Dear Editor,

What happens when a Jamaican national migrates to another country and receives training in a non-productive way that is detrimental to his social standing and casts a bad image on Jamaica? This seems to be the case of Muslim cleric, Sheikh al-Faisal, (born Trevor Forrest).

In the November 30, 2009 edition of the Jamaica Observer, I suggested why all deportees should be classified. In the case of al-Faisal, this is a prime example. Certainly, he is a citizen of Jamaica by birth and no one can deny him access. However, all of his “improvement” in the form of training was done in a foreign territory and not in Jamaica.

For example, he was converted to Islam and completed eight years of studies at a university in Saudi Arabia. He lived in the United Kingdom for 26 years and was deported from that country on May 25, 2007 after spending time in prison for criminal offences. I am not in a position to make any judgement on whether he has been rehabilitated. But for sure, based on his profile, he is considered a dangerous person by some nations. What sets deportees apart are their educational attainment, training and experience, and whether they are truly rehabilitated and in what ways they can contribute to the society in productive and meaningful ways.

So it is his teaching that makes a difference and his growing up in a different culture. His only connection to Jamaica is by birth and he did not relinquish his citizenship or ties with Jamaica. Therefore, Jamaica has to absorb such an individual in a country that already has a tarnished image. Sadly, Abdullah al-Faisal has created a bad image for himself and has cast a bad shadow on Jamaicans – especially the Muslim group who are law-abiding citizens and the deported migrants – some of whom are also law-abiding. On al-Faisal’s arrival in Jamaica, the authorities will have some serious work to do in order to monitor his whereabouts.

Charlie Brown

charliebrown1004@hotmail.com