Swiss Labour Market Is Bias

I read in the newspaper, Tages Anzeiger, today, that the national unemployment rate for Switzerland has fallen to 2.7% and my first reaction was, “Have you ever read more BS than this right here?”

2.7%, really?

“Of the reported eight million, three hundred and seventy-two thousand people living in Switzerland, am I to believe that only 226,044 are unemployed?”

With this number calculating for every young and old person, men, women and children, the published 2.7% is either a lie, a figure to acclaim national false pride or one accounting only to Swiss-born individuals.

As an Ausländer (foreigner), who have lived and relentlessly sought jobs in Switzerland, years at a time, without success, I felt as if it is my duty not to only challenge the published 2.7% unemployment rate, but to highlight a hidden fact, that if this number is indeed true, then foreigners such as myself are not being counted as a part of the Swiss population.

Switzerland’s employment opportunities are as much in existence as the prejudicial gateways to reach them; in other words, jobs are available in Switzerland, but not to everyone, despite being qualified or unqualified.

The labour market in Switzerland might be regulated by Swiss laws and its government, but it is controlled by business owners and private boards; therefore, it is not only the political monopoly which denies qualified foreigners of suitable employment, but it is the mindset of the people, who resides in Switzerland.

And although the Swiss social service and its welfare provisions could be considered a consolation, in Switzerland, where 99% of government aid recipients are Ausländers, it is also a transparent view that a serious bias exist in the Swiss labour market.

Qualified foreigners, such as myself, of colour are ridiculed when an application for a job matching our educational qualification is submitted. We are rejected 99.9% of the time without reasons and the other 0.01%, we are noted as overqualified; either way, we will never get the job.

Most educated Black foreigners are denied suitable jobs and are forced to settle for menial employments, not because other jobs aren’t available, but because it is a great part of the Swiss labour market’s culture that Ausländers, especially Blacks, are only good for unskilled work, such as cleaning.

In Switzerland, if one should look closely, there is an employment tier system, which is blatantly structured by prejudice and some levels of racism.

The tier from an up to down direction is colour graded from white skin to black skin, so you will find the whitest of Whites at the top jobs and the blackest of Blacks at the bottom jobs; these positions equally reflects cleanliness of work and pay grades.

Interestingly, this bias has extended its way into the welfare support system of Switzerland too. In most cases, when an individual is being financially supported by the Swiss government, it is usually required that the recipient participates in a work integration.

Work integration is only a decorative term for slave labour, where the individual works 70% to 100%, doing actual work, but receives no more than a third of what the job would pay in a normal situation.

The bias can be seen where different job sectors, from recycling garbage to being in an office environment, are included in the integrational program; again, placements in these sectors are colour graded, without an income difference.

With these acquired findings, I challenge the Tages Anzeiger and any individual or organization to prove different.

© Ian T. Sebàs 2018

Jamaica for Sale

“Sold to the highest bidder!” is usually what’s heard at auctions, after a number of proposed bids have been crushed by he, who is willing to pay the most.

It has always been rumored that the government of Jamaica is a “sellout”; despite which party is in power, the term “sellout” is usually invisibly affixed among the other fancy initials, which follow the names of politicians.

The Jamaican people are saying that, those in charge, are currently offering the Country for sale.

But the last time I checked, Jamaica was a democratic country, and whether it is being ran by the Jamaica Labor Party or the People’s National Party, democracy is its consistent statue.

In recent times, with the aid of social sites, Jamaicans have been airing their opinions online via blogs and vlogs, an obvious exercise of their democratic right, freedom of expression.

Still, most of these expressions are mere comments on suspicion that Jamaica’s Members of Parliament are making deals with outsiders, selling lands and rights for cash, without given notice to or consent from the Jamaican citizens.

A Suh It Guh!

Usually, these commentators and moaners are only seeking a ‘like’ to their published comment, online, or an echo in its favor; therefore, the Jamaican Government is never threatened or moved by these publications, which are often closed with, “A suh it guh”.

Ignorance Is No Excuse

Jamaica, like all other democratic States in the world, is governed by law, and in every Country, including Jamaica, ignorance of the law is never an excuse.

Jamaicans are often heard saying, “Mi nevva did kno dat.”(“I was not aware of that.”)

It is clear that the citizens, who refers to the Government as ‘those in charge’ do not understand their democratic rights and powers as citizens.

Fact is, there are a vast number of Jamaicans, who do not know or understand the constitution of the country, a fault of their own. And as long as they remain ignorant, those who know that they are unaware of their rights as citizens, will forever take advantage.

