Nashauna Drummond, Staff Reporter
Left:
German Oliver Jarchow and his Jamaican bride Floreen Hopkins married in January of this year. They are one of the seemingly growing number of Jamaican-German unions. - CONTRIBUTED
Right:
A view of Seaford Town (popularly known as German Town) in Westmoreland, where immigrants from northern Germany settled in 1834. In the background is the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, the first church built in the town. - ANDREW SMITH/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
THE ARRIVAL of 64 Germans to Jamaica in 1834 cemented a bond between both countries that still exists today. As more Germans arrived in the island in the 19th century, they first settled in Seaford Town, Westmoreland. However, Germans settled throughout the island where you can find light-eyed and blond Jamaican descendants.
According to Pieces of the Past written by Dr. Rebecca Tortello in The Gleaner, Germans were also found in Alexandria, Christiana, Brown's Town, Stewart Town and Ulster Spring.
There are also places - often found in the island's hillier sections - whose names reflect German influence, such as Manhertz Gap, Charlottenburgh, Mount Holstein, Bremen Valley, New Brunswick and Hessen Castle, among others.
Today, some 160 people of German descent remain in Seaford Town, but family names like Dusterdick, Eisinger, Sleifer, Volker and Zwinkman, present 100 years ago, have disappeared. Inbreeding, along with some integration with Jamaicans of African and Asian descent occurred, leading to the creation of 'Germaicans', as stated by one resident of Seaford Town.
LOVE CONNECTION
Today, there exist a Jamaican German Automotive school and an increasing number of Germans marrying Jamaicans.
For the past seven years, German national Garvey Mullock* has been living in Jamaica with his Jamaican wife of 11 years.
Mullock met his wife in May Pen, Clarendon, on one of his regular visits to the island. He first saw her one Monday morning while he was in a restaurant in the town. They exchanged hello and occasional glances. "When she wasn't looking at me, I was looking at her."
"This was Monday. On Wednesday, I was walking in May Pen and someone said hi, but I didn't recognise her."
"On Friday, I was on my way to the bank when somebody said, "Hi, good morning,"; it was her. I asked her to wait for me and we had breakfast at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I then invited her to the beach and we spent the weekend on the North Coast. We came back the following Wednesday and I left the island on Thursday. I called her on the Friday and told her how much I missed her and invited her to Germany. She agreed and arrived in Germany the following Monday. Four months later we were married."
Mullock's first marriage was to a German. He said he didn't marry his second wife because she was Jamaican. "For me it's not because she was Jamaican. I'm never prejudiced. My mother loved her the first time she met her; absolutely no problem."
Though colour wasn't an issue for Mullock, he, however, conceded that he loves dark complexioned women. "I couldn't go back to a white lady. They are not attractive (to me) anymore. Black women have nice buttocks and nice shapes. They are happier and once they smile, they really smile. I've decided to stay in Jamaica and not go back to Germany."
Mullock thinks that where the couple decides to live also impacts on the relationship. "If the couple lives in Jamaica it lasts longer."
He loves the Jamaicans' way of life, their culture and their mentality.
He notes that one of the main differences between Jamaican and German women is their level of confidence and pride.
"German women have a lot of self-confidence. If you see one in a pub and offer her a beer, she'll tell you she can buy her own beer. If it's a Jamaican, she will say thank you and you can talk."
Though Mullock maintains that colour is not an issue, there are other things about Jamaicans that attract him.
"Colour is not important to me. But if I have a choice to have sexual relations with black women versus another woman, I would choose black because they enjoy it more they are more fun. From my point of view, they are more natural.
"However, most times they are not easy to handle in a relationship. You can't control a Jamaican woman. You have to give them space or they will break out. Respect is also very important. It's not about colour or culture. It's about respect."
*Names changed on request.
