I had an incident happen at work and I would like to know jmg view point on this subject. So I was at work with these 2 Jamaican women. Their both in their 50’s. We were talking about a women who lies to people about where she’s from and her background. One of the women where saying “how she thought she was a Jamaican”. So the other lady turn and “she must stop tell people she is Jamaican, she’s giving Jamaican’s a bad name”. She the other women said “but I thought her background was Jamaican”. Her response was ” she was not born in Jamaica so she can not say she is Jamaican”. Then she turn to me and says” you are Canadian because you are born here, you are not a Jamaican”. Now I turn and said ” yes I was born in Canada but I don’t identify as a Canadian, I identify as a Jamaican. My mother and father are Jamaican my grandparents are Jamaican. I also was raised by my grandparents and every year that I was out of school I was in Jamaica”. I got the same experience as my cousins got that were born in Jamaica. I also went to school in Jamaican. So therefore I am a Jamaican. This brings me to my question to jmg just because you were not born in Jamaica does that mean that you can not say you’re Jamaican. Mind you when I’m at work and people ask me where I’m from I say I was born here. They say to me no what’s your background. So to them they don’t see me as a Canadian. So why is it that fellow Jamaican people must behave like if you don’t have papers you are not a Jamaican. I also find that it’s more from the older Jamaican women that I have this problem with.
If your parents are Jamaican then so are you. Doesn’t matter where you’re born. That’s just geographic location. I hate when Jamaicans have dem baby a farin and talk bout “mi yankee pickny or mi british pickny”. If mumma is Jamaican and puppa is Jamaican along wid granny and granpa……then how can that child be American. Smh. Mi can understand if di fada is American and the mother is Jamaican and dem say di child is “Half Jamaican”….. Yuh have ppl who come a farin and insist on having a child here……just to say dem have farin baby. Sad but true.
If you a born in Canada you are Canadian, if you’re born in Jamaica you are Jamaican. If you are born of Jamaican parents you are of Jamaican background. If you are born in USA or Canada can you be deported from either country? No.
What-ever it says on your birth certificate that the country you identify with, that is LAW, so therefore your Canadian born( yes your Canadian) with Jamaican parentage.
The spanish people that were born in America is not considered Americans…. They say Puerto Ricans or Dominicans etc. Lady you are Jamaican if that’s what you see yourself.
You’re considered Jamaican even though you were born in another country..there’s no if’s and but’s around it. Jamaican parents who gave birth in another country you’re kids are JAMAICAN’S…call dem jamerican if u want.My kids were both born here and I told them everyday their JAMAICAN’S.
You are a Canadian citizen with Jamaican heritage. From a legalise perspective, you can file to become an actual Jamaican citizen–dual citizenship is an option. Only then are you an actual Jamaican.
Thank you,Mr Bigman. You nailed it.
no your not Jamaican. sorry to be the bearer of the bad news.
You’re a Canadian,that’s is what your birth paper even tells you.
John McCain was born in Panama. Are you saying he is not an American and should not have been able to run for President of the United States?
The facts are, you can get dual citizenship (Both Jamaican and Canadian) if one or both of your parents are Jamaican (a formality). In my book, if you identify as being Jamaican, YOU are Jamaica.
There are many Jamaicans who come to the US to have their children, so that they are US Citizen by birth and take the next plane back to Jamaica, where the child spend there entire life in Jamaica. Would you classify that person as a non-Jamaican? Being Jamaican is a state of mind, not one that is defined by a birth certificate. I know a few Jamaican born individuals and they do not self-identified as Jamaican and will no to extreme lengths to concealed there are Jamaican. This latter group would, IMHO, should be classified as Jamaican.
John McCain was born on an American military ship in the Panama Canal and his parents were American citizen; hence, he was automatically an American citizen.
You seem to be missing the main point here. John McCain and Ted Cruz (only his mother was a US Citizen) were born outside the United States. Does that make them non-american? Ted Cruz was born in Canada, so is he an American (natural born) or Canadian. He is claiming he is American natural born.