A common practice, seen by most Jamaicans, is giving treatment to representatives of their constituencies as if they (the representatives) are doing them (the citizens) favors, while being oblivious to the fact that the Member of Parliament works for them, and at any given time, they (the citizens) can petition for change.

If Jamaica is in fact being sold to the highest bidder, it is being sold by all Jamaicans, living in Jamaica, and not only by the Country’s government members; lastly, the sadness of this speculation being real, would be that the profits from a sold country, belonging to an approximate six million people, worldwide, would be going into the pockets of less than one hundred.

© Ian T. Sebàs 2018

The Un-abolishment of Slavery

Our abilities as humans have been crippled, delayed, compromised and continue to progress sluggishly, for centuries, by one reason and one reason only; ignorance.

Ignorance which has plagued our existence and continues to do so, since man began recording time.

As much as we would like to believe that we are one of nature’s most intelligent creatures, evidence has shown that we are slow.

Like all other creatures, we found ourselves evolving in a world filled with various elements and occurrences, a world we know nothing about, where the elements remain unmoved and the occurrences reoccur, continuously, seemingly as a method of voiceless teachings; still, through it all, we remain ignorant by understanding so little of what is heard and seen.

Interestingly, we are mainly crippled by our own discovered abilities and the minor, though appearing major, improvements they seem to make to our advances.

Two great examples would be electricity and slavery.

Once electricity was discovered, we looked no further for ways to light up this world, electricity was that source of power and the answer which lit up the world and darkened our long-sight.

Since the discovery of electricity, we have used it to do almost everything, from seeing in the dark to a zapping the life out of each other, as means of penal punishment; it has been such a great discovery, that mankind cannot live without it, no more than they could live without believing that slavery was one of their most genius ideas, ever.

In the not so early stages of realizing our existence, our ignorance was so rife that we not only thought that the oceans were flat surfaces, where if we sailed too far out, the ships would fall into the unknown, but rife to the point, that humans of different colours and superiority were an absurd notion.

This belief of the flat oceans was eventually challenged, by our curiosity and bravery; its revelation, in turn, shouted at us that we were wrong and will be wrong with many more speculations to follow.

Those chance-taking voyages resulted not only in the discoveries of endless seas, but more lands and other human beings, with differences.

Humans, who were initially deemed as animals, for having darker skins, natural immunity from the sun’s heat, higher level of physical strength with an equal balance of aggression, were seen as a valuable finding.

Unlike an ass or a cow, who aided in the fields for farming, Blacks were deemed as more valuable because they could actually talk, despite the notion of them being non-humans, who might have been only superior to apes and monkeys, but never to Whites, who were believed to be the only race of humans.

Slavery which reigned for centuries before being challenged and abolished, still stands as one of mankind’s greatest accomplishments, and like the discovery of electricity, mankind does not know how to move forward without applying it or its remnants to their developing world.

After all the civil actions which triggered political amendments and resulted in laws abolishing slavery, we just can’t seem to let it go.

Slavery, like electricity, was so genius, that the mere thought of finding another way, drains our energy; its usefulness has blindsided our vision to look further.

And as man’s odyssey of conquering the world continues to build and rebuild, labour is required.

Lobbying to reinstate slavery would probably start a war, which no one wants, but the inability to forget its benefits has become a burden to bear, by the ambitious, want-to-be Masters of the Universe otherwise known as the 1% or the super-rich.

Greed has manufactured an ambition to be richer than rich; it’s called being super rich.

Being super rich is having it all, while others have none. And in order to accomplish this status, slaves are required, but considering that slavery is now illegal, and one could wind up in a prison cell rather than the envisioned mansion, a new strategy has been developed; modern-day slavery.

Modern-day Slavery is almost as genius as the original slavery; it is still profitable, just not as profitable as classic slavery.

Classic slavery – slaves received no income and it was established that slaves were slaves, non-whites, underdogs, less of human etc., while with modern-day slavery, slaves are of various colours and ethnicities, though still dominantly black, receive incomes, labelled as employees and are protected by labour laws.

But it is the same labour laws, which allows the possibility of modern-day slavery, where it allows the ambitious want-to-be super-rich to legally enslave humans, by using the narrowest definitions of its written legalities.

Before the abolishment, slaves were easily identified by the colour of their skin; this has been replaced by levels of intelligence, which are now identified in CVs.

Blacks are still considered the best assets of the trade, for the same old reasons, and a presumption that they have always been, and still is the most illiterate race.

