Jamaican immigrants in Highlands County

You can buy just about anything from Jamaica in Islands Grocery, claims its owner, Pam Pratt.

Pratt is a slight woman with dark skin and a bright smile. Her Avon Park store is filled with color - hanging flags, T-shirts and exotic items pack the shelves. Pratt was born in Jamaica, an island about the size of the state of Connecticut in the Caribbean. It gained its independence from Great Britain in 1962, according to worldatlas.com.

"When we came here we had to start all over," Pratt said. "We came with nothing - nothing."

Pratt's grandfather, Garnace Singh, was a slave who worked on a cargo ship that traveled between India and Jamaica. A Jamaican pastor helped him immigrate to Jamaica permanently. Pratt's father, Elisha Singh, Sr., who died several years ago, was a civic leader in Jamaica. When her family first immigrated in 1977 they worked as migrant workers. Pratt said she worked hard to build the store and the life she now leads. But her home is now Avon Park, not the island in the Caribbean.

"When I go to Jamaica, I'm homesick," Pratt said. "This is my home. This is my country. Home is where the heart is and this is where my heart is."

Across U.S. 27 just south of Main Street, the sound of an electric razor that Radcliffe McLean uses to expertly buzz and trim hairlines fills the air. The owner of Radcliffe Barber Shop Quick Cut is also originally from Jamaica. His mother moved his family to Ft. Lauderdale from Jamaica in 1995. But McLean goes back to Jamaica on a regular basis.

Sean Savage waited for a cut from McLean. Savage also misses Jamaica, where he was born. He was about 26 years old when he migrated from Jamaica to Long Island with his mother. Savage was a teacher on the island. Now he works at Lowe's and tutors part-time.

"The people are different there," Savage said.

"They're very friendly. They say good morning to you, and how are you doing. They're more spiritually-oriented."

Standing on a sidewalk on U.S. 27 in Sebring stood Patrick Graham, who moved to this country from Jamaica for a better life in 1990.

Graham washes windows for a living. His business is called "We Clean Windows" and sometimes he works seven days a week doing just that.

"There's more opportunity here," Graham said. "Back in Jamaica I'd be planting cabbage, or lettuce, or turnips. It's even harder work than this. Sometimes you won't have a place to sell your produce."

Graham immigrated to this country on a work program. After filing for residency, he became a citizen about 15 years ago.

"I love to be here," Graham said. "I have to say God Bless America. If you work, you can achieve anything you want here."

Spiritual Growth

There's construction going on at Victory Tabernacle Apostolic International church in Avon Park whose parishioners are over 80 percent Jamaican, said Pastor Wayne Williams.

There are just over 100 members of the congregation, which is predominantly Jamaican although other cultures worship there as well. Each year since 2003 the congregation has grown "steadily" from between 5 to 10 percent, he said.

Williams smiles broadly as he speaks. He rests his hands on his stomach and leans back in a comfortable chair.

"The expansion is to accommodate those who are coming," Williams said.

Originally a general contractor estimated that the expansion from about 160 seats to about 250 would cost $175,000. Then Williams learned that they would need to install fire sprinklers, which added an additional $40,000 to the cost. Now the cost is less because the church is completing the job using contributions from parishioners, businesses and private citizens.

Getting that extra money from parishioners' pockets is a sacrifice that his parishioners make willingly, Williams said.

"It's just another blessing," Williams said with a smile.

Taste of Jamaica

•Some examples of Jamaican food sold at Islands Grocery:

Curry powder

Jerk powder or sauce

Pattie and coco bread

Bun and cheese

Jamaican soft drinks, ice cream, roasted bread fruit

Immigration statistics

Some Florida immigration statistics from the United States Immigration Support Web site, "an independent organization dedicated to helping immigrants through the United States immigration system":

Total population: 18,810,000 (2006)

Foreign born: 3,055,000 (2005)

"As the seventh fastest growing state in the United States, Florida has received more than 3 million new residents in the last 10 years; immigrants account for approximately one-third of this figure."