Letter of the Day | Stop erasing their memories

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Cuba/Jamaica relations have resurfaced again. This time it has taken on a more significant geopolitical tone based on recent development from the Donald Trump administration as well as CARICOM. Prime Minister Andrew Holness in his recent speech in the CARICOM forum mentioned the contribution of Cuban doctors and teachers. https://url-shortener.me/GD4W.

Many are likely to opine that this is the gold standard for the relationship between Jamaica and Cuba over the years. There are many Jamaicans and others who will take a ‘keep quiet approach’ however, being of Jamaican and Cuban ancestry, I do not have such luxury especially when the legacies of 4,036 WWI veterans are on the line.

Thanks to Sharon Milagro Marshall Tell My Mother I Gone to Cuba: Stories of Early Twentieth-Century Migration From Barbados published by The University of the West Indies Press and others, the lives of migrants such as the 4,036 veterans who were granted free work permits to President Menocal’s Cuba commencing from 1919 to the 1930’s have been made known. However, much more needs to be done to take this narrative to wider audiences. Otherwise, they will continue to be relegated to the scrap heap of history.

In this regard, I am hereby calling on Pearnel Charles Jr minister of labour and social security and Chief of Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman to elevate this discourse so that it can be appreciated that Jamaican/Cuban relations predate Michael Manley and Fidel Castro.

JOAN FRANCIS

Granddaughter of Hezekiah

Anderson One of the 4036

Jamaican WWI veterans

in Cuba from 1919 to 1930’s