Dear Editor,

It has been reported that 60 per cent of Jamaicans would like their country to revert to the days when Britain governed the island.

It may be said that this burning desire to revert to the days prior to Jamaica’s Independence in 1962 is largely due to the growing dissatisfaction and frustration with the current social, economic, and political state of affairs in that island. But it may also be said that many members of the younger generation, in particular, are unaware of what transpired under the British colonial rule prior to 1962.

There is no doubt that the current level of lawlessness is alarming and disturbing. For example, the annual murder rate exceeds the pre-Independence level by more than a thousand-fold. In the years prior to Independence you could count the number of annual murders on the fingers of one hand.

And it is true that successive governments have not performed in accordance with expectations of Jamaicans since Independence. Indeed, they have failed miserably.

Nevertheless, in spite of the built-up frustrations, I do not yearn for the days when Britannia ruled the island. I am therefore disturbed with the lack of consciousness of many members of both the older and younger generation.

Both generational groups seem to be unaware that prior to Independence, 98 per cent of all eligible students were denied access to a high school education. They seem to be unaware that during the British rule blacks were denied employment in the banks and civil service, for example. They seem to be unaware that during the colonial days blacks could not set foot in the hotels, and on many of the beaches. And they seem to be unaware that many of the ills that plague the Jamaican society today directly relate to the legacy of over 300 years of British colonial rule.

Rupert Johnson

Ontario, Canada

r.b.johnson@sympatico.ca