Don’t lose that desire to return home

Dear Diary,

Greetings to you. Being able to send our thoughts from where we are and what we are going through is very helpful. I was born in the US Virgin Islands. We arrived in Harlem, New York in the US in 1987 to help support someone in prison at the time.

It was very cold. When we were at the front door at the airport, I turned around and went back to the plane. I told the woman at the plane door, 'No I'm going back it's too cold'.

She said 'it doesn't work like that', and I would have to buy a return ticket. After that they gave me a very warm coat. Being up here is much different from the islands.

You must be careful first not to lose your accent. That is very important because when you lose that, you lose that desire to return home. Don't drive if your car or papers are not right; keep your ID on you, and be very respectful if you are pulled over.

For real though, we must change the path we are on. Some are trying to watch us die out over the next 1,000 years. So ask yourself where will we be as a collective in the next 1,000 years? As a strong, serious group of wise minds, we must take some land for clean water, grow livestock, keep the land clean and safe, not cause hurt to the Earth, don't overeat the food of the land, and not have too many kids.

Don't waste water - the most important gift of life. Take a few pages from lives of the Jews. From 1940 to now they are a supreme faith with due respect.

They are rich with wealth and faith. We must have one faith, with one cause and one aim to be around for the next 1,000 years. You can't be selfish, and it can't be done alone. -----------------------------------------------------

I did not get a fair trial

Dear Diary,

Greetings from the dismal crypt. Thank you for the platform.

My name is B.M. I was born in Sherwood Content, Trelawny, and attended Dunrobin Primary, then St Joseph's High School in Kingston, where I was raised.

In 1992, I was alleged to have been involved in an armed robbery that ended in a shoot-out with Chicago police officers. Two officers were wounded.

On August 11, 1995, I was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder and one count of armed robbery. I was sentenced to an extended term of 60 years for attempted murder and 30 years for armed robbery.

I have maintained that I did not get a fair trial and a fair sentencing hearing. I've been incarcerated for 25 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

I've attended college, I've educated myself, and I've transformed myself while remaining spiritually lifted. I know no other way but to be a righteous warrior in the midst of racism and abuse.

I am Marcus Garvey, I am Nanny, I am Paul Bogle, I am Bustamante, I am Robert Nesta Marley, I am 100 per cent Jamaican, and the spirit of my ancestors runs through my blood vessels, and this fact has allowed me to remain strong and keep the fire burning in my fight for freedom.