[bertomartin]

I'm pretty sure not everyone in Indian regards the Raj as favorably as your parents. Some people in Jamaica do think the way your parents do, about the British. This is more than colonialism though. This poverty has a lot to do with cold war politics and meddling by world powers. It's surprising, such as small island, why even bother? But this happened in the 70s and 80s. It's well documented, you can read about it.

Education and opportunity would help to eradicate a lot of the crime in Jamaica. First, the younger people needs to see successful Jamaicans in good positions and understand that they got there through education. A lot of kids aspire to be Reggae stars, because they're influenced by the success of Reggae icons. Not many such influences are apparent with well educated Jamaicans. They're not 'stars'.

I think India does well because they put a premium on education and kids that do well are rewarded.