Where you are born is where you are from. You are a Canadian women with strong Jamaican heritage. You more identify with your Jamaican roots because that is how you where socialized. You understand the culture and you have lived experience of the culture however where you are naturalized is where you are from. You should not walk around saying that you are Jamaican because you are not a naturalized Jamaican citizen it is very misleading. You are a Canadian with Jamaican heritage. I’m pretty sure that when you travel to and from Jamaica you do not tell immigration that you are Jamaican because your indentification says otherwise so I am not sure why you would walk around telling everybody else that you are Jamaican. There is nothing wrong with being proud of your heritage but don’t do it under false pretences.
My son is a Jamaican and he is 3 .. he born usa.he went back to Jamaica chat raw patwa and english.. I am a proud Jamaican so is his dad. I found it a lot of Yankee Pinckney like ppllike to call them know more about Jamaica n it’s culture and heritage sometimes than the ones born there
true.. my cousin is like that.
There is even some people that were born in Jamaica… came to the US or Canada from they were young and never looked back, much less claim Jamaica.
They will cuss you if you say they’re Jamaican. Facts!!
So sender you have an option to claim weh u want.
You official… I know people like u.
You got it good, you can come and go as you please. A grudge dem grudge cause dem stuck inna one place.
You are NOT jamaican
Sorry! You ain’t jamaican
Only time Jamaicans accept children who were born in another country as Jamaicans, are when they are successful. Ex. Colin Powell, Naomi Campbell, Kerry Washington, Alicia Keys, Tyson Beckford ( who was born abroad but lived in Ja from infancy to age 7), Biggie and countless others. As we all know Jamaicans are biased and only rate farin born Ja’s if dem successful.
Identify as you please.
Spot on!
This email was poorly written, but you are Canadian with Jamaican parents.
I am a Jamaican living in Canada and I find that a lot of parents do not educate their children on the differences between being a Jamaican and having Jamaican heritage. You have a lot of children walking around telling people that they are Jamaican but they are not. You are accepting the benefits of your Canadian privilege but you do not want to identify as being Canadian.
Clearly u can’t ready well because I clearly wrote that when people ask me WHERE I am from I say Canada. So at what point would I be leading them to think I was born in Jamaica. As I also stated I lived a good portion of my life in Jamaica as a child well into adulthood and I still go there as my grandparent live in Jamaica. I’m proud of being a Canadian citizen BUT my heart is in my Jamaican heritage. I raise my children also born in Canada to be connect to their roots even though they live in Canada. I wrote this because I was curious as to what other people’s views are on this as well as if they too deal with the same thing.
You ARE Jamaican and Canadian. You can apply for a Jamaican Passport and derived any benefits accorded to a Jamaican Citizen. You can call yourself anything you want. These dufus can tell you anything. If you self-identify as a Jamaican, then so be it. You don’t have to explain shit to anyone. Just like your race, you can self-identify as 1/2-white, (100%) white or 1/2-black or (100%) black.
My kids, nieces and nephews were all born in the US and if asked they will tell you they are Jamaican. Even though the Patois is not as strong as if they were raised their they identify with being Jamaican.
I know a lady and her kids were born in the U.S. She got deported and the kids went and lived with her in JA. She told me they had to go to private school because they are not considered Jamaican. (She was begging me money to help out) Something really go so?
That lady was lying to you; if she was born in America, along with her children, they are all American citizens–even her parents, the children’s grandparents were illegal immigrants. There is no law that states that American children have to go to private schools in Jamaica.
you are not jamaican…..you are canadian……..you have a jamaican heritage…….but gwaan rep yawd…nuttin no wrong wid it….just say yuh is a first generation canadian……….
You are Canadian for christ sakes for you were not born in Jamaica! Your nationality is Canaaadian!
