Jamaican Diaspora: Stylin by Jamaican Diaspora

MUSICAL NOTES

AGENT SASCO

LOW INTEREST HOUSE LOAN FROM THE JAMAICAN GOVERNMENT

STYLIN EDITION

MEMORIES OF JAMAICA, LONG LONG AGO

The Wattle & Red Earth (WARE) Collective

Si Mee Collections

much more

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Contents Departments 9

Book Club

Musical Notes - Agent Sasco

Editor’s Note

Jumping to success In the track and �ield realm, three types of jumps can be seen. You have the long jump, the high jump and the triple jump. Each one has its unique training techniques. The critical thing that is needed can be applied to an entrepreneur’s mindset. Consider these gems when you approach an idea for your product or services that the public will value and want to pay you for it. Examine these mental preparations: The high jump explore heights you never imagined The long jump �ind new locations

The triple jump ideas out of the box

Janice K. Maxwell Editor in chief

Cinema Scene

Recipe Corner – Mango Smoothe

Feature 15 20 23

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An Entrepreneurs Journey: Si Mee Mackadocious Clothing Line

Memories of Jamaica, long long ago

Is each member of your family entitled to US$75,000 low interest house loan from the Jamaican Government?

The Wattle and Red Earth (WARE) Collective

Don’t buy you ticket or plan to visit or return to Jamaica without doing this ﬁrst!!!

Jamaican Diaspora

George Graham

Rosemarie Macklin

Dennise Williams

Dr. Courtney Coke

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Book Club Selections:

Contributors

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Cinema Scene Jamaican Flix Our images our culture

www.JamaicanFlix.com

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effrey Campbell, aka Agent Sasco who was formally known as endearing mystique that surrounds ‘Agent Sasco’; his iconic vocal transcends boundaries, for Sasco’s resumé is decorated with many achievements. He is one of the most recognizable musicians that has planted a cultural stake in dancehall music genre. Sasco’s songs with Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Raekwon the Chef and Royce Da 5’ 9” have also earned him the status of being indemand by hip-hop’s elite. While Sasco is aware that he is a benefactor of his talent, he also gives credit to a greater force at work making it all possible. Sasco puts fame into perspective by looking through the lens of his identity. He reﬂects on being raised in Kintyre, a neighborhood within the parish of St. Andrew, Jamaica, were Campbell was instilled with core values of gratitude and spirituality.

Musical Notes:

Agent Sasco 12

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Recipe Corner

Mango Smoothie

Ingredients • • •

1 cup peeled and cubed, ripe mango 1/2 cup plain yogurt 1 1/2 cup milk

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Directions Place all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

An Entrepreneurs Journey

Jamaican Diaspora

m completely comfortable and at peace fulﬁlling what I feel is my calling: revealing women’s inner beauty with fabrics. It’s time for fashion to take the stage for Jamaican women Designers. We share our natural conﬁdence expressing beauty in all shapes and sizes. I’m fortunate that my whole life’s career has always been in making women feel beautiful.

Jamaican Diaspora

While living in Europe, I was beguiled by how a woman could enter a room and capture all the attention simply by her fashion choice. I secretly think this has always been my personal goal, where each client of Si_ Mee_Collections, commands that attention. I’ve been carrying this torch through my many past careers from cosmetology, in the music industry, as a stylist, interior designer and now pursuing my true passion as a fashion designer. My own quote is: “What’s the occasion? the answer is... Me”. As a child of Jamaica who migrated to England in the late 70s,. I’ve walked through many well-known fashion districts in London, the United States, Paris, Turkey, Greece, Paris, Columbia and countless other places in search of unique and exquisite fabrics to make women feel orgasmic in their love of fashion. It took many years standing on the outside looking into the fashion industry before ﬁnally jumping in to contribute my vision of femininity. I think it is time women embrace their femininity without judgment on how they choose to display their beauty. I’ve learned through life experiences that there are some things that have to be taught and some things that are instinctive. In my opinion, when it comes to fashion there is no wrong or right.

