Share SULFABITTAS NEWSMAGAZINE
What kind of nation does Jamaica aspire to be?
That question lies at the heart of the growing controversy surrounding reports that Jamaica could participate in America’s expanding immigration detention system. At the very moment that healthcare cooperation with Cuba has been curtailed under U.S. pressure, Jamaica now appears willing to consider a role in housing immigration detainees caught in Washington’s mass deportation machinery.
This commentary examines the moral, political and historical implications of that choice. Is this pragmatic diplomacy, or a Faustian bargain that exchanges national dignity for short-term financial gain? More importantly, what happens when a nation that once fought slavery, colonialism and racial domination becomes an outpost of another country’s detention regime?
The answers may tell us much about the future of Jamaican sovereignty.
There are moments in a nation's history when public policy ceases to be routine housekeeping and becomes an iron test of national moral character and political leadership. Jamaica's reported willingness to accept US immigration detainees is one such moment.
Supporters may boast that such an arrangement reflects strong relations between Kingston and Washington. Some may even argue that any financial compensation would help plug holes in the IMF-constrained Budget.
What political naivety!
This narrow calculation ignores a deeper question that every society must eventually confront: should a nation literally sell its soul to profit from human misery?
In the end, economics alone cannot answer questions that touch upon human dignity, justice and national self-respect.
THE AMERICAN PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
Beneath the niceties of diplomatic language lies a troubling reality. If Jamaica takes in US immigration detainees, the country can become branded internationally as a pariah, like El Salvador, who has facilitated, as the evidence shows, American unlawful detention and human-rights abuse of immigrants.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.