SOUTH FLORIDA – There are a couple of Jamaican sayings or proverbs if you wish, that we should close out the old year with.
One is anywhere you turn macka jook you and you gon’ suck salt through a wooden spoon.
Starting with young men and women in places like Jamaica already on a no-visa list because their names came up as operatives in the scamming of U.S. nationals.
But it gets worse.
As the region, country by country decriminalize the possession and even legitimize the sacramental use of small portions of ganja, what is the U.S. saying?
Its embassies in the region are saying that even if your record for the possession of small amounts of the weed has been expunged, removed from the court system in the various countries, you have to declare that fact in your visa application.
This has not been stated and will even be denied, but it will be used, at the discretion of the consular officer to exclude many nationals, I suspect from the English speaking Caribbean, among other places.
Anywhere you turn macka jook you! Especially if you want a U.S. visa.
So what do these developments say to us?
You small insignificant island nation can go ahead and let off your people for charges involving small amounts of ganja, but guess what, even in your country, the big bad U.S. run things.
Maybe we should become less dependent and more independent?
Photo Credit: Leroy “Dreamy” Riley
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