INDEPTH: JAMAICA
Troubled island in the sun
CBC News Online | February 28, 2006
Jamaica's status as a land of contrasts is quickly obvious to anyone who visits the Caribbean island nation. Along the north shore, there are lush resorts and breathtaking scenery, to be sure. Majestic mountains and sparkling beaches. Negril, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, and Port Antonio are just a few of the north shore place names that are well-known to North American tourists seeking a week of rest and relaxation. But a trip away from those resorts – and especially into the capital city of Kingston – reveals unmistakable evidence of trouble in this paradise, with widespread poverty, gang-ruled ghettos, and a murder rate that is among the worst in the world.
Flash back to 1962. After three centuries of British rule, Jamaica finally won full independence. Jamaicans' hopes had never been so high. These were people who were, by and large, the descendants of African slaves brought to the island in the 1800s to work the sugar plantations. Now, the country was theirs. But independence has not brought about the economic success they were hoping for.
In the 1970s, violence grew as the economy worsened. The drug trade became firmly established, with Jamaica becoming a major transit point for Colombian cocaine. More than 1,660 people were murdered in Jamaica in 2005. Inter-gang fighting is especially brutal in Kingston. There are some areas in the capital where police never set foot. Corruption is rampant.
Jamaica's two main political parties, the left-of-centre People's National Party and the conservative Jamaica Labour Party, have tried various ways to rein in the violence. Ironically, many Jamaicans say the violence has its roots in politics. That's because it was political parties which helped to organize armed "garrison communities" in the 1960s. For a time, these gangs got the vote out for their political masters. But the arrival of cocaine and marijuana smuggling gave the gangs new power and new muscle and the politicians lost what control they had. Past elections have brought about intense inter-gang fighting in Kingston. In the 1980 campaign alone, more than 800 people were murdered in two weeks. These days, rival gangs defend old political loyalties with bloody turf wars.
The tourist areas have largely (but not entirely) escaped the violence. Good thing for the Jamaican economy too, for tourism has long been the country's leading industry. Bauxite and alumina mining also bring in much-needed foreign dollars.
Still, the divide between rich and poor remains huge and the country's economy remains vulnerable. It's heavily in debt. Inflation and unemployment are running at double-digit levels. Its biggest trading partner is the United States, but its currency is steadily weakening against the greenback. A bad tourism season really hurts.
Little wonder that one of Jamaica's most reliable sources of foreign currency is the money sent back by the hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans who've emigrated. Many of those emigrés have ended up in Canada. Early Jamaican immigration to Canada was not large – a few thousand who came to work as domestics and railway porters. But in the late 1960s, when immigration rules were reformed, large numbers of Jamaicans began to choose Canada. Most have settled in the Toronto area. The 2001 census shows that 3.5 per cent of Toronto's population was born in Jamaica – about 88,000 people. The Jamaican community in Toronto is struggling to address gang-related violence that has been behind many recent shootings in the city.
But it would be a mistake to consider Jamaica simply in terms of gangs and beaches. For a country of just 2.7 million people, Jamaica has shown the world a vibrant and unique cultural heritage. It is the land that gave birth to reggae music – a rich and distinctive art form that gained worldwide popularity though the success of its most famous cultural export, Bob Marley. Reggae culture is frequently intertwined with the Rastafarians, a colourful minority who revere former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, wear their hair in dreadlocks, and embrace marijuana (ganja) as part of their religious ceremonies. Jamaican cuisine, with its spice rubs, "jerk" chicken and callaloo fritters, has also won devoted fans around the world.
Ex-pat Jamaicans keep close tabs on their home country, always hoping their first home will eventually find its way. They follow the country's music, its cricket teams, and, of course, its politics. In February 2006, the governing People's National Party elected Portia Simpson Miller as its new president to replace P.J. Patterson – an election that will make her the country's first female prime minister when Patterson steps down at the end of March. She says her main priority will be to tackle the country's crime problem.
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Population: 2.73 million
Median age: 27
Per cent living below the poverty line: 19.7%
Per capita GDP: $4,300 US
Source: CIA World Factbook
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