The ‘typical’ Jamaican
There is an urgent need to ‘correct’ the image that is portrayed of the ‘typical’ Jamaican.If we do not move now, we will find it increasingly difficult to attract overseas visitors, businesses, friends and even family living overseas back to our beautiful island. The typical Jamaican may not be Veronica Campbell or Asafa Powell (they are EXCEPTIONAL Jamaicans) but they emulate all the traits of the typical Jamaican such as BEING hard working, ambitious, dedicated and responsible to name a few. If this was the current image that we portrayed abroad I believe that the recent changes (for example) to the Visa requirements for the U.K. and Cayman might not have been necessary. This is my opinion …I may be wrong.
I cannot say that I have seen the world as I have spent all of my life in JA. but the little that I have seen of a ‘first world’ country indicates to me that we do not celebrate the successes of our citizen enough… we allow the party to stop too quick. It is very easy to remember the ‘bad news’, the ’shock and awe’, the accident, the murder but good news dissipates too easily.
We have a lot to be proud of and we should make every effort to keep this in the front of our minds.
