Chinese Jamaicans in the Emancipation Process

Emancipation Lecture Series 2008

Presented By Rev. Fr. Easton Lee, Author and Theologian Guest Presenter at 15th Emancipation Service Lecture and Cultural Presentation under the theme Emancipation: The Lesson and the Legacy The Chinese Jamaicans in the Emancipation Process held Sunday, July 27, 2008, at the Bethel Baptist Church, Kingston.

I would like to thank the Churches Emancipation committee for their kind invitation to me to address you on this occasion. I must also thank Mrs. Eppie Edwards, Ms. Lola Shakes and Dr. Hopeton Dunn for their very kind and efficient and invaluable help. In considering the subject Chinese Jamaicans in the Emancipation Process, I will start by pointing out that much of what I have to say is based on personal experience. So you will pardon the references and the use of the personal pronouns from time to time. There have been a number of persons who have written on this subject, in my view, some lacking the insight that only personal involvement can give. This is not to belittle the scholarly work that has been done, but perhaps to help to point the way for that which is yet to be done. It is my hope that some organization or person able to do so, will cause a definitive study to be made of the subject. The Chinese migration to the Caribbean began in 1806, with 192 indentured labourers to Trinidad, then to Guyana 1845, Cuba 1847, and Panama 1850. By 1970 with 11,700 Chinese, Jamaica had the second largest Chinese population in the Caribbean, next to Cuba which by then had about 12,000. They were all Hakka people descendants of the Han, all from Southern China. Early Chinese Presence in Jamaica The Chinese presence in Jamaica began some twenty years after slavery and a few years after the Indian arrival. In fact, the abolition of slavery was the reason why these two sets of people came to Jamaica. There is some disagreement among historians as to the actual date and source of arrival of the first group of Chinese. One respected researcher however has them arriving directly from China in July 1854, and the second group coming in October of that year via Panama (Chinese in the West Indies: W. Look Lai).

The first group were labourers recruited as such, the second was a group of labourers recruited to work on the Panama Canal and railroad who found the conditions in Panama unhealthy and intolerable and asked to be sent to a healthier place. Before their arrival in the Caribbean, they were migrating to other countries, for example, the United States of America where they helped to build their railroad and agricultural systems, to Australia, New Zealand and India among other places. In the early 1800s, Southern China, particularly *Guangdong Province, suffered severe natural disasters, harsh and prolonged drought followed by devastating floods, totally destroying all the food crops, leaving millions without food. And so a major outward trek of the Chinese people began with tens of thousands seeking survival and a better life in other countries, as well as in other parts of China. The first group to arrive from China to Jamaica were farm labourers recruited from the affected region. Taking the relatively new city of Lung Kong (Dragon City) in Guangdong Province as the center, the majority of these and subsequent migrant labourers and relatives were all from within a radius of sixty miles, with climatic conditions similar to Jamaica. They were all trying to escape the unbearable conditions created by natural disasters as well as the political unrest, and the struggles against foreign oppression at that time. These foreign countries were trying to divide and rule China as they did to Africa, another ancient continent. There were the Opium Wars. The movement (Boxer and Taiping rebellions) of that time subsequently led to the liberation of China some 100 years later. But back here in the Caribbean, groups of Chinese arrived between 1864 and 1884. The period 1920 to 1933, saw the greatest numbers arriving, mostly sponsored by relatives. My own father and his two brothers came in 1920. By 1943, the census recorded over 12 thousand Chinese in Jamaica, mostly in the cities of Kingston and St Andrew, Spanish Town, Montego Bay , and in the Capital Towns and deep rural districts and villages. These were mainly from the Hakka group. Some Cantonese, part of the 56 national groupings which make up the Chinese nation all distinguishable by language custom and culture, and sometimes physical features. The Hakka and Cantonese are known for their hard work, industry, adaptability and for their nomadic tendencies. The Hakka, more so. When things dont suit them, they move on. A fact to bear in mind. Chinese Indentureship The conditions under which they were recruited, and worked, were hardly better than those of the African slaves they were meant to replace. They had to agree to repay to the plantation owners the full cost of their passage to Jamaica. They were paid very poor wages and many ended their 3 or 5 year indentureship period owing money to their employers. They were required to work seven days a week, sun up to sundown ,doing exactly what the slaves did, looking after animals, planting, weeding, cutting canes, working in the factories making sugar, rum and molasses, as sugar boilers, coopers, firemen (as distinct from fire fighters though that too when necessary.) Among other things, they were promised Chinese groceries and houses with concrete floors. However, in most instances they got windowless, one room huts with mud floors, inadequate sanitary facilities and little or no Chinese food .

