Photo by Kelcey Shotit on Pexels.com Badrick Badrick Brown glanced at his watch. He'd assembled his whole family to the Norman Manly International Airport twenty-one kilometers from Kingston Jamaica to see his daughter off to commence her unde…
Badrick Brown glanced at his watch. He'd assembled his whole family to the Norman Manly International Airport twenty-one kilometers from Kingston Jamaica to see his daughter off to commence her undergraduate work at Harris-Stowe State University in the United States. He was proud his family would one by one be given the opportunity to rise above the general population in Jamaica and have an advanced education because of their family wealth. His daughters would get their bachelor's degree and his sons a minimum of master's degree and even higher if they had the aptitude. Whether this led to a career in politics, business or education was not of consequence to him as it would benefit his business one way or another and the extended family in turn.
Only a minority of the population possessed a surname and that had been inherited from the days when colonialists owned the plantations. They'd taken the surnames of the foreign property owners at that time but no longer were foreigners welcome in this country unless they were adding value rather than taking out the wealth.
Their ancestor Old John had by cunning and good fortune come into possession of the plantation originally owned by the Brown family from England and as foreman on the plantation had developed all the contacts necessary on the island and overseas to make it a seamless transition when he took over ownership.
He'd been exacting on his children teaching them only hard work and cleverness would allow them to survive in a world where it was survival of the fittest. His children had also taken a hard line with their children for the same reason and Badrick ruled his family with a rod of iron. He had a plan for every one of them.
The family had only a faint memory of their ancestry in Africa but no idea of the exact place where their ancestors had dwelt. The population now had been interbred between Africans the Europeans who'd briefly inhabited the island and Asians who'd been similarly exploited. It had been an enlightening trip to Africa to the traditional source's most slaves were drawn from to try and trace his roots and he was appalled to find out it was their own kind who'd rounded up those not of their tribe and sold them to the foreigners in ships looking to buy humans to exploit. Up to that time of reality he'd hated only the slave owners for what they'd done to degrade self-worth and culture. The Jamaican culture now was different to African culture, and he returned to his plantation disappointed and further imbittered.
Badrick glanced at this watch again then spoke to one of the cousins who'd joined them at the airport. Badrick had long ago made his own way and was now an independent exporter when his eldest brother took over the plantation near Spanish Town on death of their father. He not only handled all the crop the Brown's produced on their plantation but also bought the bulk of what was produced on other plantations.
Brodrick had clawed his way up to be recognized as the leader of the guild of middlemen who looked to him to play off the Jamaican sugar factories and foreigners seeking sugar crops to the benefit of plantation owners. He ran the wholesale cartel to the satisfaction of all but the sugar factory owners and foreigners who were always plotting together to find a way to break the cartel so they could maximize their profits hated him.
The biggest threat to him personally came from the factory owners who'd placed a price on his life. The influence of the Brown family was widespread throughout the island, and they were entrenched in various local industries and political circles. So, between the extended Brown family and his constantly present bodyguards he was well protected from these threats.
He watched as his cousin, a trusted confidant headed for the airport exit. Flight boarding had been delayed and he needed to be back in Kingston to meet with foreign buyers who he played off against each other for this highly sought after product he handled. His cousin would keep them pacified and entertain them as he saw his daughter the eldest of his children off to the US where a distant relative in the Brown family who was a professor at Harris-Stowe State University would receive her and accommodate her in his home to protect her and help her adjust to the very different culture there. His was a strictly controlled moral home and he didn't want his daughter involved in any of the corruption he'd discovered on his trips abroad.
Badrick smiled as he watched his wife Irie hugging his eldest daughter Durene as the flight boarding was announced. Then one by one in their age order son Halel, daughters Kenise and Sabryna and youngest son Dante wished their sister good luck. The girls cried along with their mother and sons stood stoically glancing at their father for approval as Durene slung her carry-on luggage over her shoulder and entered immigration after paying respects to her father who patted her on the shoulder whispering final instructions and waving her toward the gate to be met at the door by one of the Brown extended family who'd care for departure and customs formalities inside.
He looked at his watch again and motioned to his family he was leaving. They'd be driven home by one of his cousins and he'd be driven by an employee back to the office in Kingston to apologize to the foreigners and begin the bargaining process. He'd listen to their offer and then meet with their competitors. This would usually take a few days bargaining back and forth until Badrick felt he'd got the best deals for his clients. He engaged the best of international lawyers to see contracts had no loopholes and was not afraid to litigate internationally. Once the agreement was made Badrick made sure that only the best products were delivered, and contract terms were honored from his side of the business. He had a reputation as a hard bargainer but honest deliverer.
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