Dear Editor,

Just in case there are those who may not know what it means, gentrification is the process by which the character of an area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, often displacing current inhabitants in the process.

Many of you must have noticed the increase in the number of apartment complexes being constructed in the Kingston Metropolitan Area. Some have been built out of the blood, sweat, and tears of the poor/the soon to be made poorer who have contributed to the National Housing Trust (NHT) and to this day have yet to benefit.

Some will argue that the rich, too, have contributed to the NHT, but the fact that they are rich would mean that they would have already received a benefit from the NHT by now or otherwise own a home already. As far as I am aware, people who are to benefit from the NHT are those who are first-time homeowners or those whose name do not appear on a title. Clearly, it will only be the very rich who are able to own more than one homes these days.

As it relates to the gentrification of Kingston, we see these houses/apartments being built and sold for exorbitant amounts, which only the very rich, foreigners, scammers, and drug dealers can afford.

This, in my opinion, is a deliberate strategy on the part of the elites on this island to segregate the very rich as certain people do not belong or will be able to live in Kingston.

Based on the cost to purchase these homes it is clear that they are not for the common man, hence the reason or part thereof to make Portmore a city. There is also a push to inundate Portmore with so-called affordable houses when there is barely a proper road network on which to drive in and out of Portmore. Not to mention the lack of green spaces and proper water supply. Portmore has now become the dumping ground for the poor and soon to be poor, the now middle class.

Like in South Africa, the poor blacks will have to drive in from the township (Portmore) to work for the rich whites and pay high gas prices and toll fees to earn a living, thus always remaining poor to continue the supply chain of low-wage workers, as can be seen in the number of call centres, fast-food chains, and not to mention the new government salary-restructuring programme, which does not take into account the various increases in the cost of living.

Whilst this is a whole other story to tell, we the black Jamaicans are to be blamed for this because many of us do not see the opportunities that exist in our island as we always think the grass is greener on the other side.

We also do not build generational wealth as we oftentimes have properties (land and homes) but do not will it to anyone — son, daughter, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, or even grandchildren — instead we allow several properties to remain unclaimed and houses to rot. This leaves room for the slave law to take effect, wherein anyone can come, pay the back taxes on these properties, and claim them. Bear in mind I said slave law. This law was purposefully made this way because the slave owners knew many slaves who received lands could not afford to pay the taxes or were sometimes not able to continue tax payments on properties, and this was a way for them to reclaim their lands over time.

Winston Churchill once said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Joan Morris

mikjosalroj@yahoo.com