As a Jamaican woman with 2 Canadian born children, sender you are a Canadian by birth with Jamaican parentage. I on the other hand, have Canadian citizenship through naturalization. My childrens Birth Certificates are different from mine, but our Passports have the same color (dark blue, and on page 1 it reads “The bearer of this passport is a Canadian citizen”) So sender, please embrace both cultures evenly because that’s what it is all about.
Met go over baller alert . Jamaican beauty queen Marsha gay Reynolds is the one with the 70 lbs they even have her pic … Shame shame
story been up mama
YOU CANT CHANGE WEH YOU BORN!!! FACTS UR A CANADIAN CAUSE IF U GET IN A TROUBLE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD U NOT GOING TO CANTACT JAMAICA EMBASSY!!! U AGO SAY U A CANADIAN
Individuals need to stop forming fools of themselves and understand the nuances and distinctions between being a national versus being linked by heritage. Yes, heritage wise and possibly culture wise, you are Jamaican; however, you are not a Jamaican national/citizen at the present.
If you want to become a Jamaican national/citizen, apply for sole Jamaican citizenship or a dual Jamaican and Canadian citizenship. Thinking that you are does not necessarily make you Jamaican. Only by means of the law are you a Jamaican. Claiming the heritage and culture does not necessarily make you a national/citizen.
Your mother gave birth to you on Canadian soil, therefore YOU ARE CANADIAN, as indicated on your certificate of birth. Period. Point blank. There are legalities and technicalities to support this fact, therefore what you identify as based on your state of mind and how you were brought up, is neither here nor there! Being born in Canada, yet having STRONG TIES with your Jamaican heritage does not qualify you as a Jamaican, as if that were the case, half of the world would be Jamaican, including the tons of foreigners that flocks to our country for the love and appreciate of our culture, music, food etc. Until you apply for and obtain dual citizenship, you are a Canadian.
Thank you!
@The person who raised the point appertaining John McCain. The reason John was born in Panama, yet is considered an American Citizen, again boils down to legalities. There are laws regarding children born outside of American soil to American parents, which qualifies them as US citizens. Unfortunately there are no such laws in favour of our friend here.
Who told you that (“Unfortunately there are no such laws in favour of our friend here.”)? If you are not sure of something, you should remain silence, instead of spreading falsehood!
Under Chapter two of the Jamaican Constitution, persons born in Jamaica and persons born outside Jamaica of Jamaican parents have an automatic right to Jamaican citizenship. Applications for Jamaican Citizenship are done in different categories. These include applications for citizenship:
Descent
Marriage
Naturalization
Registration (Commonwealth)
Registration (Minor)
Based on Descent
By law, all persons born outside of Jamaica, who have a claim to Jamaican citizenship by descent, whether through parents or grandparents, are required to formally apply for the Certification of Jamaican Citizenship. This applies also to those who may have held Jamaican passports previously and now need to renew their passport and be issued with machine readable passports.
http://jis.gov.jm/faqs/applying-for-jamaican-citizenship/
@Lalibela A Nile, :sungkem
I was born in England and I know I’m JAMAICAN…THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICA CONFIRMED THAT FOR ME…SO I DOE BIZNESS’ God save the Queen!
__________________________________________ Tell dem deh..
I am a Jamaican by “nationalisation” Boom!
Cultural identification and nationality are separate of each other. Culturally you are Jamaican, but your nationality is Canadian.
You are proud to be a Canadian Citizen however you tell people that you are Jamaican. I’m confused?…if you are so proud to be a Canadian citizen it would seem appropriate to call yourself a Canadian with Jamaican heritage instead of telling people you are Jamaican. Like many others who have comment you are not Jamaican and we will just leave it at that
You are Canadian but be proud of ur Jamaican heritage. I must say this reminds me of when ppl talk smack bout you are as young as you feel!! Bullmanure!!!act ur damn age!! You can’t be 68 n acting 31!! You can feel and act Jamaican all u want,the fact that you are NOT won’t change!!!
