People leave Jamaica to get away from murder and other crimes

Dionne Rose:

WITH MORE than 1,400 persons murdered since the year started, the country's crime problem seems to be emerging as one of the main reasons given by persons who have opted to migrate from Jamaica.

Statistics from the Planning Institute of Jamaica's (PIOJ) Economic and Social Survey 2004 indicate a slight increase in the number of persons emigrating to Canada and the United Kingdom for the period 2003-2004.

In 2003, 1,981 persons migrated to Canada. This figure climbed to 2,130 in 2004.

For the United Kingdom, there was also an increase , though slight, from 479 in 2003 to 500 persons in 2004.

Data from the United States Department of Homeland Security's website showed a similar increase in migration to that country by Jamaicans. In 2003, 13,082 persons migrated to that country with 13,565, doing so in 2004.

According to the PIOJ's publication, the largest number of emigrant workers to Canada was concentrated in the professional, senior officials and technicians occupational group.

The publication pointed to "a continuation of the evident brain drain of skilled and professional Jamaicans over the years."

Family reunification was cited as the number one reason for migration to the U.K

Jamaicans who have migrated to the United States and who are in the process of seeking permanent entry to that country, however, attribute crime and economic betterment as the two major reasons for migrating.

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