Fallacies of Foreign Lands

So hear that eh... I grew up knowing that I have brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts etc... in some foreign countries. My first impression was ' uh huh, if they are in other countries, they must be so happy and contented with life, They must be rich too enh.' My ignorance.

There were relatives that I did know, because they left for some other country before I was even born and never came back home...don't ask me why....I couldn't answer that at the time...some others visited very often, like every Christmas.

I didn't understand at first, I always wondered why some of my nieces, nephews, cousins etc.... had to be raised by other family members while their parents were in a foreign country, where there's everything you could possibly need. My ignorance again!

Well I didn't continue trying to understand enh, I just was looking forward to their visits in December, thinking of all the good stuff they brought home....candies, clothing, toys etc....


I never forgot how nice my uncles and aunts smelled when they arrived home...I wished I was smelling so sweet...I had to find myself in a foreign country someday to smell so sweet....Well at that time that's what I thought enh...that you could only smell sweet when you lived overseas...I didn't know it was hard for us at home to be able to purchase a nice purfume or body splash....


We mostly had one called 'Body Mist'... it would last for two seconds after it was applied to your body...and the remainder of the day...ooooppss.... excuse me!

I thought life for people overseas was like a bed of roses....that everything was cheap, that everyone was so happy and contented with life....and that everyone had great jobs, that paid a fortune...

I thought well..I have to find myself overseas one day enh....umm huumm...I want to have alot of nice things, I want to smell nice, I want to have alot of money, I want to have a good job and all the good life I thought that one is bound to have in a foreign country.

When I was better able to understand, while in high school, we had a discussion on migration, it's then that I understood why people had to leave their families...

This story caught my attention...the story of people leaving their families to go and cut sugarcane in another country, in order to be better able to take care of their families, and upon arriving, they realized that life was more than what they knew at home, as a matter of fact the pay was excellent for them, they ate well, theY got themselves some new relationships....Oh well, they decided not to return home.( MAWONH)

Most of the people who left home then were men....they got themselves some white woman, went on their merry way, and forgot about their families at home...
some of the more fortunate women, were treated well by their loved ones, they saved enough for their wives to join them.
Others were not so fortunate and was left at home to struggle with huge families at that time.

Some of the women at home left their families to meet an unknown man overseas at very young ages...
They were to travel for days on this ship that would finally deliver them into the arms of this unknown man, whom they had to automatically fall in love with and marry.

'Ummm huumm' I thought, 'Not me, I don't want to do this, I want to have a family and always be there for them....Through thick and thin.. as a matter of fact I will never leave my family!'.... I was so wrong...wrong! wrong! wrong!

Well it has not changed one bit, people were leaving St.Lucia for a better life overseas before I was born, and as you read this people are leaving St. Lucia for the same reasons..

But you see the better part is My story...

I said I wasn't going to let this happen to me, that I would always be there for my family...I was dreaming...maybe mostly because I didn't even have a family yet, and didn't know when I would at the time, and didn't know what responsibility was too. Well..huum.


I had to run like a mule to escape the economic blow that was ahead of me, when i did have my family and I was responsible for my home.

Now that I am in the same boat with the immigrants before me, I realize that it's definately not the bed of roses that I thought it was.
It's 'She works hard for the money!' It's so much more than just living life and loving it.

Living in a foreign country, away from your loved ones....doesn't always mean you are happy, that you won't be broke, that your rent is paid on time, that you don't go a day without food, that you can stay at a relatives house without paying for rent and food,(awa),that you can stay in your mama's house until you are 40-50 years old and have any number of kids in the house, and they too can start their families while living under the same roof...Sa pa vway! No way...18 years you're already on your own hunny! Goodbye...so long...dayday...ahlay bye!,that you can shout out your neighbour when you run short of oil, sugar, or a little bit of shampoo and conditioner as many times as possible and she'll give it to you all the time.

Life overseas...Huum..Something we all did to make life better for our families but something we have done with prayers and strong willpower.

Now before I close this part of my story, I would like to use this line I remembered from almost every letter that was sent home back in the days, from our loved ones, but I'd like to address this Letter to my country St. Lucia.

' I am writing this letter to let you know......' remember this line....Never forgot this line.


