Dear Editor,

The folks who got deported from England recently should be going through myriad emotions. This may also emotionally disturb quite a few folks, whether of Jamaican descent or not.

Any immigrant will tell you that being apprehended and sent back ‘home’ can be a scary and daunting thing — especially when for some this hasn’t been home for them for some time; or there is nothing/no one to come back to. The important thing is to hold on to faith and not allow the disappointment to throw things into disarray. And, I’m not talking about faith that you’ll be able to go back some day; that is often the exception, rather than the rule.

Jamaica is indeed a paradise, whether we want to admit it or not. There are many things that one can do to make a life there. It will not be simple at all, not even for those who owns land, pigs, and cars, but as long as you have a safe place to lay your head, believe me when I say, that is all the start you need.

Do not allow bitterness to take over your heart and take advantage of all the resources in place to assist in the reintegration process. Forget immediately that it was just a little weed, or that they are all racists, and that the Jamaican Government should have done more. Instead, see it as a chance to have seen how other people live in other parts of the world and use the experience as a catalyst to enact changes right where you are planted. Do not dwell in the past; deal with the here and now and look to a bright future.

Many immigrants have escaped deportation orders, but the reality is there are still many who are sent home, sometimes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Ultimately, it is the mindset to accept the reality and work to allow your overseas experience to bring about a bright future that is going to move you forward.

Do whatever you can to earn a living. If you only know how to plant peppers, start there; people abroad love Jamaican spices. If you can sew, get a sewing machine. If you can sing, act, dance and prance, start teaching lessons to young people right there in your community, until your name comes up for big gigs. But for the grace of God, there goes you and I.

Nadine Williams

nadinewilliamspen@gmail.com