Mi nuh luv unno again..dwl….oh well….legalities and all I am Jamaican by way of dual citizenship by BIRTHRIGHT. Born to Jamaican parents in the USA….
My father was born and raised in Jamaica….
My mother was born in England( to Jamaican born parents), she left when she was 4….and lived in Jamaica until adulthood and migrated here…..is my mother not a Jamaican? She knows nothing about England….is she British then?
Many other countries are different….I have a friend that was born and raised is Germany….her passport said her nationality is Armenian….because her parents are from there
Also…a former co-worker was born and raised in Switzerland…..his passport said he was Italian…..because his parents were
If someone asks I tell them I was born here…..but you all act as if a descendant of born Jamaicans saying that they are Jamaican is robbing you of something when it’s not….I can’t take a thing from you but knowledge and an even deeper understanding of my people (which you all are, like it or not)….I care about Jamaica in the most non-superficial way….not because of reggae or the food….I care about all….politics, economy, the people….everything….when I’m at a place where I have to give….where do you suspect I will give? America? No…Jamaica …I want Jamaica to be great and stable like those there & abroad. It’s my plan to do even the smallest things to contribute to the betterment of MY PEOPLE.
I just don’t understand why Jamaicans born there get up in arms about those who weren’t representing…. Like smaady seh up top….unno only claim wi when wi successful…..lmao…we are your family too ….treating us like stepchildren…dwl
Oh and another thing…..when I meet people who are Jamaicans for the first time (“real ones”), they ask me which part of Jamaica I come from….without me ever mentioning my background or speaking patois….then when I tell them I was born in the Bronx ….they say oh I though you was a yardie….ain’t that funny? It happens weekly…..so I make a joke of it and seh mi come fram Bronx parrish….
I cook the food (and my menu is length….all patty & blue draws mi ah ) go there, I love the country life, I love my culture, I love it all, my child was born here as well but his father is a “real” Jamaican …so he will get his dual citizenship as well and learn all there is to know about his roots….America ain’t for Black people….never has been…why should I represent it? The way I was raised doesn’t even allow me to feel “American”…..
Excuse my typos….typing fast!
My menu is lengthy*
Blue draws mi ah mek* dwl
yessss Saran wrap.. Facts.
The Canadian probably spend more money in JA than nuff a dem people weh born dey..
U NOt Jamaican …u not Jamaican.. she knows that she neva said she was.
amen Saran that was my point exactly. I agree 100 percent. Everybody is allowed how they feel but like u said when u see the og Jamaicans they see u as one of them so why the divide and put down. An funny enough if u look pon dem an say I am American or I am Canadian dem ready fi cuss u down bout how u don’t own up ur heritage. So ppl like us just cant win.
The law of civic says that you are whatever your father is……
Thanks for posting this. I was just curious as to how people felt about this subject as every one has their own point of view. One thing I must say some people are just plain ignorant in every way. I would like to know where in this letter that I SENT. Did I say in legal terms I want to be a Jamaican or that I go around telling people I was born in Jamaica. Its about what YOU SEE YOUR SELF AS. I don’t go into government places and say oh I’m Jamaican I was born there. That don’t make sense. I always make sure first and for most I’m an Canadian citizen and damn proud. Because unlike most people we see on here my family gave me the opportunity to a different life. It it wasn’t for them coming here I would be able to work at a good paying job and have a house in my name that I can pay for every month SO. In saying that for the people who just cant stand to see other people be proud of the background too rass bad. I’m a proud Jamaican child and I will teach my children to also be proud of who they are an their background. Much love and respect.
I am born in the U.S. due to my mother needing paper work, but couple months after i was born she sent me down to Jamaica to live until she was able to make a better life for my sister and I. Also both of my parents are born in Jamaica. I don’t know America like that and even though i am back in the U.S living and i barely know much about it. But i still consider myself as a Jamaican, not like i had a choice on where my mother should’ve given me birth. Yeah my birth certificate may say U.S but i still believe i am a Jamaican. I have had that same issue in regards of the whole “your not Jamaican or you are”, but everyone is entitled to their opinion, so i say i am a proud Jamaican regardless of my birth place. Jamaica has my heart.
