Homeless deportee not optimistic about 2026

While many welcome the new year with celebration, for John* who was deported to Jamaica in 2024, and is now homeless in Kingston, it brings little hope.

"I am not excited, it's really just the same," he said, shrugging his shoulders. On New Year's Eve, John spent the night, like most nights since his forced return, inside the shelter where he currently stays. When the clock struck midnight, he carried the same questions that have haunted him for months, including What would my life have looked like if I had never been locked up?

John was one of several homeless persons who received food from the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation on New Year's Day, an annual treat. John's early life, he said, was stable. Born in Trelawny, he migrated to the US at age 12, settling in New York and starting what he describes as another steady chapter of his life.

"I did different jobs here and there," he said. "Life was okay." During this period, he became a father of three daughters and a son, all of whom he said he supported and cared for.

"I thought I was the best dad in the world," he said. "But I guess because I got locked up, the relationship strained. I don't have contact with any of them, but I guess I'm okay," he added, a soft smile barely hiding the weight behind his words.

That 'okay' life ended in 2013. After more than a decade as a truck driver, John was arrested at age 50 and later imprisoned. He did not give details about the charges but added that he was betrayed by someone he trusted.

"Every time I think about it, I just get angry, and I don't have anywhere to vent," he said, stating that prison changed him.

"I stayed to myself. I pulled away from people. I don't trust anyone any more. As I said, it was betrayal, you know, some revenge type," he explained. But the hardest blow was from loss. While imprisoned, John's mother died.

"It was hard and I am still in mourning," he said, fighting back tears. He was able to visit her bedside, but she was already in a coma. "I remember my final words to her before she passed, it was 'I love you.'"

He admitted that prison was not nice, and the time lost while incarcerated can never be replaced.

"It doesn't matter how much money they will pay you, you never get back those years. And you might not make it back out," he told THE WEEKEND STAR wiping the tears that slipped away from underneath his glasses.

His release didn't bring relief though, knowing deportation followed. He stepped once again into the unknown.

"I just gave... I just gave up," he said. Deported to Jamaica, John returned to neither home nor family.

"July 25 of last year, I will never forget," he recalled of his landing date. He soon learnt that he would be alone as a friend who promised to meet him never showed up.

"So I got stuck because immigration wouldn't let me go. Immigration had to get in touch with the shelter," he said. "I thought he was a friend. He was like 'Come, I got you, I got you,' but didn't show up." Comparing his current life to what he once lived, he laments that everything has changed, and not for the better. Now, he said he works to regain a sense of independence.

"I got a job now, I like it, and it keeps me going. Just doing something, so I am grateful," he said. But life is still just a routine of work and shelter. The only family he maintains contact with is a brother who is deaf, adding that their conversations are limited to occasional texts.

While working, John holds on to hope. He dreams of renovating his family home in Trelawny, which has fallen into disrepair since his family migrated, or perhaps owning a home in Kingston.

But for now, he said he is taking life "one day at time".

*Name changed to protect identity