Modern-day Slavery is thriving at its best today because it is invisible to most, who cannot see past titled positions and the term ‘multi-tasking’ which are rewarded by measly incomes, nor grasp slavery’s resurrection, unless it shows as black people working in chains.

© Ian T. Sebàs 2017

© Ian T. Sebàs

Drax Hall Country Club – 3 Stars

Drax Hall Country Club is nestled seclusively in a lush of greenery near Ocho Rios in St. Ann on Jamaica’s north coast.

The development which is consisted of phase 1 (earlier constructed) and phase 2 (a later constructed site) boast suburban styled two and three-bedroom houses, with access to a communal swimming pool and gym; the homes are fully equipped with the expected utilities and furniture, and some with extras, such as WiFi, cable television and home security systems.

Overall, security of the estate is transparent with security personnel at its entrance and on patrol during the nights.

The video on Youtube (Channel: Familie Sebas), titled Drax Hall Country Club, highlights and features Unit 355, located at Cedar Cres. (phase1), which was rented out to my family as a holiday villa, where we spent two weeks between July 29th and August 12th.

With location, hospitality, comfort and security in mind, we based our three-star rating of Drax Hall Country Club, during this period, on personal comparison to other venues, where we stayed.

*The estate is home to many locals and not all homes at Drax Hall Country Club are used as holiday rentals.

© Ian T. Sebàs 2017

The United States Would Be Nothing Without Black People

Although I am not a U.S. national nor citizen, being born in the Caribbean, on the Continent of America, entitles me as an American; a nationality which has often been misinterpreted as solely belonging to the U.S.A. and not the other remaining 52 countries.

Still, when the term ‘Black Americans’ is tossed around, I usually disassociate myself and allow it to point at the intended black people in the U.S.

The U.S.A. tries to claim the nationality ‘American’ clearly because, unlike the other 52 countries in the Americas, the United States of America does not have an individual name. This could be because it is a landlocked mass, rumored to have been stolen, by Europeans, from the Red Indians (a.k.a. Native Americans), who look more like Mexicans, who were spawned from the Arawaks and whose bloodline still lingers in a lot of the Caribbean people, today.

Considering that theory, the land mass, which is today called U.S.A. belongs more to the South Americans and Caribbean People than any other.

But over the course of centuries, trickery and politics have played their ways successfully to this era, where Black Americans are crying for help and a presidential candidate’s slogan can state, “Let’s Make America Great Again”, with an undertone to suppress the rights and existence of its non-white inhabitants, and still succeed to presidency.

The United States of America has been the most colourful country for the year 2017. With the help of mainstream and social media, people worldwide, even those who weren’t formerly interested in politics, are able to see what appears to be the ugly truth of a nation, once deemed the world’s greatest.

The U.S.A. is now a divided place, and for the first time, as the usual war-readiness revs for external opponents, who are brandishing missile-abilities, feuds are also revving within its borders, and similarly to its renowned motion picture releases, the world is on edge with an anticipation that the U.S.A. is likely to be at war with itself, sooner than it will be with any other country.

A potential race war seems to be strengthening, daily, in the Unites States of America, as smart phones aid social media sites with more and more evidence of an increase in racial profiling and deadly attacks. In almost every case, it has been a black person versus a white police officer; disgusted by some and appreciated by others.

After contemplating on this, the slogan’s undertone, reported deaths and abuses, a dulling truth was revealed.

Black people in the U.S.A. are currently targeted and treated as if their whole existence, since the chains were broken, have solely represented being a menace to that society; an unfair stigma, where broadcasted footage shows a cockroach-like treatment, with an apparent goal set to eradicate or put them back in chains.

And, for an instant, I thought, “What if that wish was ever granted?”

“What if Black People in the United States of America were successfully removed?”

And not just ‘removed’ physically, but also taking with them, their contributed legacies.

“How great would the U.S.A. be then?”

The United States of America would be nothing without Black Americans; African Americans have enriched the U.S. culture with flavours that could never be attained without them.

A Country is just a land mass, nothing more; it is people, who add cultures to countries.

For example, Jamaica is a land known for its sunshine and white sand beaches, but let’s face it, Jamaica is not the only place on Earth with sun, sand and sea, but the warmth of its people, their welcoming and laid-back attitudes, foods, drinks, music, sports and other entertainments are what add flavours for Jamaica’s cravings.

So, imagine a United States of America without Black People and their music, their foods, their contributions to sports and fashion, their humour, their ideas and entrepreneurial spirits; moreover, imagine the U.S.A. without an era of Barack Obama, and what you will realize is that this inevitable tumble of the U.S.A., would have occurred a decade ago.

