Hilary Robertson-Hickling

Child Month 2007 is an opportune moment to gain insight into our families at home and abroad. We have not really come to terms with the impact of migration on our families, and while we tend to focus now on the benefits, such as remittances, we need to be aware of the costs; the psychological costs, the economic costs, the costs to communities and the region.

Next year marks 60 years since Jamaicans and other Caribbean citizens went to Britain in that exciting, if somewhat traumatic, post-Second World War period.

Three going to four generations have been born there or have gained citizenship there, some have returned to the Caribbean, some have moved to North America, some are now deceased. Many families are so fragmented that the rites of passage go unmarked, and with the exception of death there is little that familiescelebrate together.

A cursory look at the death columns in the newspapers point to persons who have lived at home and abroad.

What the columns fail to the tell is who raised the children and who went to the parent-teacher association meetings, who took care of the sick, who made the sacrifices and who benefited.

Unsupervised

It has been suggested that some of our criminals were the result of difficulties experienced, as their parents migrated and experienced delays in being able to send for them.

Those young men also faltered in their school work as they were either unsupervised or misunderstood the life that was to await them abroad for which they would need qualifications.

By the time the time the children were to be sent for some of the girls had become pregnant and the boys had become criminals. Some of those who went found it difficult to fit into the new country and to fit into new families which had been established in the new country. The prisons and mental hospitals are home to some of our people who have had serious problems.

Migratory impulse

Today, the migratory impulse is still felt, as a trip past the embassies of Canada and America and the British High Commission remind us. I believe that many Jamaicans, and other Caribbean nationals, have not really learned the painful lessons.

There are many illegal immigrants who face a plethora of challenges in relation to the children left at home. Money comes but parents cannot come for graduation, death, and other events as "their papers are not straight", with the fear of deportation hanging over the heads of many.

Developments in our communities overseas have allowed for the participation of our folks in the economic, political and academic life there. Caribbean students and academics are now emerging as a major force in the educational institutions of America. In the 21st century we expect migration to continue as a result of globalisation, but we must also prepare our families for the experience.

We hope that the positive aspects of this international experience and knowledge will be channelled into the development of our country and region.

Some of our citizens who have travelled and made their fortunes, or grasped new ideas overseas, have been instrumental in the developments at home. The needs of our families, particularly our children, must be at the heart of these developments.