Our lovely island in the sun;
We are so sorry we had to run;
We pray each day that you believe;
The reason why we had to leave;
With teary eyes and empty hands;
And our heads so filled with plans;
St.Lucia how we long to come home to give;
Everything that we've achieved;
It breaks our hearts to have to stay;
But we love you every day;
Oh, how we wish for one last run;
Back to our island in the sun;

Dear St.Lucia

You gave birth to many sons and daughters. We all love you dearly, but I know you must have been wondering why,
all of a sudden, we pack our bags and migrate to foreign countries, with big old tears in our eyes, leaving our loved
ones behind, with fear and sadness in their eyes. Fearing that we may never get to see each other again.

We leave our children with unanswered questions. Small questions like ' Why mummy! Why Daddy! Why do you have to go?'
'Why can't we come too?' These small questions are so hard for us to answer, it tears our heart ot have to tell our children
that we can't afford to take care of them financially if we should stay in our country. We feel so guilty leaving them behind
knowing fully well that life for them can never be the same without us.

St. Lucia we are forced out of your stomach to migrate to foreign countries to seek a better life. Most of the times we do not even know what fate awaits us on the other end, but we are prepared to do anything to make life better for our families.

We are aware St.Lucia that you gave birth to brilliant minds, powerful children, capable of becoming outstanding leaders in
society. Most of your siblings have remarkable skills and so much more to offer but your high rate of unemployment and
inadequate wages sends your children running in all directions, looking for a safe haven.

As we seperate from our families, this has caused so many social problems in their lives. Our children are left behind with relatives,
while we struggle to make ends meet, they have many questions, we can't answer, they have report books that we can't sign,
they have parent teachers meetings, that we can't attend, they have games that we can't see, the have graduations that we sometimes can't even be at, funerals that we can't attend and so many more. We feel guilty, so very guilty, that we can never ever replace those years that we have missed out in the lives of our family and relatives.

Sadly we are away from our families, they on the other hand do not know what we have to go through to send a dollar home
because we keep our mouths shut while we go through the abuse, discrimination, and oppression that still exist in full force.
With tears in our eyes and God on our side, we go through each day.
We pray every day because we told our family that no matter what we had to do we would do it to take care of them.
Your children are very strong St.Lucia, they know how to fight the fight and win the battle. Your children fear God and they are filled with faith.

Everyone of us would love to be in your arms again, we would love to give you back what you gave to us. Unfortunately coming
back home is like moving a mountain to us, knowing fully well that we are a bit too much for you to handle economically.

St.Lucia you are blessed: with your own gentle warmth, with kind-hearted, warm and friendly, God fearing ,hard working people, with intelligent and creative minds to name a few.
Your rich cultural heritage, your magnificent rain forest are just a few of the things that makes you beautiful!


St. Lucia while we are away we have achieved so much, and we would like to come home to share our knowledge with our country and community, we pray for you every day and we do hope that one day we will come home to the paradise we long for.

ST. LUCIA WE PRAY: for our brothers and sisters who have turned to the streets, where a life of crime, prostutition and ponography greets them with open arms;

for our children, who become emotionally depressed trying to find some sort of employment after graduating from colleges and universities;

for the mentally and physically disabled persons who recieve only a small amount of $60.00 per person a so called assistance fund from our government;

for our senior citizens who suffer and die because they are unable to pay for a medical visit or medication;

for the single parents who have to leave the families behind while trying to make a living for them in another country;

for the parents who have left their families behind and have never returned because it didn't work out the way they thought it would and now they're filled with shame and grief;

that poverty be completely eliminated in our country;

for our teachers who have to deal with a class full of pupils every day, each different in their own unique way;

for our men and women in uniform, that they be given all due respect;

and finally we pray for the Government, that they may once and for all share ideas together and stand together as one body to deal with the problems that you (our country) are now facing, and give you back that Simply Beautiful smile that was once yours. We ask this in Jesus' name. Lord hear us.

We pray now for ourselves: that we may never burn the bridges that we crossed;
that we look out for each other the best way possible;
and that we bring home to our island more love, richness, intelligence, smartness,blessings and much more
when we finally make it back home, because;

St.Lucia we are all taking advantage of the opportunities we have while we are away, we are looking forward to serving our country
and our community in the furure, We are capable of doing fine at home we just need the finances and resources.

We are longing to come home, we long to reunite with our families...

We may sail on many a seas, your shores will always be home to us...

Your loving daughter,
Phillys Wilson