Garwin Davis and Yvonne Chin, Sunday Gleaner ReportersMANY RETURNING residents from England are pleased with the British Government's new visa requirements for Jamaicans, saying it was long overdue and would weed out "most of the undesirables" entering the United Kingdom.
Responding to questions from The Sunday Gleaner last week, they bluntly note that many of their compatriots living in England have been a major source of embarrassment, undeserving of any special favour or treatment from the British Government.
"A lot of our people have only seen it fit to engage in a life of crime," notes Errol Roberts, a returnee who lived in England for over 30 years. "They would then send for relatives in Jamaica to join in the criminal activities further tarnishing the image of the country."
Mr. Roberts says the notorious 'Yardie Posse', consisting of Jamaican gang members, has been wreaking havoc on the streets of London and giving British authorities all sorts of trouble. "We had it coming," he said of the new visa requirements for Jamaicans wanting to travel to Britain. "At least now the British Government will have control over those entering the country."
President of the Returning Residents Association, Percival Latouche agreed. "I think its a good thing," he said. "I think all legitimate travellers to the UK will have no problem going there but it will help to keep out the undesirables."
Mr. Latouche notes that although the British Government is insisting that the move has been made to shorten queues at airports and to stem the number of persons who abscond after entering the United Kingdom, "it was because of the involvement of Jamaicans in crime in Britain."
The British Government last Wednesday announced new visa requirements for Jamaicans travelling to the UK. It noted that rampant abuse of the country's immigration laws was the reason why the regime was imposed.
For Lascelles Brown, another returnee, the British authorities couldn't have acted soon enough. "I personally was ashamed to tell anyone I was from Jamaica," he said. "The killings...the drug running...it was very bad I tell you. The only surprise here is that the Brits did not act sooner."
However, not everyone agrees. "Yes there are many things to be ashamed of but there are a lot of other things to be proud of," notes Clarence Thompson, another returnee. "We can't simply paint everybody with the same brush."
Mr. Thompson's views are shared by Lee Jasper, senior policy advisor to the Mayor of London in a public reaction to the new visa requirements last week. He said: "Jamaica and her people have contributed enormously to the modern development of Britain. The Government has decided to punish the whole of the UK Jamaican community for the actions of less than 500 people a year. It is a disgrace. The Government's view that this will reduce queues at airports is not credible. At a time when the Government needs to improve its relationships with the black community in tackling gun crime this will cause irreparable and long-term harm."
Mr. Latouche said his association has approached the British High Commission to waive visa requirements for those returning residents who have spent between 15 and 40 years of their lives in Britain but retained their Jamaican citizenship. "They have worked and given their lives to Britain. They should have easy access to the country so that they can see their children and grandchildren who were born there," he said.
Meanwhile, Mags Fenner-White, spokesperson for the British High Commission said that only persons who are planning to travel within the coming weeks need to apply for visas immediately. "If you have plans to travel this summer then there is no rush to apply now," she said. "We are only interested in processing those with pressing applications...others will be accommodated later.
