In South Florida, there is a perception that the rift between Jamaicans and Haitians is perhaps bigger than that between any Caribbean nationalities.
But in Jamaica – the only country so far that has joined the United States in offering a potential home to Haitians seeking asylum – feelings toward Haitian migrants are as diverse as the ethnic makeup of South Florida.
The USNS Comfort dropped anchor here last week to serve as a floating home to asylum hearings for fleeing Haitians. Ever since, the project has been the subject of talk on television, radio and the streets.
Jamaica and its people seem to struggle with the same kind of questions Floridians face: Give safe haven to neighbors who are suffering? Or keep them out so they don’t become a burden?
On the main street in a downtrodden neighborhood in Kingston, opinions seem based on political persuasion. Supporters of the ruling People’s National Party support Jamaica serving as the hearings’ home; supporters of the opposition Jamaica Labour Party take the other side.
“We are black people, so God said we have to help one another. As black people we have to stick together,” said egg vendor Earl Newland, echoing a line often used by politicians.
A few steps away, Barrington Grief, 32, cringes at the mention of the Haitian migrant ship.
“They should not load them up in our waters,” he said. “The Americans should deal with them. The PNP is selling out to the Americans. They must be getting something people don’t know about.”
In the place most affected, resentment against the government runs deep.
Port Royal is a fishing village about 20 miles south of Kingston. It is home to a Jamaican Coast Guard base – and to the asylum hearings.
Port Royal is the oldest developed area on the island. It has about 3,000 residents who share three churches and a single school. Now it is inundated with American military officers who have taken over the only hotel in the village.
But other business has not picked up – the processing project brought its own supplies.
“I don’t like what they are doing,” said Trixy Thomas, 20. “They are polluting the environment. The Haitians may have diseases.”
Government officials insist Jamaica is not losing anything, economically or environmentally, from the project. They agreed to be host to the asylum hearings for only six months; they may not even last that long because the United States is preparing a more permanent site in the Turks and Caicos islands, southeast of the Bahamas.
“We see it in the context of a comprehensive solution to the problem in Haiti,” said a Jamaican Foreign Ministry official who spoke on the condition that he not be identified.
“But we know Jamaicans want to make sure this project is not cosmetic. Like anything else, people are going to judge it by how it unfolds,” he said.
Still, from the old working-class neighborhoods all the way up the hills to the suburb of New Kingston, the talk continues.
Uriah Gordon, 57: “American and Jamaica are close friends and partners. They have to work together.”
Isaac Raynor, 66: “They are our neighbors. We must help.”
Eva McKen, 19: “Don’t you think it can cause some sort of a disease? The water already looks red. After all, that is a hospital ship.”
Cherry Grant, 30: “They are nasty people, for real. I’ve been to Haiti before and I’ve seen them with food on the street and flies buzzing around. That’s how they cook; that’s how they eat. … Why does this [processing) have to take place in our country? We already have a poor country. They should do it someplace else.”
