Jamaica: Social disaster.

By Miguel Angel Fernández

       

           Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean, it produces famous bananas and it’s an incredible place to spend holidays in. But, the Jamaica we saw on television, on our spare time or those amazing photographs in internet and magazines aren’t the real deal.

            So, we must ask “how is the real Jamaica?” well, as we saw the native people of the island are pretty poor, live in horrible conditions and only wants to run away from this “heaven land”, this phenomenon is based on the little job opportunities that the people in Jamaica had, the bad system of education and their almost zero possibility of competing against other countries for selling the agriculture products.

            Around their history Jamaica has had close and productive relationship with the United States; this is based in the proximity of both countries and the globalization process happening around our world. All this stuff marked the development (social, economic, politic and ethnic) of the Bob Marley’s cradle. The “free zone” is a good example of this, a place where the US companies can offer job to the Jamaicans, this thing had two ways of seeing it, the first one is the part that the US companies give job and opportunities to people that doesn’t have it, but in the other hand we had abuses, low salaries and exploitation to the workers, not the mention the enormous problem caused when this zone was shut down.

            An example of the economy in Jamaica is the influence of the States in Jamaica in the fast food market, cause restaurants like Mc Donald’s and Burger King has helped the hamburger enterprises of the area, but also has killed the local food chains.

            All the previous topics that we have had been talking around is the ugly part of a beautiful country, that sees how the modern world consumes them and doesn’t leave any other chance that incorporates to the word wide market, trying to export their products and diversify the exports of their products and not just be known for their bananas and tourism.

            Every advance, everything that our global world does, has a negative effect on the weak. This is the case of Jamaica, a great place for holidays, but not so good for living