Perspective: Towards an inclusive state: The Solution to the Jamaica’s crime problem
Jamaican Diaspora voting rights is a direct challenge to the last bastion of colonial rule in Jamaica, it is indeed one step closer to complete freedom of the Jamaican people the unshackling of the last vesture of slavery; a direct challenge to the ruling class who have openly opposed ordinary Jamaicans gaining significant political and economic power.
Diaspora Voting Right is not an imposition of our will on the Jamaican people but rather the embodiment of the common man’s vision of the future for Jamaica outside of the colonial construct created to perpetuate the economic enslavement our people. Crime in Jamaica is an instrument of social control to deplete the rising power of a middle-class by forcing them to “fly-out ” and oppress a captive underclass by using them as the dominant electorate subverted by criminal gangs and their “Don” leaders.
The governance in a post-colonial Jamaica is primarily to maintain social order through the fear of violence. The continued disenfranchisement of the Jamaican Diaspora is part of this larger strategy to divide and rule. We, therefore, cannot assert our political and economic rights from within, our influence on transforming Jamaica can only be achieved under the protection of foreign democracies in which we live. There is no other solution to Jamaica’s crime problem than a political one. Diaspora Jamaicans must demand a vote and end the violence once and for all. This will strengthen our democratic institutions and shift the political dynamics away from Garrison politics to allow for the repatriation of economic and human capital to Jamaica for economic development. Economic integration cannot be achieved without political and social integration.
One of the most frequent arguments against Diaspora voting is “they don’t have to live with the consequences”. But I say this, you are right! because we don’t want to live with the consequences of continued poverty and crime, we want live with the consequences of Jamaica’s prosperity that is why we are demanding the vote. The truth of the matter is our politicians do not have to live with the consequences of mismanagement of the Jamaican economy. Most have their primary residences mansions overseas and fly regularly to Miami for medical care.
We are not asking to change the laws, we are only demanding what the Constitution guarantees us pursuant to the rights and duty of a citizen under the UN Charter of Rights and Freedom which Jamaica is a signatory. It is an agenda for change through the creation of a cooperative democracy (a real partnership) in which the poor is afforded a safety net, and government projects, programs, and policies are evaluated for sustainability goals.