“The U.S.A.’s greatness once resonated, above all other countries, because of its apparent multi-racial fairness and unity.” – Ian T. Sebàs

© Ian T. Sebàs

© Ian T. Sebàs 2017

Prejudice Among CC Nationals

Even though the title of this article, as I have named it, contains a substantial volume of absurdity, it is as unfortunately true as it is ridiculous.

I recently stumbled across an article, on one of my social network sites, and although I usually scroll pass post which appears vain and useless, this one’s heading, although fitted the category of being impractical, attracted me enough to click its link.

Apparently, some authorities in Barbados, particularly in the immigration department, possess an intense prejudice for Jamaican nationals, who visits the Country; this bias appears to claim justification under being wary of criminal suspects. And although I am in full support of ‘being wary of criminal suspects’, despite their nationalities, Barbadians suspecting Jamaicans as criminals is a laughable notion as a person looking in a mirror, accusing his reflection of being someone else.

These two Countries fall equally under the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a similar system to Europe’s EU (European Union) where it is formed to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members and to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared. Bottom line is, these two countries share the freedom of movements in and out of each other’s island, and like kissing-cousins, these two islands and their citizens face the same level of economical strain; in other words, there exist no real financial advantages for either citizens, when migrating to either of these islands.

And for these reasons, when a Jamaican travels to Barbados or a Barbadian travels to Jamaica, the purpose is usually leisure in tourist mode.

According to the article that I read, a Jamaican national boarded a flight from Jamaica to Barbados, and while airborne, she queried about the availability of tea, and based on her query she was suspected of being a criminal, mistreated, arrested and detained for a few months in Barbados before being released with an apology.

The article, as expected, was bombarded with comments, which many wrote describing the incident as common, but in a sigh of relief, many nationals of Barbados commented in utter resentment of the treatment received by the Jamaican national, and encouraged the application of a lawsuit.

Prejudices are rife in this world, and if these authorities know as much as I do, over the time of living outside of the Caribbean Communities, they would welcome each CARICOM members with smiles and respect, because unity is strength and we are all that we have.

Outside of the CARICOM, we are seen as foreigners, not as Barbadians, Jamaicans, Trinidadians etc; we are seen as Black or as Caribbean People and we are treated as such.

For example, in the European Union, WE are not first pick for employment, simply because we are not of the EU, and that is okay, EU citizens should be first pick in their communities; after all, it is their home. Wherever they roam within the borders of the EU, they are welcome, under the law without prejudice, and are allowed to equally travel and enjoy the EU’s tourism without harassment.

So, Barbados may want to take a page from the EU’s book and smarten up; being prejudice against your own kind is as ridiculous as it is a joke for outsiders looking in.

I can just imagine their mockery over this situation, “Hahahahaha, they actually think that they are better than the others because we have given their countries different names!”

Fair skin, dark skin, brown skin, light skin are still black skin. House slaves, field slaves, still a slave.

“Barbados, wake up!”

The Caribbean Communities are governed by mutual democratic laws, protecting its citizens, and my only hope is that this individual exercises her human and constitutional rights by suing the responsible department for her unfortunate ordeal, and although money cannot retract the experience nor buy back violated dignities, I urge her to take these individuals to court, for the maximum monetary fine allowed under the law, and set an example for any future likeliness.

© Ian T. Sebàs 2017

© Ian T. Sebàs

Race Card, Racism or Coincidence?

ITS, Switzerland & the Race Card

Author Ian T. Sebàs sat down with us and shared, never before aired details behind his two-time appearance in the Swiss national news, as clarifications, to what might have sparked suspicion of racism in Switzerland and allegations of him using the race-card.

Architecture 101 – Societies by Design

Recently, I was captioned on national television, saying that a minor dispute which escalated into criminal charges, was racially motivated, and the statement led to questions about a previous racial/unemployment fiasco which headlined Swiss media in February 2016.

I was accused of using the race card on both occasions; “the poor black man”– “pity me” escape route, insinuations which I found to be both insulting and humorous, considering that in my entire life of living on different continents, I have never before experienced any racial prejudice; therefore, I never had a need to describe any exceptional treatment as “it’s because I am black”.

The issue which headlined the Swiss newspaper in February of 2016 attracted racial point of views, beyond my control; after applying for hundreds of jobs and failed to secure an interview, I simply devised a strategy of eliminating points.