These harsh conditions led to illness and disease, and were the cause of perhaps the first recorded strike of paid workers in Jamaica. This took place at Duckenfield estates in St Thomas (1855) where a group of Chinese workers staged a sit down strike. The Estate owners employed the help of some African and Indian workers to force the Chinese back to work. There was a fight in which several persons were injured and one man killed. The result was an improvement in some of the conditions including a six day work week, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with Sundays left as the day to work in their plots of vegetables, a very substantial part of their diet (The Chinese in Jamaica: Lee Tam Yin , 1957) Chinese Indentured workers were sent to estates all over Jamaica, in every parish where there was a sugar plantation or factory. For example, the first arrivals were sent to Duckenfield, Albion, Lyssons and Trinity in St. Thomas, Spring Garden in Portland, Blue Castle in Westmoreland, Lanrummy in St Mary. (The Shopkeepers: Ray Chen, page 13-23) These estates in the colonies were then a vital part, if not the main source of European wealth. This wealth was the driving force of the British economy for example, and to a great extent funded their industrial revolution. But this wealth was literally drying up after abolition, which the British were forced to grant as the slaves made slavery untenable. The Africans albeit aided by some good European people of conscience, and in rebellion after rebellion had fought long and hard for their own freedom. Added to that, as Eric Williams reminds us slavery was becoming unprofitable , so Queen Victoria did not grant them freedom out of the goodness of her heart . She had no choice. (Capitalism and Slavery: Eric Williams) Not all the Africans who were sold into slavery were labourers uneducated and unskilled. There were many highly skilled craftsmen, educated persons and some professionals among them, as there were with the later Chinese arrivals. There were bankers, businessmen, teachers, doctors and manufacturers, not all were poor. Also among the Indians were educated skilled persons. But it was essential for the plantation owners and their supporting Colonial Government, as part of their control mechanism, to portray the Africans, Chinese and Indians as inferior to them in every way. When the majority of the freed Africans quite rightly refused to work for the pittance being offered, the estates had to find a source of other workers in order to save their source of wealth, power and prestige. India and China were their preferred sources as the workforce from their own country Britain proved ineffective. By the time the Indians and the Chinese arrived in Jamaica, the Creole Culture was being formed with the newly liberated population still in the struggle to establish themselves as truly free from the remnants of plantation and Colonial domination, control and oppression. And it was in this atmosphere that the Chinese found themselves. So for example, it was that language, the Creole language, that they learnt to speak. And it was in that society that they would learn to live, survive, work and prosper. In China there was a tradition of manufacturing and exporting many products. Items like crockery dishes, teacups, plates made in China were familiar to Jamaica as were cheap fabric, canvas shoes (crepe sole) cotton vests (merino) and chalk toys. This gave some prestige to local Chinese and no doubt this culture, influenced their activities after estate employment.

Early Chinese Businesses At the end of their indentureship, very few Chinese remained on the land. The relatively few who did went into market gardening growing mostly vegetables, sweet potatoes, and dasheen known to them in their native country. Many took advantage of the promised passage and returned to China. (Patrick & Loraine Lee and interview with Henry Lee 1950) Scattered as they were all over the island in the villages, they were able to observe at first hand the needs of the people around them, and set out to supply these needs through nascent businesses. During slavery the slave owners were responsible for providing their necessities of food and clothing to the slaves. This ended with abolition. The villagers had grown accustomed to items such as pickled fish and meat, flour, cooking oil, rice, cornmeal, basics to supplement their daily diet. It was in response to this continuing need, the Chinese village shop came into being. This was consistent with Chinese practices in the United States. Chinese laundries came into being in the US, because the Americans were always asking the Chinese workers to wash their clothes, sometimes paying for the service. Out of this necessity, Chinese laundries became a thriving business in the US, as did Chinese village shops in Jamaica. Patterns of Chinese assimilation into Jamaican life On my first visit to our ancestral village in China in June 1980, I saw little village shops in the exact design as built here by my father and others, and so common in Jamaica. I wonder whether the design was brought to Jamaica, or sent back to China from Jamaica. Sometimes these shops were no bigger than twenty feet by ten feet. The size of a small bedroom. Some even smaller, with one or more rooms at the back which served as living quarters. All had a serving counter running the length of the building some L or U shaped. This counter was the meeting place of two distinct cultures, mutually dependent and where the integration really began. In some larger shops, the living quarters were located upstairs. Many were rented from villagers, some from the estates which recognized the convenience of having them located nearby. This form of shop keeping was to be the main occupation of the Chinese for decades. Shop life It is difficult for those outside the experience of shop life to understand what it was like. First of all they sold the basics mentioned, but also everything from common pins and safety pins to hairclips, cutlasses and forks and hoes, shovels, face and body powder, salt, bread, crackers, black pepper, water boots, pens and pen knibs, lead pencils, exercise books, pencil-rubbers. Pots pans, plates dishes cups and saucers. Any thing you can think of that might be wanted or needed. Arrow root pill, salt physic, and aspirin. Not to mention shirts, belts, shoes, cloth, needles thread, buttons, hooks and eyes and press studs. Aerated waters, Rum Brandy Gin, and other distilled spirits, as the required spirit license read. There was a research system in place. If items not in stock were requested, they would be written down in a special pocket note book and ticks placed for each request. Any item with three or more ticks would be brought in. Because of the language problem, a long stick was often used to point out what the customers need.

Items were sold in the minutest quantities as could be afforded by the customers. Cash was scarce and, for many, came at irregular intervals. For those employed by Government, (railway, roads) or on estates, pay-bill was fortnightly or monthly, at best, weekly. The other source of villagers income was from crops they planted, or animals they reared .The majority were self employed. Most persons were poor yet dignified independent minded people, persons of great faith, sometimes barely able to eke out a living from the hillside lands they were given at abolition. They were only able to purchase small quantities of their requirements each time, a farthing worth of salt, penny bread, quattie salt fish. a pound of flour, half-penny sugar, penny salt butter, penny salt pork. Fip worth of corn pork. (If you dont know what a quattie or a fip is, you can ask me later.) A few shillings a week was all that some families afforded for their supplies. The shops were opened at the crack of dawn, six days a week and closed only after the last customer left. On Sundays, after church, sale would take place from an open window or backdoor for a part of the day to facilitate customers whose money came after closing time the night before. After closing time on a Saturday the shop had to be thoroughly cleaned, the floor scrubbed from end to end, shelves tided and made ready for Monday. Work was also done on Sunday, after church, wrapping and packaging. But on Thursday and Friday nights, the wrapping and the packaging and the funnelling went well into the wee hours of morning. A few hours sleep and it was back behind the counter serving customers to and from their Saturday market. This was sheer drudgery. Done without complaint and always with a smile, always courteous and friendly to the customers. That was a rule not ever to be broken. Because of the scarcity of cash, credit was given to trustworthy customers. In fact, the term used was trust. This was so from the earliest times continuing well into the fifties and sixties . There were two types of credit customers. Book customers, for whom a pair of pocket note books kept their accounts. One held by the customer, one by the shop. These were the regular, bigger customers who had ongoing credit and whose weekly bill amounted to twenty to thirty shillings. Then there were the paper customers who occasionally needed credit during the week. Their accounts were kept on slips of paper, set on a wire hook and destroyed once they were paid. Not only goods were credited, sometimes small loans of cash to special customers were necessary for family emergencies, for doctor, medicines, train-fares, examination fees, court fines and loans were made till payday. So the shop operated also as a bank. Sometimes their cash and valuable papers, eg., land titles, were kept in the iron chest for safe keeping. Payment was often accepted in kind, coffee, pimento, annatto, chickens, eggs - whatever the customers produced and then resold. Many times there was a debit balance, when a customer owing thirty shillings could only afford on a particular week to pay twenty-five, the balance would be brought forward. At other times when it was afforded, customers may pay a little more than was due, leaving a credit balance for later needs .

In our experience we never had a bad debtor, people always paid their bills. The shop then was the centre of village life , serving as trading post, bank, a gathering place. A place to hear or give the latest news. Get first aid. A place where you could get a letter read , written or a form filled out. The vast majority of these were owned by Chinese families, staffed by relatives some sent for when it could be afforded or when necessary. As soon as was possible and feasible, relatives were set up in businesses of their own. Help to relatives was always given, sometimes at great sacrifice and was one of the reasons for their success. The Chinese from the earliest times operated a system almost identical to the Partner system. That community partnership helped tremendously and was the source of capital to start or expand businesses which were rapidly growing in size and numbers. BSC Degree- Behind the Shop counter. The life education which we gained behind the counter is second to none and proved invaluable. We were able to observe life in all its reality and complexity .We gained insights which no university could provide. A very successful businessman who came out of that experience, jokingly says, We earned our degrees at a very early age a BSC no less a behind the shop counter degree. But the truth is, we would not be who we are without that learning, and Jamaica would not be the same without the village shops and that service. The success and prosperity that was being seen by early shopkeepers did not sit well with some sectors, who lobbied and pressured a very receptive Colonial Government. They were seen as a threat by a very short-sighted merchant class who up to then were the only importers of the very commodities the Chinese were making available in their retail outlets. In response, the Chinese went into the importing and wholesale business with much success. Soon all sorts of restrictions were being placed on Chinese migrants and business. One of the restrictions required those arriving to be proficient in either French or English. A quota system was imposed limiting the number of migrants. Each new-comer had to pay a security fee of One hundred pounds sterling. That particular restriction obtained up to Independence 1962. From their first arrival, the Chinese migrant was portrayed and labelled as it suited the Colonial Powers and the ruling class according to the image they wished to create to suit their own purposes. Heathen Chinee, the Crafty Oriental, The yellow peril, the hard working money-grabbers who were in Jamaica, to take away the peoples jobs and wealth and send it back to China .They were portrayed as morally and physically inferior to the Whites and the Blacks, deceitful and entirely incapable of assimilation into civilized society. They were deemed a threat to the moral economic and physical wellbeing of the west, dominated by white culture and values. They were at one time portrayed as the saviours of the ailing sugar industry which the lazy negro had abandoned, and whose work was superior to that of the Negro. This was an attempt to put the Chinese labourer as a buffer, a control mechanism between them and the growing free society. According to Dr. Lee Loy, To preserve White control, colonial society required a docile people to act as a buffer zone between Black and White elements of society. Representations of Chinese migrants were consistently moulded to ensure they were perceived as fitting into this role. (Reading Mr. Chin: page 38 Dr. Anne- Marie Lee-Loy 2006)

Philip Sherlock also saw the Chinese as separate racial group , which serves as a cushion between blacks and whites. (The story of the Jamaican people: Phillip Sherlock/Hazel Bennett) When this ploy seemed to fail, the portrayal shifted to the negatives and sadly a small portion of the Creole population joined in much of the stereotyping ridiculing and branding, resulting no doubt in some of the hostilities against the Chinese and which led to a number of lootings, burnings and other violence possibly even murder, though some of these hostilities had their origin in very personal matters. Challenges to integration Some of what was being said about the Chinese was quite ridiculous and not worthy of repetition but perhaps to a small measure delayed inevitable integration and acceptance, which came when the people discovered that much of this was fabricated. But it took years. Despite all of this, the hard work, dedication and commitment to family, their resilience , the consistence and tenacity with which they clung to the ancient teachings of their ancestors, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and later of Christianity, have made them succeed and prosper. Chinese are often admired by others for their industry, thrift and for helping out each other. They are also known to value the last cent or penny and wasted little. They avoided ostentation and were seen as hardworking with little time to socialize or idle. These attitudes and behaviour were drilled into their offspring. In this short poem I have tried to recall this teaching. (Poem: Today) Today Yes me buy book My buy any book you want Clothes and shoes no matter. Eat good food yes Study you book dats better. One day you glad. Today dem laugh. One day you kick backside And pay with pocket change Still have plenty money aside I tell you nobody laugh you That time you laugh sweet. - From behind the Counter by Easton Lee (1998) page 7 From the humble beginnings of these tiny shops, they have risen to the heights of the Jamaican economy and life, second to none and, for the greater part, are fine examples of responsible citizens. The humble shops have all but disappeared, giving rise to large supermarkets and shopping centers. There is one very important factor that was vital to integration. Very few women came. The majority of the early arrivals were young men, unmarried or newly married. Their life of interaction with Jamaican Society, inevitably led to intermarriage. Through the years, the Jamaican women have stood and worked side by side with their chosen Chinese husbands and partners and were a key element in their integration, prosperity and success. Now after a

hundred and fifty years, many of us with Chinese ancestry and Chinese names are of many colours, all part of the great Jamaican melting pot, wonderful and beautiful people and Su wi good lookin, su wi smart and bright. The Chinese in the beginning looked to China as home, but as integration and acceptance progressed, this changed accordingly. But no matter what their economic circumstances, one thing was common and constant as with many other Jamaicans, the importance of education. Insistence on Educating the Children Chinese parents placed great emphasis on education and learning, insisting that their children acquire as much as they could. We were always to be thrifty, not craving the unnecessary luxuries. This teaching was identical to the Biblical instruction on the vanity of material things. Many were sent to England and the US to collages and a few also to Chinese Universities as there was as yet none in Jamaica. Life revolved around Shop, School, Church and, in the rural areas, around community as well. Being Tong Knin (Chinese), knowing your roots was paramount. My father came to Jamaica, well educated in China to the equivalent of a Masters degree, possibly a doctorate. He married a Jamaican woman of mixed racial heritage from a poor rural family, with an elementary school education. They found that there were many similarities in the teachings of China and Jamaica, and we were raised on both. Because of the similarities in the teachings, my father was very supportive of our Christian activities. (Poem: Sunday) Sunday Yes man go church You madda carry you go Every Sunday Church good thing me know Teach you love God Love mother, love father Sister, bredda Love alla somebody Teach respect old peopleyes Church good thing Serve God But you no stay too long Church over, people come home Want cook Want smoke Want drink Want serve. Good thing, serve God Serve customer, too. - From Behind the Counter by Easton Lee (1988) page 5

He saw to it that we knew something of Africa, of India, Scotland and of England - my mothers ancestry and, of course, China. We, like many of our peers, had the best of both worlds. He tried to teach us to speak Hakka but due to the ridiculing and the teasing we encountered, we ended up knowing very little, just basic everyday usage, and as it applied to the shop. We learnt however to write our given Chinese names and my mother learned much more Hakka than we did. We grew up on the strictest discipline. Proper respect for our teachers and older people was key. The oldest person present at any given time was in charge. This included our helpers. Strict table manners were always observed. Both those of Chinese and real Jamaican country origin. We were taught the Chinese way and the Jamaican way and were reprimanded by both parents for any breach of either .We celebrated the major Chinese festivals sometimes simply, sometimes elaborately. In Chinese culture, boys were preferred to girls, as they carried on the family name. When a girl marries she takes her husbands name and becomes part of his family. The boy however remains in the family forever and had first claim to education, inheritance and other privileges. Family and the family name were revered, and nothing was to be done to cause shame or embarrassment to your family, to lose face. On the contrary, everything must be done to bring them honour . We were taught to ignore the ridiculing we often got from others. We could afford to, we knew who we were. We were reminded that China has a proud history giving to the world many important inventions. That Rome fell, the Byzantine Empire, Greece, the Incas the Aztecs all but disappeared but China remains, and will one day again be the envy of other lands. This we have lived to see happen. My Father also knew much of African History, of their early institutions of higher learning, of Timbuktu, of their art. Africa was the only country he would consider as old as, or older than China. Chinese University students he said studied Africa. He spoke of the Historic connection, of Chinas friendly trading visits to Africa (1405-1433) predating Vasco Da Gama, and Christopher Columbus by almost a century. (1421: Gavin Menzies). He spoke of cultural similarities between the two countries. Was very upset at some of the degrading fallacies that were being passed off as African. He had great respect for people of African descent. He was a great admirer of Norman Manley for his work towards Jamaican self Government and independence which he felt was the key to Jamaicas future prosperity. Chinese Institutions The Chinese from very early, set up institutions of their own to take care of their affairs. Among them The Benevolent Association, to help new migrants settle and to provide translations and legal advice, The Athletic Club as they were not allowed membership in any other, Retailers, Wholesalers, and Bakers Associations since they were barred from those already in existence. The Soda Fountain and Restaurants Association. The Chinese Public School with several rural branches to teach their children Chinese culture. A branch of Chee Kung Tung, a powerful lodge-like international association. The Chinese Catholic Youth Association, a Sanitarium, a Cemetery, the Home for the Aged and a Taoist Temple .They published their own newspapers and magazine .All these have now been rendered unnecessary by integration and assimilation, except for the CBA, which is still in existence but with a mandate more in