Tarrus Riley and Alaine were born in the US. Im sure everybody commenting here call them Jamaican. Sooo explain? Is it only bcuz they’re successful musicians??
Alaine successful ?
A bet if I.C E. Run in pan dem a bet yuh say how fastl all who american born and claim dem a jamaican would a deny being jamaican in a ny minute
Oh pleaseeeeeee….stop with the bitterness man ….plenty of Jamaicans are citizens so they don’t have to worry about ice running in on them either….what is your point….we have options and it ah mad yuh! If you live here make it your business to get the proper legal documents to live & work here legally and don’t be a f**cling criminal so ice won’t have a f**King reason to run in pan dem! Move up man
Yaw nuh Jamaican. Cause when Jamaicans a get dash weh unda bus yuh say I’m glad I was born here
Please shut the f**k up because I’ve never said that.
I’ve mentioned that was born here on other posts only to prove whatever point not boast or show off on people ….it’s nothing to brag about…it’s just my reality…maybe you have a complex …but I don’t.
Senda, you can say you are Jamaican. Jamaican is also a culture and clearly it is within this culture your identity was form and where you find the most meaning. The fact that both parents are Jamaican further solidify your identity as not just cultural.
Would someone say to a child born from a Jewish Israeli woman in America that he/she is not Israeli? You are your mother’s child. A simple phone call to the Jamaican embassy will show you how easy it is to establish this fact. All you need is your mother birth paper, the passport fee along with your document and you will be in position of a mint Jamaican passport.
of course they can go right to the Jamaican embassy with their parents info.. and that’s why nuff a dem vex. Bout ICE. kmft.
My mom go hard for Jamaica..she will pick a fake yardie out ASAP.but she will never diss a child born from Jamaican parents. She always says “u a jamaican u tan dey”… lol.
But my mom can fly ,,so maybe thats why she aint bitter.
Anon… That’s why me neva put up me ID wen me respond. Caws, me dweet wen me turn 21 (I think). But me nuh inna di back and forth ting with no baddie. Especially, pan Met nice, nice site. And guess waa my son ah 3rd generation Canadian (4yrs old) and me haffi mek sure him get fi him paper, too. My son haffi know wey him come from, that him roots that run deep “400 yrs” inna Di islands. So no baddie can cum shake him tree and it just tumble down. Most West Indians don’t have roots going back hundreds of year here, and I grew up like my brothers and sister always being asked where do you come from, all when the birth paper inna dem face.
Unuh bitter nuh blood cl**t big up u self saranwrap….
U Jamaicans r serious….
if two cow up and leave dem grass field and end up having a baby inna one hog pen, is the baby the two cows had suddenly a hog because him born inna hog pen?
there’s a reason why even the country of Jamaica itself willingly and legally grants nationality to persons born out of the country to Jamaican parents. it’s because DEM A JAMAICAN!!!
lady, just be true to urself cause u coulda born inna Canada a million times if that is not ur culture, u coulda never identify urself as such cause u belong to something completely different, and I’m sure real Canadians will remind u of such on a regular
What ah ting…mi fine such ah contradiction. Mi notice when white people, matta fact any set ah ah people mimic yaad people, dem seh yeah man dem ah yaadie..dem welcomed wid open arms “true dem love di culture an ray ray.” As dem deh wid ah yaadie, dem stawt twang an chat like dem bawn ah yaad an gwan like dem ah expert bout yaad true dem touch down couple times an is learn dem learn it fram smaddy else (not bawn an grown inna it)…smh but dem welcome wid such open arms. Dem basically given dem “papers”.
