Dear Editor,

Jamaica is the number one country in the English-speaking Caribbean — that’s a fact.

I’ve been noticing a trend of envy among Jamaicans, especially the ones on Twitter, since the election of Barbados’ first female Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

The unpatriotic Jamaicans on Twitter even have Barbadian flags on their profile to show their solidarity with Barbados. I believe if they changed their nationality to Barbadian, really and truly, many of us here in Jamaica won’t miss them.

Congratulations to Barbados on being the newest republic in the world and the Caribbean. Jamaica is different from Barbados and some things will take time. Jamaicans lead, we should never follow.

Most of us Jamaicans want to remove The Queen as our head of State, but we do not want a monarchy president like Barbados. We want to vote for our president directly; therefore, we need to reform our political and electoral process to change how we vote for our leaders.

Removing The Queen as head of State is not as simple as some — woke Twitter followers — have assumed. I can bet that, if a poll is done on who wants to have the Caribbean Court of Justice(CCJ) as Jamaica’s final appellate court the responses would not be so straightforward.

Some Jamaicans want to leave the Privy Council, while others, who also want to leave, would prefer not to join the CCJ. Having the CCJ as our final court will not be real Independence. Jamaicans voted against the Federation for a reason, and many of us are not fans of this Caricom Single Market Economy idea.

Woke Jamaicans on Twitter should know that the Caribbean needs us, we don’t need them —that’s reality.

Barbados and others want us to join the CCJ to give it more steel; however, I believe Jamaicans should focus on being truly independent by establishing our own final court.

In 1976 Trinidad and Tobago removed The Queen as head of State to have a non-executive president. To this day the Privy Council in the United Kingdom is their final court. Jamaica could remove The Queen and focus on having a final court here in the future.

Being independent means Jamaica first — not Caribbean first.

I respect all Caribbean nations, but we all have different cultures and shouldn’t be forced by globalists to act as one. I strongly believe each Caribbean citizen should put his or her country of birth first.

When Donald Trump was elected president, some American celebrities on Twitter said they were going to Canada — many never went. Now I see woke Jamaicans on Twitter following suit by threatening to leave Jamaica to go to live in Barbados. My response to them is: You can go, we won’t miss you. We will stay here in the fight to make this country great.

Teddylee Gray

Ocho Rios, St Ann

teddylee.grayteddylee@gmail.com