In the past six weeks, I have tried and failed to boycott products made in Trinidad. It’s not that I lack discipline or the level of patriotism necessary to follow through. The truth of the matter is that after seemingly endless hours of reading product labels, and a sobering conversation with a delivery truck driver from the Jamaica Biscuit Company, I have now come to the realization that the Trinidad boycott is an exercise in futility.
First let me tell you what happened with the truck driver. I was on a recent road trip when I stopped at a rural shop where he happened to be delivering goods. Peeved at the bags of Trinidadian snacks he hauled in, I suggested (more like demanded) that he offer the shopkeeper some Jamaican alternatives. “We shouldn’t be buying from Trinidad anyway,” I said. “They don’t even like us you know,” I added in for good measure.
He sat on the chair beside me and carefully explained that the Jamaica Biscuit Company is in fact owned by the Bermudez Group which is based in… you guessed it, Trinidad. The truck driver shared that there are over 600 Jamaicans employed by this company, none of whom could least tolerate a scale down of the company’s operations. The conversation was sobering especially given our dismal job market. But I was still determined to stick it out, reasoning with myself that some Jamaicans will inevitably have to make a sacrifice, even it it’s their job, for the good of the country. That was until I went shopping for mayonnaise – a simple yet crucial addition to the finger-licking menu I had meticulously planned for Christmas dinner.
Lasco and Grace are Jamaican companies, right? Their mayonnaise? Made in Trinidad. Which other “Jamaican” products are made in Trinidad? Lasco ketchup and Grace coconut oil. And I also found out that Lasco margarine is made in Barbados.
All this label snooping got me thinking. With so many Jamaican companies manufacturing elsewhere, what exactly does it mean to buy Jamaican? And this is not to single out Grace or Lasco, whose managers I’m sure have to weigh the economies of scale and make what must be a difficult decision. The fact is that Jamaican companies, small and large, have been manufacturing in Trinidad and elsewhere for years. It didn’t matter to us then, and it shouldn’t matter to us now, even if we have what appears to be a valid reason.
The conclusion: we’re in too deep. To boycott Trinidad is to boycott Jamaica. Not because of the closure of the distribution companies here, but because of the Jamaican companies that are either Trinidadian subsidiaries, or manufacture their products there. A successful boycott would prove disastrous for the thousands of Jamaicans these companies employ, creating a ripple effect on our economy.
Good thing that like everything else, this issue turned out to be a nine-day wonder.
i will still boycott everything Trinidadian , they not going shit on me and i buy their stuff , let the ripple effects come probably thats the kick in the balls we need , boy cot the Jamaican companies who are owned by them as well