Ackee and saltfish waiting - Holness urges struggling Jamaicans to return home

Kallejhay Terrelonge

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has made a passionate appeal to Jamaicans abroad to return to their roots and be part of a bold new future.

"Come back home," Holness said in an open invitation to those struggling in foreign lands.

The prime minister was speaking during a National Security Council seminar in Kingston on Thursday.

"Come back and let us build your homeland so that you can stand up with pride with the citizens of the world about your country, that you don't have to be economic refugees," he said.

"If you're finding it difficult where you are, come back here, ackee and saltfish was always good, it's on the tree, you can get it. Don't stay there and suffer, come back home."

However, his message wasn't just about an open-door return. It came with a stern warning.

"Don't come back here to destroy your homeland and what we have been working very hard to create so that you wouldn't have had to leave in the first place," the prime minister said.

Holness took direct aim at the notion that crime is the only way out of poverty, warning against those who would return only to fuel gang violence.

"Disabuse yourself of this notion that you can only make it through crime and therefore you are going to join a gang and become a part of the problem," he said.

Holness' address to Jamaicans in the diaspora comes at a critical time, with the Donald Trump administration's sweeping deportation policies forcing thousands of immigrants out of the United States of America (USA). Acknowledging the USA's right to enforce its laws, Holness reminded deported Jamaicans that their homeland awaits them--not as outcasts, but as integral players in nation-building.

"Jamaica is your homeland, you're not homeless or stateless. What we are trying to build here is a place where every Jamaican can feel proud and comfortable to come back home," Holness said.

Holness took a hard stance against crime, shattering the misconception that illegal activities are the only escape from poverty.

"Come back and let us build your homeland so that you can stand up with pride with the citizens of the world about your country, that you don't have to be economic refugees. That's what it is about," he said.

Holness issued a powerful call to action, urging Jamaicans with overseas experience to use their knowledge and exposure to help transform the island into a beacon of success.

"I appeal to all of you have been exposed to overseas and see what prosperity is like, come back home and let us work together to build the prosperous nation that Jamaica is destined to be, don't come back here with guns," he stressed.