Joshua Tulloch from the UK, Keean Nembhard from Canada, Anastacia Davis (Florida) and Kayla Green (New York), USA , met each other for the first time just over two weeks ago in Jamaica. They are all bright, perceptive and articulate participants in the 2018 Grace Kennedy Jamaican Birthright programme which is designed to reconnect second and third generation Jamaicans living overseas to their Jamaican Heritage.
Although coming from different countries and differing backgrounds, they all share a common Jamaican heritage and a deep desire to learn more about Jamaica and what it is to be Jamaican.
For these four young Jamaicans, the GK Birthright programme can already claim a major success as all four have unequivocally given their commitment to claiming dual Jamaican citizenship. In a lively conversation with jamaicaglobalonline.com the young interns characterized their Jamaican experience to date in such terms as ‘life changing’ ‘eye opening’ ‘bridging the gap’ and ‘demystifying the people’. For Keean Nembhard who is the offspring of a French-Canadian mother and a Jamaican father, coming to Jamaica and experiencing the culture meant “completing the whole”. Like his fellow interns, being in Jamaica made him feel 100% Jamaican – a claim none of them could make about their overall experiences in the countries they call home.
Anastasia Davis who is pursuing graduate studies in Fine Arts ,is convinced that more young persons like herself would feel a greater connection to their Jamaican heritage if they were to learn that there is much more to Jamaica than just sports and music. She believes that the predominantly entertainment narrative that is offered , serves to mask and downplay other important aspects of Jamaican culture, especially its people. She even questions the continuing effectiveness of the music as an identifying force when much of that music has been appropriated by others who want to be ‘Jamaican’ precisely because of its popularity. Anastasia believes passionately in the transformative power of the media and says it could do much more to project the real Jamaica in all its unique and distinctive facets.
What other opportunities are we missing in connecting with and attracting young Jamaicans in the Diaspora to Jamaica? Joshua Tulloch an undergraduate at Oxford University in England and a Windrush grand-baby, thinks that the message that Jamaica is open for business is not being delivered with sufficient power and commitment. Jamaica needs to find a way to let young people in the Diaspora know that Jamaica IS in a process of building but it needs builders. He would have Jamaica emulate the approach of African nations, Nigeria in particular, which aggressively courts its young people to take and use all they can from the countries in which they study and live while actively encouraging them to return and help build their countries.
Kayla Green for her part believes that with the exposure she and her colleagues have received from the programme, there is much more they can do in their respective communities. As President of the Caribbean Students Association at Binghampton University, New York where she is an undergraduate in Africana Studies and Human Development, Kayla sees a role for herself in encouraging her university to conduct more research into contemporary issues in countries like Jamaica and infusing this into university courses . She also sees a role for herself and others in providing volunteers services within their communities.
These are only four young people of Jamaican heritage speaking about their aspirations and expressing their views on discovering their Jamaican heritage. Imagine the effect if we were able, each year, to multiply 10-fold this number of bright eager Jamaicans living in the Diaspora in this and other similar programmes?
Kayla, Anastacia, Joshua and Keean are only two weeks into their 5-week programme. Jamaicaglobalonline.com would like to have them back for another chat at the end of the programme. Would you like to hear more about what they have to say then?