First, I eliminated some of my qualifications, in an attempt to not be seen as overqualified, which resulted the same as before, then I eliminated my photograph, and the result again remained the same, thirdly and lastly, I decided to replace the photograph with a face of Caucasian origin.

In my position, the process of elimination was simply to learn what were the causes behind my unperceivable experience of unemployment. It was like going fishing, where each elimination worked as a bait and fortunately or unfortunately, switching the photographs gave me the answer; it may not have been the answer I wanted, but it clearly said “I was not white!”

The media did not air my first and second process of elimination attempts because they were not deemed as interesting headlines; instead, they ran with the more attractive black and white story.

The story was a hit and thousands of people took to the stage and made their comments; some applauded the exposure, others criticized it, while some found shame in the reality and I received my answer and remained jobless because, unfortunately, I cannot change my skin colour nor the ways of my society.

Again, like a magnet to the media, a few months later, I was being interviewed by journalists. And despite saying a whole lot, I was broadcast saying “I think the problem is of racism”.

Racism does not necessarily mean that someone hates me because I am black, racism can also mean that I am being treated differently as a reflection of my colour, culture or origin.

In the matter where my opinion referenced to the suspicion of racial motivation, the reasons were far more substantial than just pigmentation differences. And although the difference in pigmentation and origins might have been the main reasons behind the prejudicial motivation, it was a history of collective incidents combined with the black and white fact, which brought me to my conclusion.

All differences aside, when I was a young boy playing neighbourhood football, we always formed temporary teams by selecting boys whom were considered to be the better players, and with exercised prejudice, we often refused one or two available boys.

This was not racism, considering that we were all black, but it was prejudice, despite our reasons.

As children, there were no laws against such action, but as adults, living in active multicultural societies, treating someone differently, for reasons of colour or origin can be considered as a crime.

The allegation of using the race card will fit me like a glove, because it has been statistically proven that Blacks use the race card more than Whites; no different than a rape claim, it is customary and accepted for females to claim rape, while it is unacceptable and shunned if the claim is made by a male.

A black man saying, “it is racist” will create a buzz of mixed feedback, while if a white man says the same, regardless of it being true, he would probably be ridiculed.

These facts are put down to the way our world is designed to work. Architecture 101 is what I call it – foundation, body and roof.

Living in Europe, a designed society like most, Architecture 101 is in full effect. It is a design which allows a system to successfully rotate on an axle without interruption, resulting in financial stability and economic satisfaction.

The system works like any other, which is consisted of multiple components, but instead of electrons, people are the acting components and like components, each has a designated role.

And it is these designated roles which often trigger allegations of racism and prejudice. The designed system often reserves gainful allotments for individuals, based on their origins rather than on their expertise, this way the rotation remains balanced without interruption.

Example: If a national of a third world country lives and work in a first world country, there exist a guarantee advantage: The financial exchange rate will allow him a status of wealth, in his native land, in half of the time of the average person in his new found land. And although his savings would be legal, his remittances could interrupt the balance of the system; therefore, in order to stay within the guidelines of law and maintain the required balance, a method to suppress his earnings must be enforced.

A national of a first world country has no advantage in financial exchange rates; therefore, poses no threat to the system. Unlike the third world national, who might return home one day, a first world national’s money stays within the required boundaries.

It is no difference than walking into a casino that takes pride in the notion of ‘the house always wins’; if someone hits a big jackpot in a casino, after his or her first gambling attempt, and decides to risk no more, you can bet that such a win will affect the balance of the business.

But if he or she wins and continues to gamble, the house will be satisfied because there are a million ways to get back that money, legally.

In a first world country, a third world national, who sends money back home to invest and or build a home is seen as the winner, who walks out of the casino and the first world national is the winner, who stays in the casino.

In order to not have ambitious thirds world nationals taking advantage of this faster track to an easier life, a deprivation of Grade-A employment positions is one of the keys in place.

And although, its purpose has a clear reason, it is indisputably a method of prejudice.

© Ian T. Sebàs 2016

This Is Jamaica

As the sun rises and shimmers on the sea, nature’s alarm sounds for me to wake up and embrace an astounding surrounding of green vegetation, picturesque views, waterfalls, white sand beaches, a roster of leisure activities, from A to Z, whatever my heart may desire, and delicious foods, all before she sets again.

But entertainment continues through the night as if it is the sunset’s lullaby, because This is Jamaica, where daily hustle and bustles show that its people work as hard as they play, and despite its unconventional methods of discipline, contrasting neighbourhoods, like its variation of mothers, Jamaica is nurturing, Jamaica is home.

© Ian T. Sebàs 2016