Dear Editor,

If the Dudus debacle has highlighted one thing, it is that Jamaica is unsure of itself as an autonomous nation. On the one hand, there is Bruce Golding who refuses to sign the extradition request because doing so would be an affront not only to Mr Coke’s constitutional rights, but also to Jamaica’s sovereignty. To hand over Mr Coke in such a manner, and at such a time, would be shameful surrender to US dictate, at the expense of Jamaica’s ability to think and decide for itself.

On the other hand, there is the larger Jamaican population Their grievance comes not from an alleged attack on the island’s sovereignty but is, interestingly enough, concerned with Golding’s challenge to the sovereignty of the United States. Jamaican citizens are worried about the ramifications of standing up to the US. To be frank, they are worried about their visas, and in the reality of America’s great power status, they have every reason to be.

Yet, the question remains, if the real controversy surrounds the future of US-Jamaica relations, and not the violation by a foreign power of the Jamaican Constitution and Jamaican rights, then where does that leave our right to self-determination? In the scheme of things, where do we truly feel at home: Jamaica House or the White House? Whom are we trying to please? Our neighbours or ourselves?

Judging by this affair, it would seem that Jamaica’s dependency on America goes beyond the economic realm. It is a dependency so strong that it encroaches upon the island’s self-sufficiency, self-rule, self-government, or – to put it simply – the island’s “self”. Delaying Mr Coke’s extradition is a futile attempt to deny what the rest of the nation seemingly already knows: Jamaica cannot survive while out of favour with the US because the island is not a sovereign nation.

Sean Spence

Columbia College 2010

Columbia University

New York, USA