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Written by Rosemarie Macklin www.SiMeeCollections.com

It is about how one can make another person feel just because of the passion of this art.

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Memories of Jamaica, long, long ago

…someone invented a hard candy and called it Bustamante backbone

I was told he was adopted by a Spanish nobleman and changed his name to Bustamante. So, we called him Busta. And someone invented a hard candy and called it Bustamante backbone.

Times were tough in the thirties. The US was staggering through the Great Depression. The world economy had collapsed. A quarter of the labor force in industrialized countries was jobless. In Jamaica, jobs were vanishing, workers were mistreated and underpaid. They revolted. As a four-year-old, I remember strikes and riots and “special constables” with .303 ri�les dispatched to quell the rioting. Blood was shed. The headlines on the front page of The Daily Gleaner screamed, “4 dead! 9 in hospital!! 89 in jail!!! Police forced to shoot down rioters in Westmoreland. Dollar-a-day demand ends in death!” In those turbulent years, Busta emerged as leader of the protests. And he had a �lair for the dramatic. On one occasion, he bared his chest to surrounding soldiers and said, “Shoot me but leave my

Many years ago, when I was a boy, there was an island named Jamaica, where the sun was bright and the sky was blue, where the sea lapped gently at white sand beaches and the higgler lady at the market called me “mi love.” There was no drug trade then. No PNP. No JLP. A tall, �luffy haired man who said his name was Alexander Bustamante drove along the dusty country roads, signing up cane �ield workers for something he called a trade union. The man’s given name was William Alexander Clarke, and he was a cousin of my granduncle William’s wife, Aunt Florrie (Constantine). 20

Jamaican Diaspora

Is each member of your family entitled to US$75,000 low interest

House loan from the Jamaican Government?

people alone!” In my mind, I can see a photo in the Gleaner... Busta, tall and lanky, spreading the lapels of his jacket apart, showing his shirtless torso... daring death. (But I can’t �ind that photo on the web now. My memory might be playing tricks on me.) He was arrested, but quickly released. Then in 1940, he was charged again and spent three years in prison.

Meanwhile, a brilliant barrister named Norman Manley was founding a trade union. And, shortly afterwards, Busta founded one of his own. The trade unions evolved into the two major political parties of today. In 1944 all adult Jamaicans got the right to vote, and Busta’s party won the ensuing election in a landslide. Eighteen years later, when Jamaica �inally got its independence, Busta became the island’s �irst Prime Minister. He was knighted by the Queen in 1955 and proclaimed a National Hero of Jamaica in 1969. Manley was also proclaimed a National Hero but was never knighted. In the intervening years, Busta and Manley, �irst cousins, wrestled for control of the island’s future, sometimes with tragic results. I recall that in 1947, a proBustamante crowd released patients from the Belmont Road asylum, and two men were killed as a result. (Again, I tried, in vain, to con�irm this, so you’ll have to trust my memory.) Busta was arrested and tried for manslaughter. But a jury in Port Maria acquitted him. As I remember him, he was fearless. He refused to be cowed by the British colonial overlords. I have a newspaper picture in my mind of Busta rising to his full height of six feet �ive and staring down 22

Jamaican Diaspora

M a Colonial Secretary who tried to bully him.

I remember Norman Manley as an eloquent barrister who mesmerized courtroom audiences with his dazzling performances. The Daily Gleaner would quote his cross-examinations verbatim, and my mother would read them to me in reverent tones. She let me know she expected me to become an eloquent and adroit barrister lke this man, Norman Manley. (Disappointingly, I never became a lawyer. The smell of printer’s ink and newsprint lured me into journalism when I was quite young, and I never recovered.) Norman was the logical, cerebral scholar. Busta was the theatrical crowd pleaser. Between those two warring giants, an independent Jamaica was born.

