Oct 12, 20225 min read

I’m NOT Jamaican Enough for Jamaicans: My Jamaican Passport vs. My US Passport

My whole life I have gotten the best of both worlds being a product of the US of A and Jamaica. My mother is Jamaican and Chinese but was born in the Bahamas. My 'father' is German and Cuban and I don't care much for where he was born. I was raised solely by my mother from about age 3 through to present day. As a result, I was raised with the Jamaican part of my family that ranges in skin tones that are ghost white to dark as night. I would visit Jamaica 3-4 times a year for the majority of my academic career, but I did all my schooling in America. I was also born in America.

In school I was known as Taylor, short, curly hair, freckles......which one?...the white Jamaican.

Later in life I was able to get my papers for my Jamaican citizenship. I jumped through the hoops to prove my bloodline, provided the birth certificates of all my ancestors, promised the government that they could name my first-born child and finally I was honored with my citizenship papers and a passport from Jamaica.

Fast forward to a month after University. I was freshly 21, freshly out of a 4 year relationship, emotionally unstable and ready to move home to Jamaica where my mother and (some of my) siblings resided at the time. I graduated in December and in January I went to surprise my mother with a short visit. 3 months later I flew back to Florida, sold all my belongings and moved full time to Montego Bay.

I got a job with a friend's tour company that allowed me to work at the tour desk in the lobby of Hedonism II, a resort like no other, NUDE. (That is a story for another time.) Eventually, it was time to move on to a full-time position elsewhere and I was hired for marketing (amongst a plethora of other things) for one of the biggest tour companies in the Caribbean. (Once again, a story for another time.) During my years with them, I learned over 600+ employees by name because it was the decent human being thing to do, but also because it helped me get the best results for my projects on every location that I worked on.

Now, something you should know, if you start a conversation with me in America you will by no means think that I am of a different background. I don't sound Floridian (thank God), but I don't sport my Jamaican accent daily either. You might catch a hint when I say water or other random words but overall, unless I am around other Jamaicans you will not hear it. It shocks the hell out of people when they finally do though. Naturally, in my household it will come out more often and with the other Jamaicans at work so we can talk about idiot customers without them knowing. I eventually created a reference key for my boyfriend because after his first encounter with my family on a holiday, it was evident that he was lost half the time and just nodding to be polite. But at home, the accents come out especially strong when you piss off the women in the house. My dog is constantly in trouble for nonsense and he came from Jamaica to America with me when I moved back, so majority of my stern talking or commands to him are in patois. (Adorable to listen to Micah's Mississippi accent saying patois phrases to Chicken.)

(Stay tuned....I am toying with formats for publishing my Patois guide... copies will hopefully be available soon! Fingers Crossed!)

But enough back story and storyline jumping. The other day, one of my Jamaican friends at work asked me if I was born in Jamaica. I was honest and said no and explained my whole life story and raising and what not, just for her to tell me that I claim to be Jamaican HARD but am not actually one. The thing is, this isn't the first person to tell me this. I have been told this by many of my former employees in Jamaica as well and other randoms that thought I should know what I am not in their eyes. Their belief is that because I was not born in Jamaica, I am not Jamaican, papers or not. My counter to that? I am NOT Jamaican because my mother had the wherewithal to pop me out in a country that would give me a passport that didn't require me to get visas in order to travel the world? Because she saw the land of opportunities and wanted me to have those doors open to me in addition to our culture?

Being born in America doesn't take away from my upbringing and the cultural inheritance that I acquired from my family and life experiences. I have had people argue that we can't say our blood is Jamaican or American or Indian or Puerto Rican or whatever. That we only have blood types such as A or B or O, etc.. But if that is the case, why do companies like 23&me and DNA origin kit manufacturers flourish? Yes, majority of them ask for a vile of your spit to get your DNA because many fear needles. But from what I know, if they test blood found at a crime scene they can acquire one's identity from it as well. I am no scientist, but I believe that means that your DNA and genetic buildup is in your blood as well as your saliva. That being said, if those tests can then give you a breakdown of where your DNA's originating countries are, it is safe to say that your blood is a lot more sophisticated than just A, B or O variations.

In my mind, we are product of so much more than just the exact location that we were born. Am I American? Of course. I was born here. But does that make me not Jamaican? Not Cuban? Not Chinese? Not German? Not any other freaking thing that my parents are? No, it does not make me any less those things. Do I claim one or two more than the others? Yes, I fully do because I am proud to be everything that I am but I was mostly nourished in my Jamaican heritage. No matter where I am standing or living in this world, if you ask me where home is or where I am from, I will tell you the following: I was born in Orlando, Florida but home is Lethe, Hanover. I come from Lethe. (Lee-thee)

But I do understand that everyone is entitled to an opinion and their own special perspective. In America freedom of speech is a well established, LOUDLY presented notion and in Jamaica we just don't have enough chill to hold our tongues. So, to my counterparts who were born in Jamaica, I am sorry that you feel the need to tell me that I am not one of you or that you feel that I am a poser. I appreciate your unsolicited honesty. But quite frankly, I don't care. That being said, for shits, giggles and educational purposes, I have provided a list of countries below that a Jamaican passport can visit without a visa as well as a list of countries that an American passport can visit without a visa.

Jamaican passport holders can visit, visa-free, to the following countries: