The much anticipated general election in Jamaica is winding down to the September 3 polls. Jamaica’s military and other security forces already cast their votes on August 28. If it were not for the intervention of Hurricane Dean, Jamaica would already have a new government in place as these elections should have been held on August 27.

Judging from the news coming out of Jamaica, and the numerous polls that have been conducted, it would seem that the elections will be closely contested and indeed too close to call. However, if you listen to the more privileged class of Jamaicans, one gets the impression that the Jamaica Labor Party led by Bruce Golding will win the election by a landslide and the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) will get very few seats.

On the other hand, when one shifts to listen to the majority of Jamaicans who are from the less privileged class, it seems without a doubt that the “Portia Factor” rules strong and the PNP led by current Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller will win enough seats to form the next government under her own mandate.

What is really happening in Jamaica, especially since the resignations of former JLP and PNP leaders Edward Seaga and P.J. Patterson respectively, is that the country is being divided as never before into two classes. While former elections had some element of ideological differences, this one is reminiscent of US presidential elections between two personalities. Here we have the technocrat, Bruce Golding, and the grass root warrior, Portia Simpson Miller. The class that consists of privileged people is refusing to support Simpson Miller, who to them lacks the “social graces” to be “their” prime minister. They criticize her speech, her mannerisms, and her lack of education from a First World Ivy League University. “How can she represent us in high places?” They ask. Although this privileged class may not even be enamored by Golding, they are willing to vote for him, and his party, so that Portia, of the working class, is locked out.

Until recent years, the industrial development of China was the world’s best kept secret. To the average man in the street China was perceived to be an overpopulated Communist country with the majority of the population working in rice fields and riding bicycles and rickshaws.

However, the perception of that China is folly. While the rest of the world has been concerned with various obsessions and distractions, China has quietly developed into a powerful industrial country, with a strong infrastructure. In fact, Beijing, China is the site for the 2008 Olympic Games, and there is consensus in reports submitted from Western Journalists visiting China that, perhaps for the first time, the Olympic site and related facilities will be finished long before the games are scheduled in August, 2008.

Today, China has emerged as one of the most powerful and influential development countries in the world – a country that has been actively involved in aspects of Caribbean development.

The industrial development of China has been increasingly evidenced here in the USA in the volume of products (including food products, clothing, tires, toothpaste, fish) on the retail market branded with the “Made in China” label. Until very recently, despite the fact that a vast number of consumers have been buying a variety of products from China, there were no complaints, that we have been aware of, about the quality, or safety, of products manufactured in China.

We all strive for some measure of independence. In fact most people loathe the thought of being dependent. This independence is desired both at a personal and national levels. It is for this independence that nations go to war and individuals make drastic personal decisions. This week, I want to focus our attention on what it means to be an independent people. How can we maximize our freedom to benefit ourselves, our fellow brothers and sisters and our communities? The last two weeks I developed the ideas that independence means our taking responsibilities for our selves. This week I wish to address the issue of our responsibility to others. I am reminded of a passage in the bible, where Paul instructed the Galatians Christians to stand firm in the freedom that they have received through Christ and never again allow themselves to be held in bondage to any form of oppression. (Gal. 5:1)

When we think of our responsibilities toward others we cannot avoid thinking about such themes as our mission or purpose in life. Every nation must be purposeful if it is going to provide well for the needs of its citizens. Every person must be purposeful if he or she is going to achieve anything worthwhile in life. Hence Paul reminds us that we must be good stewards of the freedom that we have received in Christ. To be good stewards of this freedom involves developing a clear mission in life.

To live out our mission in life involves a few worthwhile steps. First, we must do our homework well. This means we must do proper research; gather the right data, in order to formulate good conclusions. What’s going on around us? What needs are there? What needs exist in our communities? How can we make a difference? We must also take personal inventory – what am I good at? A good indication of how we can impact the lives of others positively is to develop our unique gifts and abilities such that they can become assets to those around us.

The time has come for Caribbean nationals living overseas – the Diaspora, to have a real understanding of the difference between being members of the Diaspora and being nationals of their respective Caribbean countries. This is important because with attempts to structure the Diaspora into an organized unit, one gets the distinct impression the Diaspora is, unrealistically, taking matters for granted in respect to activities in the countries from which it migrated.

With general elections looming in some Caribbean countries there is an increase in discussions pertaining to the right of the Diaspora to vote in these elections. Certainly, the topic is very vibrant among the Jamaican Diaspora, as that country’s elections draws near. Perhaps, because Caribbean migrants residing in the U.S. are familiar with the rights given to U.S. citizens residing overseas to vote in U.S. elections, they cannot understand why they cannot cast votes in elections in their countries.

The desire to partake in the political process in one’s country, even though one has migrated from that country, can be understood; but the right to vote while living overseas is not a simple matter. But first, let us look at the situation involving U.S. citizens living overseas.

Those residing overseas temporarily, (including the military), can vote in local, state or federal elections, and those living overseas permanently can vote only in federal elections. However, to be able to vote these, U.S. citizens are required to complete and submit a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to the Registrar of Voters in the U.S. county where that citizen last lived. If the FPCA is correctly completed and submitted in the time required prior to an election, the citizen living overseas is submitted an absentee ballot, with the list of candidates. Then, that citizen can vote and mail back that ballot to the respective county electoral office here in the U.S. within a specified time frame.