Meanwhile my dreams of being a newspaperman took me to Haiti,

Canada and America. I returned to Jamaica twice. Sadly, on both occasions, things didn’t work out the way I’d hoped, and I had to leave again. So, here I am, an old man in Lakeland, Florida, savoring my memories of that sunny island with the mystical mountains and sighing surf. I can only hope that if I �ind myself back in my island before I die that the higgler lady at the market will still address me as “mi love.”

… take advantage of the �inancial bene�its that Jamaican citizens are entitled to from the Government, all while living in the United States.

y grandfather was born in the humble village of Highgate, St. Mary in the middle of Jamaica. Not an interesting place from a tourism perspective and most of the family left Jamaica to �ind a better life in the United States and England. And while vacationing in Jamaica is awesome, as a �inancial coach, I was able to share with my family that each of us - 60 cousins, aunts, uncles and my parents, had a US$75,000 bene�it that we were not using. And when we heard that interest rates

ranged from 0% to 4% for up to 30 years, we knew it was time to act.

As head of Financially Focused, I create �inancial game plans for my clients — which is like a �inancial blueprint — that’s uniquely tailored to you and your speci�ic situation. Then I help you with the resources, technologies and strategies to pro�it from 12 �inancial power tools. Finally, I connect you to an integrated

Written by George Graham www.lulu.com/spotlight/georgeg

Jamaican Diaspora

�inancial team to make sure you succeed. And so for my family, we made sure that we would not let one dollar of Government bene�it pass us by. That’s right. How many Jamaicans have left the island with a �inancial game plan for a new country and left $75,000 on the table in Jamaica? How many persons may have heard about the bene�it and believe that you have to live in Jamaica to get the housing bene�it? Let me be clear, this bene�it is for each citizen over the age of 18.

And citizen is extended to mean grandchildren of persons born in Jamaica. So is this a secret that Jamaicans abroad don’t know about? Or perhaps persons know and don’t want to �ill out any paperwork. And they don’t want to own a house in Jamaica, and they don’t want their children or grandchildren to own property.

There may be the resistance to actually running around to �ill out the paperwork or paying someone to do the running around for them. Perhaps. So one of the ways my company, Financially Focused, helps Jamaicans in the Diaspora build generational wealth is to ensure that they bene�it from this little known secret. Imagine that you leave Jamaica and have children and maybe even grandchildren. Each of you in the family is entitled to the bene�it which at the writing of

this article is worth US$75,000. You might be thinking, what’s the catch? There is no catch. This bene�it has been part of the law since the time of Michael Manley and was enacted in 1976. In fact, while other countries have a greater currency value and higher wages, my clients do not leave one dollar behind and bene�it from having investment portfolios in two countries. They take advantage of the �inancial bene�its that Jamaican citizens are entitled to from the Government, all while living in the United States. Of course, the access to the bene�its require compliance.

And by compliance, I mean getting a Jamaican passport, registering with Government agencies and �illing out the paperwork and proving income to qualify for the loans or other bene�its. You do not have to live in Jamaica. However, you have to contribute to the National Housing Trust for 52 weeks to be approved for the bene�it. Yes, one year of contribution of 3% of your salary. Additionally, the US$75,000 bene�it (at the time of the writing) can be used to (a) buy a house ; (b) improve a house; (c ) buy land or (d) build a house on property you already own. Is that a deal that makes sense to you? Is that a way to build wealth through a bene�it that you would not get in any other country just by the connection to a passport? I think it is.

Dennise Williams

MBA (Banking & Finance) is head of �inancial coaching and concierge �irm Financially Focused. You can visit the website www.�inanciallyfocusedmedia.com

Jamaican Diaspora

Wattle and Red Earth (WARE) Collective

ur nonprofit organization, the Wattle and Red Earth (WARE) Collective continues our preservation and education work (please see attachments). A 100+ year old dwelling house built in the traditional “Spanish Wall” construction method has recently been donated to us. This donated house is at risk of being demolished. The Collective plans to document the building in preparation for its disassembly, re-siting and

eventual reconstruction as a structure for our Living Museum in St. Elizabeth.

