Dear Editor,

When Prime Minister David Cameron announced the generous gift of £25 million to Jamaica for building a prison that will facilitate his 300 prisoners, he forgot to mention how much it would cost Jamaicans.

Right up front we are forced to come up with £37.5 million to supplement the cost of building the prison. In addition, we will have to foot the cost of caring for prisoners who committed no crimes in Jamaica.

It is impossible to see any good in this burden that is being imposed on us. If these British prisoners are Jamaicans we will gladly receive them after they have paid their due to the British society in Britain. If Cameron wishes to bless Jamaica with £25 million he should do so without preconditions.

We acknowledge that our prisons are in deplorable conditions, and our prison system has much to be desired, however, what we don’t need are more prisoners, especially if they are coming to us with a burden of debt.

The Independent Churches of Jamaica is calling on the Government of Jamaica not to allow Cameron to trick us into burying ourselves any further in debt and certainly not to pass off his prisoners to us.

It is easy for Cameron to say let’s move on and focus on the future, because he cannot begin to understand the suffering of our people caused by slavery. To him, it’s an event of the past, while to us it’s the reality that we are still working our way out of economically, psychologically, relationally, spiritually, and many other ways.

Much of the dysfunction in our society today is the residual effect of slavery, but Cameron could never begin to understand that, in many ways, slavery is still present in our societies. The mere fact that he has the temerity to attempt to pass off his prisoners and the liabilities that accompany them to us and present it in a way that suggests he is doing us a favour, speaks to his total disconnect with the pain and damage slavery has left on our people.

The Independent Churches of Jamaica echoes the voices of most Jamaicans in saying, No thanks, Mr Cameron, you may however consider the unconditional gift of the prison, after all, you and your country do owe us a whole lot more than £62 million.

Rev Orville Ramocan

Director of Media and Public Relations

Independent Churches of Jamaica

13 Balmoral Avenue, Kgn 10

icjamaicachurches@gmail..com