DElusional on an industrial scale, that is how I see those whose default position is that Canada, the United States of America (USA), and the United Kingdom (UK) are veritable, preordained, and self-replicating greener pastures. It’s a brave new world. There is a new global reality. Is the paradigm shift a good thing? Will it be successful? History will judge.

Overseas, or ‘farin’, as we say locally, is not a bed of roses. It has never been, contrary to what some people automatically and very unfortunately still believe. Conditions in ‘big farin’ or ‘real farin’ as some in the rural parts call Canada, the UK, and the USA — our three major trading partners — are getting increasingly uncomfortable for especially those who were not born in these countries. Unprecedented and overtly difficult social, economic, and political realities are today being piled onto people who left their native lands, in many instances poorer lands, to settle in the US, UK, and Canada. The consequential impact is being felt globally. Stunted global growth, uncertainties, and “Beggar thy neighbour” polices are the order of the day. Wake up! It is time to ditch the default position of greener pastures.

Real not Imagined

There are some inescapable and far-reaching social, economic, and political realities in our global environment which stare us in the face daily. Choosing to be ignorant of them is foolhardy; in fact, it’s suicidal. These are three of those big realities.

1) You cannot defy the physics of old age. Former president of the USA, Joe Biden, was forced to come to grips with this reality last year.

2) You cannot escape the laws of gravity. I suspect many of my readers, during their childhood years in particular, would have had the awakening experience of falling from a tree. You hit the ground, I hope without injury, due to the powerful force of gravity. Some, who did not have that direct and purposeful experience of falling from a tree, doubtless remember, though, lessons from science class about Isaac Newton who discovered the laws of gravity and motion and helped to shape our rational world view.

3) You cannot escape the laws of reciprocal consequences. Galatians 6:7 tells us, “Be not tricked; God is not made sport of: For whatever seed a man puts in, that will he get back as grain.” This means future consequences are inevitably shaped by present actions.

“Higgins, what do these realities have to do with the present state of the global economy, in particular, our major trading partners and the default position of greener pastures?” some will inquire. Everything!

As I see it, the very strong global winds of protectionism, nationalism, right-wing extremism, anti-immigration-ism, mercantilism, stunted economic growth worldwide, threats of international wars, mushrooming technological advances, postulations of historical repeats and rhymes, major global paradigm shifts, uncertainties, and opportunities are like the physics of old age. A mirror reflects what is, not what you would like to see. The fact is when the US sneezes, most of the world catches a cold, and some countries get pneumonia. The US’s control of the global economic ecosystem is like a gravitational force. Of course, what goes up eventually comes down. That has been the state/nature of life on Earth for millennia.

Take stock

My The Agenda piece four Sundays ago entitled ‘Realities of today’s governance’ is still hitting many raw nerves and also pleasant chords at the same time. Two Sundays ago I discussed here some of the varied and interesting responses from readers. Since then another type of response has surfaced. The gist is: You are trying to dissuade Jamaicans from going abroad to better themselves while knowing fully well that their life chances will be greatly improved through migration. This is guff!

Some people are great at adding the sum of 2+2 to get 22. Nowhere in my piece entitled ‘Realities of today’s governance’ or the subsequent piece entitled ‘Jamaica is headed in the right direction’ did I imply or expressly try to dissuade Jamaicans from taking their chances in Canada, the UK, the USA, or any other country they admired.

Take stock of especially present realities operating in the mentioned countries and measure them carefully against the social, economic, and political improvements here at home before you pack your bags. My proposition is straightforward. But I fully understand why some feign ignorance. It is in their nature.

Recall the tale The Scorpion and the Frog. A scorpion persuades a frog to carry him across a stream by promising not to sting him, claiming it would lead to both their deaths. However, midway across, the scorpion stings the frog, leading to their mutual demise, as he explains, “It’s my nature.”

Incidentally, these two bits: “Believe it; there are some among us who are immensely unhappy because of the reduction in major crimes, in particular murders. They would prefer to hear the familiar weeping, mourning, and gnashing of teeth of Jamaicans. Why? They devilishly calculate that the more power ‘King Crime’ accumulates and the more monstrosities he releases on Jamaicans, the better are their personal chances of becoming people of great importance, with titles and power, and oftentimes State power to match.” And “Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of the United Kingdom (UK), famously said, ‘Some people go into politics to be somebody, I went into politics to do something.’ Status depravity is an awful affliction. Those who are willing to ride on the coffins of ordinary Jamaicans to acquire power mean this country no good. And, yes, it is mostly ordinary Jamaicans who are murdered, robbed, and raped daily,” from my column last Sunday entitled ‘Sound reasoning and truth: Victims of a corrupt conscience’, has upset some people considerably.

Some e-mail responses disclose edginess on the part of some. Do they really want a better Jamaica for all? Bob Marley implored us a year ago to “wake up and live”. Some are very frightened by this invocation. Anyway, I will continue to help shed light and heat on matters pertinent to economic and political mobility of Jamaicans, in particular ordinary Jamaica.

