Linton P Gordon
Most Jamaicans are pleased with the visit of President Barack Obama. There is an air of pride arising from the way in which the visit went. Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller should be commended for the way in which she handled the visit and in particular the way in which she handled herself during the visit, which was no doubt a stressful period for her.
The security forces should also be commended for managing the huge logistical challenges involved with a visit by a United States President. All of that said, we must acknowledge that the Obama visit was no great success for the country in terms of direct benefit. It is true that the visit put Jamaica in the international media thereby giving us positive exposure to the world. However, we must understand clearly that any act embarked on by a United States President is first and foremost in the interest of the United States of America.
The administration of Barack Obama is now realizing that the Chinese are gradually replacing them in the Caribbean and Latin America. This replacement is being achieved not with the use of arms but with the use of trade and investment. We must remember that United States’ Policy in the Caribbean and South America is guided by the MONROE DOCTRINE.
The MONROE DOCTRINE is a foreign policy promulgated by United Sates President James Monroe in 1823. The essence of this Doctrine is that the United States views efforts by European countries to colonize or interfere in the Caribbean and South America as an act of aggression requiring the intervention of the United States of America!
The Massive
When this Doctrine was promulgated by President Monroe, China was not yet a world power. It is now, and it is for this reason that America is uncomfortable with the Chinese coming into countries such as Jamaica and investing.
At the Town Hall meeting at University of the West Indies, President Obama sought to caution us about Chinese investments. He rightly alerted us to make sure we are getting value from these investments. The problem with this is that the Americans must remember that during the 60s and up to the early 70s they exploited our bauxite resources without providing the country with any significant benefits from the bauxite industry. The Americans must also remember that when in the 70s the Government sought to have the country receive some benefit by imposing a levy on bauxite mining, the American Government went all out to destroy the Jamaican Government that had imposed the levy. America has never forgiven us for the imposition of the bauxite levy.
So while we must accept the caution of President Obama, we must remember that President Obama, like all Presidents of the United States of America is guided by the MONROE DOCTRINE and thus he will have a sense of discomfort, if not hostility towards investment that are inconsistent with the principle of the MONROE DOCTRINE.
Despite all of this, we must commend the United States Ambassador to Jamaica for arranging a visit to the country by his President. We must also commend President Obama for finding time to visit our country.
Jamaicans have a love and an admiration for the United States of America. The two (2) countries have enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship. Any effort to deepen and strengthen the relationship between the two (2) countries ought to be encouraged. The number of Jamaicans residing in the United States of America is estimated to be well over half a million.
The two (2) countries work closely together in various areas, including National Security. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Obama Administration for dispatching members of Congress to the IMF on that Christmas Eve to persuade the IMF to “save Jamaica”.
The love and close relationship between the United States and Jamaica will not be destroyed nor shaken by investments from the Chinese.
Finally, President Barack Obama has put a lot of middle class Jamaicans in an embarrassing position when he spoke the Jamaican dialect as he was about to address the University students. There are quite a number of nouveau riche (the new rich who are frightened), who constantly declare that they do not speak the Jamaican Language and that they do not understand it. These are those who are trying to escape their past. They are usually from deep rural Jamaica but they deny their roots and when you hear them you would think they grew up on an English Manor.
The President hailed “the massive”. He spoke our language and in so doing he sent a message to those of “small intellect” who believe that to speak the Jamaican Language is to commit a crime.
