Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miler with the Prime Minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt. Mrs. Simpson Miller called on her Belgian counterpart during a one-day visit to Brussels on Monday, March 5. - JIS photo

Deon P. Green, Gleaner Writer

LONDON, England:

Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has called for an international programme that will assist deportees, especially those with criminal records, in their reorientation to the Jamaican society.

The Prime Minister made the call on her first official visit to Europe, when she met with a large contingent of U.K./Jamaicans at The Royal Geographical Society in Central London on the weekend.

Mrs. Simpson Miller said that the Jamaican embassies in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States needto work out a strategy to assist the deportees. She said many of the deportees on their return have no connection with the Jamaican society, having migrated when they were young, thus the need for the developed countries, where they have learnt their trade, to assist in their rehabilitation.

She also challenged the overseas media to highlight more of the positive features of Jamaica and Jamaicans rather than the negative. She told the London audience that such positive exposure was necessary as only a few Jamaicans continue to give the island a bad name internationally.

Positive features

In highlighting positive features in Jamaica Mrs. Simpson Miller said that there are plans to establish a high tech, state-of-the-art children's hospital with funding from the Urban Development Corporation and the National Housing Trust. She urged Jamaicans in the U.K. to continue working together, noting that their input, in conjunction with the High Commission, can enhance development on the island.

The Prime Minister is on a one-week official visit to Europe, which will see her making stops in England, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain. She returns to the island on Friday. During her absence, Robert Pickersgill, the Minister of Housing, Transport, Water and Works, is in charge of the Government.