Dear Editor,

I am 25 years old and I must admit that I am absolutely in shock at the fact that I may never have an opportunity to take a vacation away from Jamaica, to a country other than the USA, where my extended family resides. To make matters worse, I realise that to take a vacation in my own country is above my pay scale and if I were to ever take that chance, I would have to be saving for an entire year just to spend a weekend. The saving grace for recreation is that we have at least one free beach remaining.

I recall sitting in the Sangster International Airport passenger arrivals area the other day and all I could see was a sea of tourists walking by, frolicking and enjoying the value of their dollar. I agree that we have had to weather many socio-economic storms as a nation, yet I was told that education is the key to success!

The critics will say the government is not doing enough to encourage the young, bright minds to remain in Jamaica, but how can we when we would have to work almost a lifetime to take a vacation that affords a totally new experience, including in Jamaica. Is it that much of an economic imbalance on the books for local hoteliers to consider attracting Jamaicans to go on vacation in Jamaica?

I am a university graduate who also attended a preparatory and secondary school, and now I wonder what is the value of having spent all those years in school? Pension?

Andre Miller

millera.andre@gmail.com