keeping with the times and needs and which still operates the Home for the Aged and the Cemetery. The temple can still be seen on Barry Street. There is also the Chinese Cultural Association and the Jamaica China Friendship Association open to all Jamaicans of later vintage. Impact of Mao and the Revolution The changes in China in the late 1940s divided the Chinese Community. Many did not support Maos Government indeed, very anti. For some it did not matter .It made my father and father-in-law both very happy. Others migrated to USA and Canada. Jamaican Independence was also greeted with mixed feelings. Ironically, some had grown accustomed to the protection of Britain. Many were among the other Jamaicans who migrated. Their fear of Socialism and rumours of Communism in the 70s scared many, and these nomadic people again migrated. True to their Hakka heritage ,they moved on. Some have since returned, and there have been in recent years some new Chinese arrivals mostly from Hong Kong, because of its change of status. These are mainly young people seeking a start. What will happen with these is yet to be seen. It is fair to say that from the foundations laid by the early migrants, and subsequent arrivals, in the Jamaica of today, there are persons of Chinese ancestry in every walk of life who have and continue to contribute to the Jamaican development in immeasurable ways. The scorn, derision and abuse have all but disappeared, the degrading stereotyping labels have given way to acceptance and respect resulting in a sense of belonging. Today they are to be found at the summit of Commerce and Banking, in manufacturing of which they were among the pioneers. In the hotel and tourism industry, they are dominant operators, as in the supermarket, baking and fast food industries. They are teachers, nurses, lawyers, doctors, engineers, contractors, architects. In religious orders, politics, the arts, Jamaican music industry and in academia . They are also the majority of restaurant owners. They are in the civil service and the security forces, ground transportation, sports and airlines. They are the pioneers in the recording of Jamaican music and now one company is among the worlds top six in the recording of Jamaican music. In their every chosen field of endeavour, the Chinese Jamaicans continue to excel and are a credit to the country. A study in progress estimates that some 25,000 Jamaicans are employed by the various establishments owned and run by Chinese nationals, with some 100,000 family members directly benefiting. Mandarin is now being taught at the University of the West Indies, a number of Jamaican students have gone to Universities in China most on scholarships. China has been giving assistance to some vital Jamaican projects and their expanded Embassy continues to cement the Chinese and Jamaicas Historical association. We have had many important Government Officials visiting us. We hear of imminent Chinese investments in Jamaica. Thousands of Chinese Jamaicans all over the world are proud of their Jamaican origin and icons and make their contribution like any other Jamaican living abroad. There is no doubt that the Chinese are now well and truly integrated as a vital part of Jamaica and to a certain extent Creoleized. A version of the numbers game they introduced (Drop Pan) is now legal, though some see that as a negative. However the Chinese Jamaicans are contributing in positive ways

