THE EDITOR, Madam:
I OFTEN wonder, where is our home? Having felt that the places of my residence were never truly my home, I am left to ponder this question even more, now that I have heard of the increasing violence against "returnees" in the island of my birth, Jamaica.
See Birmingham Post, September 13, 1999 "Jamaican Returnees Targeted By Criminals", by Jon Hunt;
Times Newspapers Limited, August 3, 2000 The Times (London) August 3, 2000, "Jamaica 'returnee' 50th to be murdered" by Daniel McGrory;
Evening Standard, September 13, 1999, "Murder gangs threaten dream retirement isle" by Ian Broad;
Birmingham Evening Mail, September 13, 1999, "Wealth Clue To Jamaican Death Spree";
Sunday Telegraph (London) July 02, 2000, "Jamaican returnees warned of violence by High Commission" by Rajeev Syal;
The Independent (London), March 19, 1999, "Paradise Lost; A Spate Of Savage Killings Has Shocked Jamaica. The 29 Victims Are All Elderly, Returning From Britain And America To The Rural Idylls! They Remember From Their Childhoods. But Times Have Changed And They're Not Welcome Anymore... " by Kenneth Taylor;
Times Newspapers Limited, August 2, 2000, "Fatal homecoming in paradise" by Daniel McGrory.
The returnees of whom I speak are those hard-working folks who emigrated from Jamaica. Emigrants often left Jamaica for England, Canada and the United States in waves, seeking a better life and greater economic opportunity. Many, however, left their hearts at home hoping to one day return to their homeland. These people often endured years of economic hardship, isolation, racial violence and harassment in their adopted homes, all the while dreaming of the day when they could return home to breathe the ocean air and live in peace in the invigorating sunshine.
A recent article in the London Times chronicling the targeting of returnees left me adrift in sorrow as I read of the violent demise of 50 returnees to Jamaica in the past few years.
The peaceful existence many returnees had expected has been elusive. Being torn between the reality of living like a caged animal, often behind bars, fortifying ones home, or risking the possibility of armed violence, returnees may become disenchanted. Although not naive, returnees may not have expected to become prey in their native land.
Imagine the disillusionment -- living abroad in a foreign land, being marginalised, discriminated against and told to go home. You agree, yes home is where the heart is, who wants to die in this cold place anyway. You send money home to your relatives over the years, educate your kids, make your retirement plans and head back home once you have managed to save enough to guarantee a certain lifestyle that you have worked so hard to achieve.
Having taken few, if any vacations, you yearn for the island breeze that your colleagues describe in their appreciative voices upon their return from a Jamaican vacation. Envious of the liberties they take when on the island, you mention that you have actually never been to many of the tourist attractions they have mentioned and that you have not had the opportunity to return home in some time -- not since you were home for a funeral a few years ago. You make a silent pledge to yourself that some day you will return home and "live the life", breathe easy and truly "walk good".
I believe the above description will resonate for many of us set adrift in the African Diaspora -- that expanding space to which many of us flee, flock or are forced. This is, however, a temporary space for many of us "cannot take the cold" -- a descriptor relating to more than just the weather. How sad it would be for us to remain homeless, never truly being welcomed into our foreign homes and never feeling completely at ease out of our natural (albeit not truly original) habitats. Do any of us really have such habitats any more?
The question is an increasingly relevant one, given emerging global markets -- cross-border spaces of business, employment, education and family (I am thinking of the increasing trans-border adoption and marriage statistics). The plight of refugees also signals the mass movement of people, often by the thousands. Clearly, it is not just we Jamaicans seeking to return to our homelands that might be affected and afflicted with sentiments of ambivalence.
But that is the essence of the African-Diaspora is it not? Defined as the place to which we are "dispersed" one must wonder if one can ever really go home. After years abroad, twenty, thirty, forty years, one cannot return unchanged. Our accents are different, our attire has changed and, like it or not, we are out of touch and privileged. While we might seek to distinguish ourselves from the other oppressors, the colonisers who have exploited our people for generations, by our having gone to live amongst these same exploiters have we become like them?
We deny it, but our native brothers and sisters call us "English", "American" and "Canadian" behind our backs. We start to speak their language; we even dress like them and eat what they do. Perhaps, therefore, the violence inflicted on us upon our return home is not surprising given that in some ways we may embody those that have historically done nothing but take from us. We are not those we seek to leave behind, but we now embody much of what is alien, what is foreign about them. "But not my family" I cry, "We have done you no harm." Sound familiar?
Repercussions for violence against returnees might not provide as much immediate disincentive for violence against 'tourists'. Posters all over the island proclaim "Treat Our Tourists Right" -- this same campaign does not apply with equal vigour for returnees who are not as prized an economic vehicle. Returnees are also far more accessible as we often seek out the genuine experience of home which so many 'tourists' never wish to see. Many visitors to Jamaica do not stray too far from the luxurious resorts -- they do not wish their vacations ruined by the contrasting, stark, realities of the real Jamaica. Accordingly, returnees whose posture is away from the tourist traps (and accompanying armed security) and towards the "real deal" may prove easy prey indeed.
I am etc.,
CAMILLE A. NELSON
Assistant Professor of Law
St Louis University School of Law
E-mail: camillenelson@hotmail.com
St Louis, MO, USA
Via Go-Jamaica
