THE EDITOR, Madam:
JAMAICA IS currently experiencing another wave of brain-drain. It is a well-known fact that the educated and entrepreneurial are the most likely to migrate from developing to developed countries. I am also one of the many Jamaican young people who left the land of our birth to study in the United States but as my course of study draws to an end, I am faced with my own personal dilemma. Do I remain in this country where additional study opportunities and job prospects abound, or do I return home?
This is not an easy decision to make partly because I know where I can make a difference. It is my fervent wish to return home as soon as possible. In fact, I am counting down the weeks. Am I naive and unrealistic to want to return to Jamaica? Not as much as one might think. I read the local papers online daily, I speak with the family and friends regularly and I have been home on several occasions in the last three years. I am aware of the rapidly escalating crime rate, the stagnating economy, and deteriorating infrastructure, political scandals and the overwhelming sense of hopelessness and despair that seem so rampant among many young Jamaicans.
All these have furthered my resolve that I must return home. How can Jamaica ever uplift itself from the slump that it is currently in, if the people who are most needed continue to leave in droves? How can we hope to make a better future for our children if our solution is to give up? I am sure the people who make the decision to leave my country also experience some doubts but the fact remains. This country cannot get better unless we are committed to the cause. The fact is Jamaica needs me and people like me.
Young, energetic individuals who have the skills, drive and willingness to do what it takes to put Jamaica on the path to recovery. I cannot remain in the United States and contribute to their increasing wealth and development knowing that my country continues to spiral downwards. I know that the situation is not completely hopeless because we have so much potential. There are higher heights ahead for my country and I intend to be a part of making that possible.
I know that this will not happen overnight but will be the result of hard work and dedication, building on the progress of those who have already begun. To me, there was only one answer for where I should be on completing my studies and that is Jamaica. For all the opportunities that may be available to me in the United States or Canada, it will never be home.
I am etc.,
MONIQUE McCARTHY
E-mail: moniqmc@aol.com
1801 Euclid Ave
Cleveland, Ohio
Via Go-Jamaica