and fully participating in the process of Nation building and are acknowledged and appreciated by the vast majority of other Jamaicans as true and loyal citizens. I would bet that there are not many Jamaicans or Jamaican families without a Chinese connection, or at least a friend. The celebrations of the two Chinese festivals each year (New Year or Spring and National Day Festivals) are very well supported by other Jamaicans. Chinese cuisine is now a popular and important part of Jamaican fare and has captured the support of Jamaica. Among the many spices are a few innovative Jamaican additions. Jerk sauce is sometimes added to stir fry and fried rice .The combination of Soy Sauce and Scotch bonnet pepper is now standard fare in the many restaurants to choose from. These offer the food with the robust flavours peculiar to Southern China and well liked by most Jamaicans. So are stew-peas and rundung favourites among Chinese Jamaicans. Though they are proud of the recent achievements of China, they no longer wish to return except for business or visits to ancestral sites. Jamaica is home. This feeling grows with each succeeding generation, despite the fact that their place of origin is now considered the richest province in all China. Many non- Chinese Jamaican businessmen, in recent years, have visited this part of China and some have established profitable links with companies there. The census figures of 2001 say there are 5,153 Chinese persons in Jamaica with few of the first generation group. Most are Jamaican born and there are 161,234 persons of Mixed races. I suggest that a great many of these are part Chinese. Perhaps the greatest of the Chinese Jamaicans achievement is that by their consistent hard work and discipline, have earned their own emancipation from the false portrayals, names and branding of the Colonial masters and ruling classes and others of their early days in Jamaica. They have earned the respect and recognition as worthy citizens even from their strongest detractors. The struggle was not an easy one to this emancipation, but the Chinese held on to the ancient teachings of their ancestors which instilled the principle of respect for all people. Better than none, inferior to none, but equal to all was a guiding philosophy. Though it was tried to hold them in this vicious psychological bondage of inferiority in Jamaica as well as in China, their minds were not distorted or corrupted by foreign ideology and bigotry. They were mentally free. This foreign domination tried all over the world has been the trademark of many nations, who thought themselves better than others has been a failure in Chinese terms. Conclusion One of the essential elements in fashioning a viable society is a strong economic system of commerce, trading and distributing goods and services, making accessible the needs of all the people of that society, and producing and marketing their products in a sustained way. Part of the Chinese contribution was to provide a vital link in that essential chain. However, their contribution is not only in economic terms. With the little shop as their main base , they have moved out into all our other vital sectors and professions, further enriching the life of the fledgling nation.

In my view there is another vital contribution, still in progress, to be acknowledged. Nettleford reminds us that The freedom (re)gained is still to be fully realized. The persistence of the mentality after the fact of physical (and legal) freedom is indeed not the least of the barriers stifling that sense of self and of civil society that must come eventually to all aggregations of self-possessed and self-directed human beings. (Emancipation The lessons and the legacy: H. Dunn. A challenge to the Church, page 6) The Chinese arrived in Jamaica after slavery was legally abolished. They entered a country where the freed slaves were beginning to establish their own society. Their freedom was hard won, and the scars were deep. People were robbed of their dignity and personhood, overtly and covertly, by people themselves migrant, operating an oppressive system, leaving many with a distorted view of self and worth. The migrant Chinese in their own struggle for survival were joined with these other migrant peoples struggling and working for their emancipation, as aliens in white mans country being used for his purposes. The Chinese as a group have overcome this and have demonstrated that no matter what the odds and obstacles, the human spirit is indomitable, and that people of worth can rise above anything, prosper and create a viable civil society, with the freedom and the right to be. Though this is not unique to the Chinese, their own triumph over attempts to enslave them mentally has made the Chinese Jamaicans an important and essential part of Jamaicas struggle to true emancipation, which is not only physical/legal, but as Marcus Garvey consistently advocated and in his words echoed by that brilliant Bob Marley, song, emancipation from mental slavery. It has taken time for all the migrant people to trust and respect each other and come to a point where they can begin to think of a nationhood that embraces the oppressed and the oppressor, a nation truly Out of many one people. In Hakka we say Chee gaa kngin meaning we are one family .The Chinese proudly embrace this ideal knowing that in the harmony of this diversity lies their well being, and that of Jamaica the country in which they have found a home.

Easton Lee July 2008