The fact is we live in the Information Age. People need accurate and timely information to make informed decisions. The oxygen of information keeps functional democracies alive. Those of us who have the knowledge and/or access to platforms which can assist our countrymen with accurate information have not just a responsibility, we have a duty to help in this respect. Those whose trade is fake news, superstition, and pedestalisation of ignorance are plagues. We must reject them with every sinew.

Debunking default positions

A large part of the rejection, in practical terms, means, among other things, helping to debunk the default positions which too many of our people use as a crutch for personal vices, deleterious decision-making, and underachievement. Many of these default positions have made us all poorer and less respected. For example, “I am a born PNP [People’s National Party]; “ I am a born JLP [Jamaica Labour Party]”; “Anything black nuh good”; “Mi ah sufferah”; “If yuh can’t ketch Quaco, yuh ketch him shut”; “Man fi have nuff gal in a bungle”; “Informer fi dead”; “Farin is better”. I could go on.

Those who are operating under the automatic assumption that “big farin is better” should take note of these recent developments.

Headline: ‘Mark Carney in dire straits: Canada, one of the largest and richest countries in the world, added just 7,400 jobs in April as unemployment rate rises to 6.9%.’ The
Economic Times of May 13, 2025 news item said, among other things, “Canada’s job market took a hit in April, with just 7,400 new jobs added and the unemployment rate climbing to 6.9%, its highest level since November 2023. As one of the world’s wealthiest and most resource-rich nations, this sharp slowdown in employment growth raises fresh concerns about the country’s economic resilience. Much of this weak job performance is being linked to US tariffs, especially those targeting key Canadian exports like steel, aluminum, and automobiles.”

Check this from an April 3, 2025
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network news story: Headline: ‘Carney warns of tough economic times ahead as the US is no longer a reliable trade partner’. The news item said, among other things: “The day after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney held a press conference, warning that the Canadian economy will have to fundamentally change because the US is no longer a reliable trade partner.”

In Britain, Reform UK, a party which exudes Trump-type republicanism, recently demonstrated what credible polls had been forecasting for some weeks.

Consider this headline: ‘Reform UK makes big gains in English local elections’. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) May 2, 2025 item gave these and related details: “Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has made big gains in English local elections, cementing it as a prime challenger to Britain’s traditional main parties. It won 677 of around 1,600 seats contested on Thursday across a clutch of mainly Tory-held councils last contested in 2021. Reform seized control of eight authorities from the Conservatives, including former strongholds Kent and Staffordshire.”

Farage says one of the first things he will do, if he becomes prime minister, is create a post called ‘Minister for Deportations’. The name explains itself.

Zia Yusuf, chairman of Reform UK, told ace British journalist Laura Kuenssberg last Sunday that his party will soon publish a plan to deport all who are in Britain illegally. He said this decisive action would be taken in the first term of a future Administration headed by Reform UK. The incumbent British Labour Party, led by Sir Keir Starmer, and the as at now official Opposition, the Conservatives (Tories), led by Kemi Badenoch, are on the political back foot.

Ponder this: ‘Care worker recruitment from abroad to end, Cooper says’. The BBC item delivered these and related details: “Care workers will no longer be recruited from overseas as part of a crackdown on visas for lower-skilled workers, the home secretary has told the BBC. Yvette Cooper said it is ‘time to end that care worker recruitment from abroad’ and rules will change this year — instead requiring firms to hire British nationals or extend visas of overseas workers already in the country.

“The Government plans to unveil changes to visa and recruitment laws on Monday in a bid to cut net migration, and says measures will cut up to 50,000 lower-skilled and care workers coming to the UK over the next year. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the plans were ‘too little’ and called for an annual cap on migration.” (
BBC, May 11, 2025).

Again, I am not discouraging any Jamaican from leaving, but before you do so please check whether these countries are really greener pastures. The realities of today’s brave new world demand it.

The happenings in Trump’s America are not secret. The New York Times of March 28, 2025 noted that, “Tens of thousands of employees across the federal government have left their jobs, been put on leave, or been fired.” This is part of President Trump’s and Elon Musk’s plan to cut spending and downsize the federal government. “There is no official figure for the job cuts, but at least 75,000 federal employees took deferred resignation, and thousands of probationary workers have already been let go.” (PBS News, May 10, 2025)

Many of these displaced workers will be forced to take up jobs in areas which were previously filled by immigration quotas. That will mean fewer, far fewer, opportunities for people from countries like Jamaica. Whether some of us like it or not, more of us will increasingly have to stay at home. The sky is not falling; opportunity knocks, especially given the massive improvements in Jamaica’s macroeconomy as well as big reductions in crime and related advances.

Garfield Higgins is an educator and journalist. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or higgins160@yahoo.com.

There are some inescapable and far-reaching social, economic, and political realities in our global environment which stare us in the face daily.

Unprecedented and overtly difficult social, economic, and political realities are today being piled onto people who left their native lands to settle in the US, UK, and Canada.

Massive improvements in Jamaica’s macroeconomy as well as big reductions in crime have created an environment pregnant with opportunities.