Dear Editor,

I’ve been following the controversy now brewing over the renaming of the former Boscobel Aerodome, now “Ian Fleming International Airport”. I commend those readers who have taken issue with the matter in the media, in particular Louis Moyston, who wrote about the now defaced sign. With all due respect to the late, great writer Mr Fleming, a priviliged Englishman who fell in love with Jamaica, bought a house on the island and travelled there mostly during winter, where he found the beauty of the island inspiring enough to finish his famed book Casino Royale, truth is Mr Fleming was not Jamaican, neither did he contribute in any great way to Jamaica’s history, culture or even its development. A beach in the area, along with his former home, already bear his well-known connection to the area. Now that the aerodome has been upgraded to a smaller-sized international airport, the significance of the name is even more daunting. What has already been reported in the foreign press as “Jamaica’s third international airport”, is not even remotely close to that of Norman Manley or Donald Sangster after whom the other two airports were named.

A name may seem quite trivial to some, but it really isn’t. It seems like those responsible stumbled over their own insecurities on this one. I don’t know of any airport in a country named after a foreigner, especially one who really spent few months in a year passing through. You don’t just pick a name without careful deliberation. As Ken Jones pointed out in the Gleaner, it would appear that Mr Fleming’s name was chosen as a clever marketing ploy, to “win over friends” deemed influential and powerful. However you perceive it, it was a huge mistake, and it is unthinkable that it occurred at such a high level, sanctioned by the PM, who actually was present to declare the airport officially open. With that said, the Fleming family who attended, must have been awed, if not frightened. Where is the pride in the country and its own people?

P Chin

Canada

chin_p@yahoo.com