Jamaica was granted independence on August 6, 1962. Since then the country has strived to be independent in not only its government but also its production of food and clothing. The country wants to provide for it’s own people. However, in my Global Cultural Diversity class, we watched the 2001 documentary Life and Debt (trailer below). The film focuses on how Jamaica has become a hot tourist spot for ignorant Americans on vacation, for they see only the beautiful aspects of the country such as the shimmering blue ocean. They ignore the fact that all of their excreta is probably being placed directly into that ocean (and they may even come into contact with it while they swim around). They ignore the fact that most of the food they are eating was actually imported from America. They ignore the fact that Jamaicans make most of their money producing food and clothes for America, only for that food to be shipped right back to them because they still need food and clothes for themselves. Sometimes, the products made are returned solely because they are of too little quality for Americans’ standards. They ignore the fact that if they want to get anything cheap, they will need to go to a convenience that sells imported food because the locally grown food sold in street stands is more expensive. Jamaicans are essentially slaves, despite the false but popular idea that slavery has been abolished.
Now, if you assumed that the American government doesn’t realize what they’re doing, you’d be wrong (to an extent).
Have you ever heard a country be labeled as “underdeveloped” before? Surely you have at least some ideas of what it means. An ‘undeveloped’ country where poverty is rampant, the homes are shacks, trash litters the area, infrastructure is poor, etc. Essentially, everything that could be wrong or bad about a country is present in an ‘undeveloped’ country. In contrast, ‘developed’ countries are seen as countries where everything right and good is present – plenty of food, clean homes and infrastructure, etc. If you would like a more in-depth definition and comparison between the two, look here.
Because the U.S is labeled as a ‘developed’ country, the country has taken the responsibility of ‘fixing’ and ‘saving’ ‘underdeveloped’ countries by giving them opportunities to grow by, for example, providing jobs for people in the country. For instance, in an ‘underdeveloped’ country, like Jamaica for example, the U.S could provide jobs such as sewing clothes and growing food. Wouldn’t it be great to give Jamaicans more opportunities to make money?
Ha.
While the idea has good intentions, what the U.S doesn’t seem to realize is that Jamaicans have essentially just become slaves for Americans. Yes, Jamaicans are making more money, but they are losing all of their own products in the process because they are so focused on making products for another country. They are not independent. They are reliant on the U.S. They are not ‘developing’ – in fact, one could argue that they are doing the exact opposite since Jamaica is losing itself.
And yet, we Americans vacation there, excited to visit the beautiful country we have heard so much about.