For a few days I sat and listened to my name being drawn through the mud about what was said or not said at the New Fortress Energy back-to-school treat held on August 11, 2022.

Many Jamaicans, here and abroad, have echoed The Gleaner’s interpretation of my line of argument from the said function. A statement which started conversations at many levels of this society and attracted very cold and callous backlash and criticisms from my fellow Jamaicans living here and in the Diaspora.

However, I seldom heard questions regarding whether my words were directed correctly through secondary communication, to whom I referred, or if at all.

A headline represented my line of argument and the conversation was blown way out of context. This is my four-point response:

1) My most sincere apologies for the unfortunate impact of my use of the word “cowards”. I know we do not have a perfect system, and we have suffered immensely for many years due to capacity issues. Brain drain is among the causes of the lack of institutional capacity needed to advance our country and truly transform our people.

It is a fact that I referred to those who turned their backs on Jamaica and refused to contribute to our development as cowards. However, upon contemplation, I must concede that whether people turned their backs on Jamaica or not — as I said in my unscripted speech — it was a poor choice of word. I was out of order to describe their actions as cowardly, and for that, I apologise. I have always respected each person’s free will and personal decisions.

2) I do not speak from a place of privilege. I spent a significant portion of my life growing up at 21 Hart Street, one of Montego Bay’s hard-core inner-city communities. Many nights I slept on two chairs as my young father and mother tried to make ends meet. One was working in the kitchen, and the other serving the customers in their little cook shop made from scraps of my grandmother’s old house, as she had left, like hundreds of thousands before her, to access better opportunities overseas.

3) I had no intention of engaging students as young as five years old on Diaspora affairs, and I did not. However, since we are focusing on this issue, let me add that, like many Jamaicans, I have family, relatives, and friends who live and work overseas and have been there for many years. This reality means something to each of us individually and collectively. They, too, contribute to one of the country’s leading foreign exchange streams, remittances.

Additionally, I have first-hand experience of the work and worth of our Diaspora and the significant contributions many of our diasporans have made to the development of Jamaica via aid, business investments, health missions, education programmes, and paving the way for opportunities in sports, among other endeavours. For this, I appreciate the efforts of those who have utilised the opportunity to access more resources and knowledge for our country’s benefit. I have vast and sincere respect for their sacrifices, the chances they have taken to uplift their families and, in effect, the country, and the connections they continue to make to increase opportunities for thousands of my fellow Jamaicans.

4) I respect the media and the role it plays in safeguarding our democracy and transparency. However, the headline ‘MoBay deputy mayor calls Jamaican expats cowards’ was, in my opinion, inherently misleading. This is because it broad-brushed an expression that had parameters, as underscored in my first point. As a result it opened debate not only about expatriation and the contributions of the Diaspora but also regarding my connection to reality and awareness of the issues faced by ordinary Jamaicans.

I am not oblivious to any of the aforementioned. In fact, I have been facilitating opportunities for many constituents to work overseas and even continue to sponsor students studying abroad. In addition, I have programmes through which Montegonians access jobs, education assistance, care programmes, and business grants. Indeed, I continue my contribution to local development in small but impactful ways.

5) My main message is that I stand corrected, but we need all hands on deck to move Jamaica to a developed state. New Fortress Energy has been doing a superb job through its scholarships and internship programmes to train youth in logistics, engineering, environmental preservation, and other technical areas — capacities well needed to advance our socio-economic growth.

As I reflected on our brain drain situation I remembered a topic, Factors Affecting State Capacity, covered in my master’s programme. Therefore, at the back-to-school ceremony, I beckoned the interns to stay and develop their country. I urged them to understand that their skill set is needed to make Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business, our vision for 2030. If I have any regret in this controversy, it is that the true sentiments and intentions of my message of nationalism and empowerment got lost in references — such as greener pastures, Diaspora, unpatriotic, and expats — none of which I mentioned as I stood at the lectern. I may not be correct, but the reality is that we need our engineers, teachers, doctors, nurses, and specialists. They all won’t stay, but if our talented continue to turn their backs upon taking non-return flights, our issues will revolve for decades. How to retain our talent is a discussion in itself.

My expression then and now is a personal opinion, not an articulation of the Government’s policies. Shalom.

Richard Vernon is the deputy mayor of Montego Bay and a Jamaica Labour Party councillor for the Montego Bay South Division. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or governor_v@yahoo.com.