Open Letter to the Minister of National Security, Dr. Horace Chang, and the Government of Jamaica
From:
Fabian Stennett
Chief of Furry Town Maroons
Defender of Native, Indigenous, and Grassroots Jamaicans
Date: September 18, 2025
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Subject: Unequal Treatment in the Granting of Jamaican Citizenship – A Case of Injustice Against a Native Daughter of the Soil
Honourable Dr. Horace Chang
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security,
I write on behalf of a native daughter of Jamaica, Marcia Ibiere Tracy Cunningham, whose story reflects the unjust and deeply troubling treatment faced by many grassroots Jamaicans under our current citizenship system.
Marcia was born in England to Jamaican parents but returned home to Jamaica as a child and has lived here throughout her formative years. She resides in Montego Heights, St. James—in your own constituency.
Her educational journey is a testament to her Jamaican identity. She first attended Ms. Cunningham Primary School, founded by her mother and frequently used as a meeting place for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). She continued her education at Salt Spring All-Age School, St. James Preparatory, Albion All-Age School, Emmanuel Training Institute, and Montego Bay Community College.
But Marcia is not only a product of Jamaican society—she is also a contributor to it. She has been actively working alongside the Rastafari and Maroon communities, helping to uplift, organize, and build grassroots capacity. Through her registered company, Rastafari Maroon JA Ltd, she has sought to create opportunities for indigenous and underserved communities, driven not by profit but by patriotism.
In fact, Marcia has gone as far as personally importing a shipping crate of goods, singlehandedly, to support and empower her community—a clear example of real, boots-on-the-ground nation-building.
Despite all this, she has been denied Jamaican citizenship—even as your Ministry, through PICA, recently granted citizenship to 28 foreign nationals from 15 countries, including individuals from the USA, UAE, Russia, and Myanmar—many of whom have no ancestral, cultural, or historical ties to this land.
Meanwhile, Marcia—a woman whose life, family, and work are deeply rooted in Jamaican soil—is being told she is not Jamaican enough.
How do we reconcile this with our national motto: “Out of Many, One People”?
How do we justify this under the banner of equality and justice, when clearly some are being treated as more Jamaican than others, particularly those with foreign wealth, diplomatic status, or investment power?
This is not just about Marcia. This is about the many children of Jamaican lineage born abroad who return home only to face institutional rejection, systemic delay, and bureaucratic disrespect. These are not outsiders—they are our people. They are the diaspora returned. They are the backbone of extended Jamaica.
We, the indigenous and grassroots people of this country, strongly oppose this unjust treatment and the political favouritism that enables it. Jamaican citizenship should not be treated as a business transaction reserved for foreign elites, while daughters of the soil are cast aside.
Therefore, we are calling on the Government of Jamaica to:
1. Immediately review the case of Marcia Ibiere Tracy Cunningham (PICA Reference: B29/C6390) and grant her the citizenship that is rightfully hers—by descent, by community service, and by a life lived in Jamaica.
2. Establish an independent oversight body to ensure fairness and transparency in the citizenship process, especially for persons of Jamaican parentage and diaspora returnees.
3. Publicly clarify the Government’s position on Jamaicans born abroad to Jamaican parents, and end the divisive narrative that they are somehow “less Jamaican.”
Prime Minister Andrew Holness once said, “Not all who are born in Jamaica are Jamaican.” But let it be known:
Being Jamaican is not solely about geography. It is about heritage, heart, contribution, and connection to the land and people.
Dr. Chang, we call on you to honour not just the letter of the law, but the spirit of justice.
To grant citizenship to foreign investors while denying it to Jamaican returnees is not leadership—it is exclusion.
The people see this. The people feel it. The people will respond.
We are watching.
The people are awake.
The truth will not stay buried.
With respect—but without apology,
Fabian Stennett
Chief, Furry Town Maroons.
Defender of the Native, Indigenous, and Common People of Jamaica.
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