Is ongle when it come to children bawn ah farrin to Jamaican parents dem reminded everyday by adda Jamaican dat YOU ARE NOT JAMAICAN…Yaad people might live ah farrin but dem grow dem children as if dem back home an is dat di children grown wid…di onlge ting dem pickney have in common wid farrin pickney is where dem bawn an is desso it stop….
Mi juss ah wonda how some canna disown ur own like dat? One love mi rass…
My Mother is 100% haitian blood born in America. My father is African-American. I identify as African-American because when they divorced I was raised by my dad’s people. I was raised in the culture. The food, holidays,music,dance,language,etc. I know nothing of the haitian side because my mother is what you call “Americanized”. That’s a person who is born here and raised in the culture but their blood line, their roots can be traced to another place.
Malcolm X said, “just because you put puppies in the oven, it don’t make them biscuits.”
The same countries who declare our nationality on the birth certificates are the same countries who also said a black man was less than human, do you also believe that certification?
You are who your heart say you are. Some of the same Jamaicans who scream “your not Jamaican”, would be the 1st to leave JA and not look back, if given the opportunity. The foreign born Jamaicans do more for Jamaica, than the Jamaicans politicians do for Jamaica.
It’s funny about this. I’m American born with Jamaican parents too. Growing up in America, my “AMERICANS” friends “NEVER” considered me being “AMERICAN” because of my background. I never ate, dressed, and talked like them because of my Jamaican background.
But, where you born at is what you are. But, give credit to people with Jamaican backgrounds because regardless of where they were born “at”. The Jamaican “culture” is in them. It’s not the they are pretending. It’s what they only know.
Get on the people who “never” born ah Jamaica. Don’t have a parent or grandparents. Never grew up in “Jamaican” culture and customs. They just adapt the lifestyle acting like one. I don’t respect them because, they arent respecting their culture. Sometimes, they act out more and giving Jamaicans a bad name. Theres a lot floating in the dancehall too.
What is Culture? the complex whole of a society. So this can include everything that gives a society its identity, which would include such things as language, beliefs, values, customs, laws, cuisine, etc.
When we are born we don’t automatically know all the values, words, beliefs, customs, etc. that our culture has adopted. We do not inherit culture. Culture is learned.
While much of what we learn about a culture can be learned through school, family, peers, and the media, there are often many things about a culture that are learned subconsciously.
For example, we may learn when particular holidays occur in school, like Christmas is always on December 25th. However, the norms and what it means to be ‘in the Christmas spirit’ is something we don’t have a conversation about or read in a book.
It comes from many years of observing others and just being around people who celebrate Christmas.
So if both your parents are Jamaican and your born on Mars what does that make you? Listen you are Jamaican no matter where you are born. So if a white person is born in Jamaica their Jamaican? No they are white. Both my patents are Jamaican and I was taught well. Don’t let these idiots make you think differently. The same blood that runs in your parents veins runs in yours.
This is such a hot topic. Unfortunately once you are born in a foreign country to Jamaican parents many Jamaican people (your own people) will find ways to invalidate you. You can keep saying that you are a Canadian Jamaican but all they will hear is you claiming to be born in Jamaica and they will try to tear down your identity for no reason (maybe it’s jealousy because they weren’t given the same opportunities as those born outside of Jamaica). How are you to claim wholeheartedly to a country which is only your birthplace? It doesn’t house your history or your ancestry? You are Jamaican! Embrace it! As many have said, one you become successful Jamaican people will claim you
I think that most of the people in this post are totally overlooking the fact that being Jamaican is about more than just being born there. It’s a culture. If you are taught by your parents to relate to their culture and their way of life and thinking that should essentially make you what they are. That’s the problem with black people…too quick to tear down and divide ourselves. This shouldn’t even be a discussion, because to them we’re all the same, NIGGAS. You don’t see the Chinese Japanese, italians, and etc disowning their own. Nope, only negroes. That’s why we will never get anywhere.
WOW LADY STOP LYING TO YOURSELF ZYOU BORN IN CANADA YOU ARE A CANADIAN .