ONE LOVE, ONE HEART FROM JAMAICANS IN SWITZERLAND

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

5 May 2005ONE LOVE, ONE HEART FROM JAMAICANS IN SWITZERLAND

Jamaicans residing in Switzerland will share the spirit of Bob Marley’s “One love, one heart” with their Swiss friends and neighbours at the Salle communale d’Eysins in Vaud, near Nyon, on Saturday, May 14, as they join the Jamaican diaspora in celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of Bob Marley’s birth.

This Bob Marley fête will also serve as the launch pad for an association of Jamaicans resident in Switzerland. Some 300 Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica are expected to attend what will be a fitting welcome to the spring after a particularly severe winter. All of the proceeds from this inaugural event will benefit the students and infrastructure of the Holland Junior High School in Trelawny, Jamaica, the first charity targeted by the fledging association. It is envisaged that following this fête there will be other events, which will benefit educational institutions in different parishes of Jamaica.

According to convenor of the association, Paul Whylie, “One of the objectives of our Group is to foster and promote the exchange of cultures between Switzerland and Jamaica. We hope to expose the Swiss to our music, food, and the warmth of Jamaicans. We welcome all participating in this and future events, and thank them for making the cultural interaction meaningful.”

The Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the United Nations Office in Geneva estimates that approximately 800 Jamaicans currently live and work in Switzerland.

Contact : Gillian Lewis Whylie

c/o rue de Lausanne, 36

CH-1201 Geneva

Tel: +41 22 917 4626

+33 67 523 3595

E-mail : [email protected]