Quarterly Jamaica Diaspora & Returnee Update — | Q4 2004

Quarterly Update | October–December 2004 | Jamaica Homes News

Key Takeaways: Q4 2004 in Six Lines

• South Asian tsunami on December 26 shocks global Jamaican community
• Bush defeats Kerry; diaspora watches US immigration prospects closely
• Hurricane Ivan rebuilding donations flow steadily from UK and Canada
• Ukraine Orange Revolution transfixes diaspora democracy advocates
• Jamaican remittances surpass US$1.5 billion for the full year
• 1st Biennial outcomes drive diaspora investment momentum into 2005

December 26: The Tsunami That Shook the World

For Jamaican families across the diaspora spending Boxing Day at home in London, Toronto, New York and Miami, the footage that began arriving from the coastlines of Sumatra, Thailand and Sri Lanka on the morning of December 26 was unlike anything most had witnessed in their lifetimes. The South Asian tsunami — triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of northern Sumatra — killed more than 225,000 people in fourteen countries within hours, making it the deadliest natural disaster in recorded history. As this edition goes to press in the opening days of January 2005, the full toll is still being counted, and diaspora communities are mobilising to respond.

The Jamaican diaspora’s reaction has been immediate. Community collections were organised within days at churches, community centres and workplaces across London, Birmingham and Nottingham. In the United States, Jamaican-American organisations joined the broader Caribbean community effort, channelling donations through the Red Cross and Oxfam. What has struck observers is the spontaneous nature of the giving — not driven by institutional appeals but by instinct. The tsunami has also reinvigorated conversations within diaspora circles about Caribbean disaster preparedness, given that many of the same communities had donated heavily to Hurricane Ivan relief only three months earlier.

The US Election: Bush Wins a Second Term

On November 2, George W. Bush defeated Senator John Kerry with 286 electoral votes and a popular vote margin of approximately three million — a far cleaner result than the disputed 2000 contest. For Jamaicans in the United States, the result carries mixed implications. Under the first Bush term, deportations of Caribbean nationals with prior criminal convictions accelerated, straining communities and families on both sides of the deportation pipeline. Caribbean-American voters overwhelmingly preferred Kerry, but Republican turnout advantages in swing states proved decisive.

Community leaders in South Florida, New York and Atlanta are now focused on engaging with Bush’s incoming second-term cabinet, particularly new appointments to the Attorney General’s office and the Department of Homeland Security, both critical to immigration enforcement. There is cautious optimism that Bush’s longstanding support for a guest worker programme might translate into legislative action. For undocumented Jamaicans working in service, care and construction, any regularisation pathway would be transformative. Diaspora advocacy groups have begun coordinating with other Caribbean organisations to ensure Jamaican voices are represented in whatever immigration debate unfolds.

Ivan’s Long Shadow: Rebuilding Continues

Hurricane Ivan made landfall in Jamaica on September 11 and 12, causing widespread damage before continuing its devastating path through the Cayman Islands and Grenada, where it was catastrophic. In the months since, diaspora fundraising for Ivan relief has been sustained and purposeful. Jamaican community groups in the United Kingdom organised multiple benefit events through October and November — concerts, dinners, auctions — with proceeds supporting roof repairs, school rebuilding and emergency housing in affected parishes. Grenada’s situation has been particularly acute: the island lost an estimated 90% of its structures, and Caribbean diaspora groups across the UK and North America have maintained one of the most sustained recovery fundraising efforts seen since Hurricane Hugo.

JAMPRO has used the recovery period to attract investor interest in resilience-focused infrastructure. Several diaspora-connected investors expressed interest at the 1st Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in June — held just three months before Ivan struck — and some are now reviewing how those plans might incorporate storm-resilient building standards. The National Emergency Management Organisation has engaged diaspora technical volunteers for its rebuilding assessment programme, setting a positive precedent for future disaster response collaboration.

Ukraine’s Orange Revolution: Democracy Resonates Across Diaspora

The Ukraine Orange Revolution — which unfolded through November and December after a fraudulent presidential election triggered mass protests in Kyiv — has resonated strongly in Jamaican diaspora circles engaged with questions of democratic accountability. The eventual annulment of the fraudulent result and the scheduling of a new election, which Viktor Yushchenko subsequently won on December 26, is seen by many community activists as a galvanising example of civil society defending democratic norms. Jamaican commentators writing in the diaspora press have drawn comparisons to Caribbean electoral disputes and to the long struggle for genuine universal suffrage in Jamaica’s own political history, where clientelism and garrison politics remain live concerns.

Remittances: A Record Annual Total

As 2004 closes, the Bank of Jamaica’s data confirms another strong year for remittance inflows. Despite the disruption of Hurricane Ivan and the general uncertainty of a US election year, Jamaicans abroad have maintained and in many cases increased their financial support for families and communities on the island. Estimates suggest that total remittances for 2004 will exceed US$1.5 billion — a figure that places the Jamaican diaspora’s economic contribution to the national account in unambiguous terms. That figure represents a larger share of Jamaica’s GDP than most international aid flows to the island combined.

Money transfer operators’ reduced fees — driven by competition and advocacy from community organisations in the UK and US — have meant that more of each remittance dollar reaches its intended recipient. The campaign for lower remittance costs has made measurable progress through 2004, and further fee reductions are anticipated as new entrants continue to compete with Western Union and MoneyGram. Community financial institutions, including Jamaican-run credit unions in the UK and North America, are increasingly positioning themselves as lower-cost alternatives for routine family transfers.

Returnee Planning: Building on the Biennial’s Momentum

The 1st Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference held in June 2004 was the landmark institutional event of the year, bringing together thousands of Jamaicans abroad with government ministers, JAMPRO officials, property developers and civil society organisations. The second half of 2004 has been, in many ways, an implementation period for what was discussed in June. Several new business registrations in Jamaica can be traced directly to conference introductions, and diaspora investors who committed to property or business projects in June have been progressing those plans through the year.

The National Housing Trust’s diaspora engagement programme has attracted sustained interest, and the Ministry of Finance has been consulting with diaspora financial representatives on the design of a structured investment instrument for overseas Jamaicans. The goal is to create a vehicle that allows Jamaicans abroad to invest in national development — infrastructure, social housing, renewable energy — with competitive returns and a clear governance framework. The 2nd Biennial Conference, already pencilled in for 2006, is beginning to take shape, and diaspora committees in the UK, USA and Canada are preparing recommendations for that event. The community enters 2005 with more institutional infrastructure than it has ever had before — and with the challenges of crime, deportation and youth unemployment at home as urgent as ever.

Jamaica Diaspora & Returnee Quarterly Update — Edition 88, covering October to December 2004. Published by Jamaica Homes News on 2 January 2005.

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