard it was here ... they have no clue....they expect me to bring them the world on a plate when i go home, i work like a dog just to make it here, i don't have nuff to give away, i can't manage". Some of them actually don't go home to visit at all, too many stories of theft, and worse, among those who have - when going home for a visit, some even go so far as to fly to Barbados first and enter their home country from there, just so ppl don't see them getting off a plane coming from the USA.

Of my own small sample size, i'd say more than half are fully immersed, working, and successful. Some have become citizens, but most retain their own citizenship and are here on green cards/work visas. As for the rest, some do choose to stay but are barely making it, barely working, always asking others for help, never seem to have themselves together .... have never gotten their papers in order so they can get a real job.... i can only guess that some of them really had no clue how hard it would really be, and have never managed to quite get it together - yet they still stay. A few of my closer friends often talk about this also, even THEY wonder about their own countrymen who've been here 20 years yet can't ever seem to get it together, are miserable, yet still stay. And then there's those others who get here, stay for a while, and hate it; much prefer living they way they were brought up and go home. but as far as actual percentages i can't even guess.

[captaind]

Bnewb,

Very true. Too bad some never get a chance to meet the people in those organizations.

Even some who have visited numerous time over the years only think of Jamaican society being ganja smoking, dreadlocked hustlers. More's the pity.