On one gloriously sunny Monday morning I was passing by Liguanea when I noticed a huge development underway. Subsequent investigations, indicated that the building being erected was to be the home of the new United States of America's Embassy. Now, having been a long time activist for some decent treatment of hard working Jamaicans attempting to obtain a visa for entry in the great USA, I was proud to see a building of this size being constructed. Finally, we can wait inside like respectable people waiting to go to a respectable country.
The days flew by so quickly and the ravishingly exquisite building was finally opened for , well, applications.
Then one not so glorious Wednesday morning, I passed this over sized, shocking colour place wid some people standing outside like them in welfare line in front of a massive wall with two little holes apparently the gates. I stopped. After fifteen seconds it hit me. This was the same building I passed a few months before. My initial reaction was, disbelief, but then I decided you know what serves us RIGHT.
It pains me to know that Jamaicans get treated like animals or beggars when we want to go to the US and we still subject ourself to the torture of standing in these welfare lines and being properly burnt by the sun, then being placed through a painfully insulting and condescending interview for what really boils down to a coins flip chance of us getting a VISA.
I sometimes laugh my heart out when folks try to put on an American accent to pretend to be better off in the vain attempt to equate the fact that they have traveled to a higher social echelon. However, when I hear someone "erring" and "oh man-ing" I feel a deep sense of apathy and pity. I even cannot bring my self to laugh at some. I know the pain they must have felt in their attempt to travel. Standing there staring a white man/woman in the eyes who asks you the most ridiculous of questions and expects you to answer with some level of intelligence. And then there are those sadistic persons who repeatedly visit after being told, sorry we cant grant you a visa - come again next month where we do it all over again....lol and bring a friend.
Seriously, while the land of opportunity is so alluring and captivating to the masses, and seem to be the backyard of every uptown Jamaican, can we stop for a second and consider "is it worth it?". Is it worth been dehumanized and treated like "crebe crebe" in order to to board a plane to be further strip searched and labeled as a weed smoking native of the crime capital?
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