These remarkable buildings made in the Spanish Wall construction method (limestone, white lime and earth in a timber frame), were built at a time when newly freed Africans had to sustainably use the earth for both farming and for shelter. Unfortunately, due to neglect and lack of knowledge, few of these historical landmarks remain.

The Collective plans to document the building in preparation for its disassembly, resiting and eventual reconstruction as a structure for our Living Museum in St. Elizabeth. Jamaican Diaspora

Don’t buy you ticket or plan to visit or

RETURN TO JAMAICA WITHOUT DOING THIS FIRST!!! Before you go online, make sure you have everything you need with you

The WARE Collective and members of the community have forged a unique alliance of skill and trust to preserve and to repurpose these small, but historically relevant and architecturally significant structures.

We IMAGINE:

Students of all levels, nationally and internationally, and community members researching and learning traditional building 26

Jamaican Diaspora

OVID pandemic has resulted in a lot of bureaucracy. No turning up to your favorite travel agent to buy a ticket on the spot, anymore. Not only do you have to make sure you have been tested negative for coronavirus, within a certain time frame of your �light, but you also have to complete an online form, including a quarantine assessment questionnaire, and have them all approved, prior to buying your ticket. The following process may be daunting but as a June 2020, the success rate was a total of 8,418 approvals that had been granted to Jamaicans overseas who had applied to the JamCovid online Ministry of Health system for permission to return “a yaad”, under the controlled re-entry programme. If you are thinking of doing the same, here is some useful information. You will need to go online and complete a reentry form which is about a 4 pages long and once approved, you will be free to book your �light.

techniques from local experts. A welcoming, multi-use space with internet access; where visitors can participate in weaving exquisitely made and naturally dyed straw hats and purses; or a space to simply have refreshments while overlooking the panorama of the south coast. We ask for your support and contribution to preserve this donated Spanish wall building that is at risk of demolition.

Written by

Dr. Courtney Coke

Founding Member, The Wattle and Red Earth Collective www.TheWareCollective.com

Before you go online, make sure you have everything you need with you, as some of the sections time out, for example, the security code, or it is going to ask you the full address of where you are going to stay. No point ringing up the person while you are completing the form,

it will time you out. Likewise, you can be looking for information in your wallet, on your phone, in an email, or on you PC- you must have everything on hand ready.This article is to prepare you in advance.

So before you start1. 2.

Have your phone close by you. Have the email address you

have been given, open so you can access the OTC (one-time code), and put it on the phone, which will be counting down (it gives you a few minutes) Have your passport with you because you will need to information on it, and you will need to take a photograph of it. Jamaican Diaspora

Have full name, email address and phone number full street address of the place you are staying.

You TRN & NIS number, if you are a resident

5. 7. 8. 9.

Have full name, email address, phone number and full street address of your contact person in Jamaica. Parents full name and contact details

Employers full name and contact details The last date you travelled to Jamaica

10. Details of your return ticket (if couldn’t back because the airport was closed) 11. The address where you are currently living

12. The dates and names of places you have bee to over the last six weeks. Once you have this, go online. 13. Go online under www.jamcovid19.moh.gov.jm

Once you have completed the form, click on the voice note and listen to it. You will need to make an attestation that you have read, understand and agree to all the information on the form and that the information is accurate and true. You will then get a con�irmation email, stating that your application has been received but it is not clear how long this process will take. Once you get approval via email proceed to book your ticket.

Jamaican Diaspora

Caribbean Radio World We listen to your voice www.CaribbeanRadioWorld.com 32

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Jamaican Diaspora: Stylin

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Jamaican Diaspora: Stylin