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JLP in Power and there is a young lady with 9 subject and speaking a foreign language and the JLP big wigs cannot find he a job?
Unemployment woes stifle Tivoli
Published: Tuesday | June 29, 2010 0 Comments and 0 Reactions
Tiiffany Biggs, 20, says her CXC grades have failed to land her a job - partly because of a tough economy and, in her opinion, negative stereotyping of her community, Tivoli Gardens. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer
Robert Lalah, Assistant Editor - Features Amid shattered panes of glass, bullet-riddled walls and broken-down doors that typify sections of Tivoli Gardens, west Kingston, these days, there she sat, quiet and withdrawn, her eyes showing signs of sleepiness. She seemed like the average young woman in a [COLOR=orange !important][COLOR=orange !important]community[/COLOR][/COLOR] slowly recovering from a major battle between gunmen and the security forces.
But to her friends and neighbours, 20-year-old Tiffany Biggs is anything but average. Tiffany is, for the people Tivoli Gardens, an example of the good the community can produce.
Tiffany is a second-year student at the University of the West Indies, Mona, where she's studying languages and linguistics. She's a former head girl at Camperdown [COLOR=orange !important][COLOR=orange !important]High [COLOR=orange !important]School[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] where she graduated with nine Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate passes, including three with distinction, and four passes at the Caribbean Advance Proficiency Education level.
She speaks Spanish fluently and has dreams of someday becoming a [COLOR=orange !important][COLOR=orange !important]translator[/COLOR][/COLOR], working with the United Nations.
"That's my ultimate dream. To tell you the truth, though, sometimes I wonder if it will ever happen," she said, standing outside her Tivoli home yesterday.
Uphill task
Tiffany, like many other high-[COLOR=orange !important][COLOR=orange !important]school[/COLOR][/COLOR] alumni who are now turning their focus to the working world, considers job hunting in Jamaica a Sisyphean task. She wanted to work for a year after graduating high school, hoping to save enough money to pay her way through [COLOR=orange !important][COLOR=orange !important]university[/COLOR][/COLOR]. But, she has had no luck getting a job.
"It's because of my address. People see Tivoli on our résumés and immediately disregard us, even when we are more qualified than other applicants," she said.
Tiffany may have reason to be cynical, having sent out more than 30 applications since last year without receiving a single reply.
"I'm so depressed by the whole thing. It really makes me feel very sad. It hurts a lot," she said.
Some of Tiffany's friends who have managed to secure jobs had changed their addresses on their application forms. Tiffany, though, refuses to go that route.
"I'm not doing that. I am from Tivoli Gardens and I am qualified. Yes, the two do go together. Other people hide where they are from, but I refuse to do that. It's my qualifications that should count, not where I live," she said.
Proud of mom, hometown
Even though Tiffany has been unable to get a job since graduating high school, she managed to afford her first year at university, thanks to her mother who sells snacks and juices outside a school in the community. To make extra money, her mom also doubles as a school janitor.
"When I see my mom doing all of this for me and we are both from Tivoli, how can I now turn around and hide where I come from? I'm not going to do that," she said.
There were years that went by that saw Tiffany ashamed of her mother, sometimes going as far as to hide when her mom would visit her school. But, those days are gone.
"When I was younger, I used to feel embarrassed when other students' parents would pick them up in fancy cars and everything, but as I got older I realised how much my mom sacrificed for me," she said.
"I'm not going to hide who I am anymore. I just hope that the country will wake up and realise that there is some bad in every community, but they should not just paint everyone with the same brush.
"I just wish people would take the time out to see the good in Tivoli instead of assuming that we are all monsters," she said.
robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com
Unemployment woes stifle Tivoli
Published: Tuesday | June 29, 2010 0 Comments and 0 Reactions
Tiiffany Biggs, 20, says her CXC grades have failed to land her a job - partly because of a tough economy and, in her opinion, negative stereotyping of her community, Tivoli Gardens. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer
Robert Lalah, Assistant Editor - Features Amid shattered panes of glass, bullet-riddled walls and broken-down doors that typify sections of Tivoli Gardens, west Kingston, these days, there she sat, quiet and withdrawn, her eyes showing signs of sleepiness. She seemed like the average young woman in a [COLOR=orange !important][COLOR=orange !important]community[/COLOR][/COLOR] slowly recovering from a major battle between gunmen and the security forces.
But to her friends and neighbours, 20-year-old Tiffany Biggs is anything but average. Tiffany is, for the people Tivoli Gardens, an example of the good the community can produce.
Tiffany is a second-year student at the University of the West Indies, Mona, where she's studying languages and linguistics. She's a former head girl at Camperdown [COLOR=orange !important][COLOR=orange !important]High [COLOR=orange !important]School[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] where she graduated with nine Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate passes, including three with distinction, and four passes at the Caribbean Advance Proficiency Education level.
She speaks Spanish fluently and has dreams of someday becoming a [COLOR=orange !important][COLOR=orange !important]translator[/COLOR][/COLOR], working with the United Nations.
"That's my ultimate dream. To tell you the truth, though, sometimes I wonder if it will ever happen," she said, standing outside her Tivoli home yesterday.
Uphill task
Tiffany, like many other high-[COLOR=orange !important][COLOR=orange !important]school[/COLOR][/COLOR] alumni who are now turning their focus to the working world, considers job hunting in Jamaica a Sisyphean task. She wanted to work for a year after graduating high school, hoping to save enough money to pay her way through [COLOR=orange !important][COLOR=orange !important]university[/COLOR][/COLOR]. But, she has had no luck getting a job.
"It's because of my address. People see Tivoli on our résumés and immediately disregard us, even when we are more qualified than other applicants," she said.
Tiffany may have reason to be cynical, having sent out more than 30 applications since last year without receiving a single reply.
"I'm so depressed by the whole thing. It really makes me feel very sad. It hurts a lot," she said.
Some of Tiffany's friends who have managed to secure jobs had changed their addresses on their application forms. Tiffany, though, refuses to go that route.
"I'm not doing that. I am from Tivoli Gardens and I am qualified. Yes, the two do go together. Other people hide where they are from, but I refuse to do that. It's my qualifications that should count, not where I live," she said.
Proud of mom, hometown
Even though Tiffany has been unable to get a job since graduating high school, she managed to afford her first year at university, thanks to her mother who sells snacks and juices outside a school in the community. To make extra money, her mom also doubles as a school janitor.
"When I see my mom doing all of this for me and we are both from Tivoli, how can I now turn around and hide where I come from? I'm not going to do that," she said.
There were years that went by that saw Tiffany ashamed of her mother, sometimes going as far as to hide when her mom would visit her school. But, those days are gone.
"When I was younger, I used to feel embarrassed when other students' parents would pick them up in fancy cars and everything, but as I got older I realised how much my mom sacrificed for me," she said.
"I'm not going to hide who I am anymore. I just hope that the country will wake up and realise that there is some bad in every community, but they should not just paint everyone with the same brush.
"I just wish people would take the time out to see the good in Tivoli instead of assuming that we are all monsters," she said.
robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com
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