EXCELLENCE has resonance, and so we will remember the tour of duty in Jamaica of US Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater for many years to come. She had big shoes to fill, succeeding the phenomenal Ambassador Sue Cobb, but we quickly realised that, in her own right, she was a leader of distinction.

For the Caribbean Community of Retired Persons Jamaica, we felt the ambassador’s special love for the elderly. Our members had invitations and reserved seating to various US Embassy events under her watch. Women leaders found in her a role model who mentored them in word and example.

This trailblazer, a former university professor, was the first African-American woman to serve as principal officer in the US Embassy in Durban, South Africa, and the longest-serving US diplomat in the country’s transition to a non-racist government. She earned the respect of the Mandela Government, and became a personal friend of the great man. A political officer assigned to cover the ANC commented: “Bridgewater established a degree of trust and confidence with Mr Mandela and the ANC leadership that the US had not previously enjoyed.”

Her performance earned her the respect of both Democratic and Republican administrations. She was appointed special coordinator for a peace programme in Liberia, was named US Ambassador to Benin by President Bill Clinton, to Ghana by President George W Bush, and to Jamaica by President Barack Obama.

We appreciated Ambassador Bridgewater’s positive thoughts on Jamaica when she addressed the International Women’s Forum (IWF) Cornerstone Conference: “Jamaica is a long-standing, stable parliamentary democracy with a proud history of free, fair and transparent elections, and respect for freedom of the press and a well-established electoral commission as a watchdog over the conduct of elections,” she opined.

In June of this year, there was standing room only when she delivered a lecture at UWI to women leaders. She made it clear that she was not calling for a battle of the sexes: “I have never subscribed to that notion or to the theory that there are necessarily male or female solutions to problems, but there are effective solutions to problems that both men and women must utilise.”

She said bosses need not fear that working mothers “are less committed to their careers”, noting that there were “many women who juggle the competing demands of motherhood and career and thrive with both”.

At the ‘Leaders to Leaders’ conference in September, one particularly notable message from the ambassador, was the importance of time management. “As leaders, our time is demanded of us 24 hours a day. We work to meet extreme deadlines, which stretch our mental capacities and challenge our colleagues and staff to achieve what they may have seen as impossible,” she shared. “We devote long hours to the office and then go home to do what we need to do to support our families. For many working mothers and fathers, I know that this is a challenge… It is for these reasons that I implore the leaders here to make the best use of your time. It is important that you do not overbook or overextend yourself, be selective in taking on tasks, and learn to delegate to others who are there to support your objectives.”

As we thank Ambassador Bridgewater for her enthusiastic support of numerous developmental projects for Jamaica, particularly in agriculture, let us embrace her brand of focused leadership. Most of all, let us follow her example of showing respect to everyone we meet; from the humblest to the highest. We wish her and her husband, Rev A Russell Awkard, an enjoyable retirement and many happy returns to Jamaica.

Bishop Herro and Dr Alma Blair: God’s power couple

It was wonderful to worship at Bishop Herro Blair’s Deliverance Centre last week Sunday. This is a cathedral-sized church, impeccably kept and echoing with the eloquence of Rev Dr Alma Blair, wife of Bishop Blair, who piloted the proceedings.

Last week’s service to mark World Remembrance Day for Road Crash Victims was impressive as God’s ‘power couple’ ascended the altar. Rev Dr Alma Blair’s extemporaneous prayers were charged with faith, and Rev Herro Blair showed us why he is such an important national leader.

Bishop Blair reminded us that the Good Samaritan message was offered by Jesus when he was asked: “Who is my neighbour?… Everyone on the road is your neighbour,” preached the bishop, as he reminded us of our responsibility to each other. Rev Blair used road signs as a metaphor for his message, saying that not only must we “stop”, but if necessary, we must stoop to help a road user in distress. He appealed to us to “yield”, showing sensitivity and humility, and to “go” — get involved as an advocate for change. “Make sure you get home alive,” he urged. “We want not another life lost.” National Road Safety Council Convenor Dr Lucien Jones, who has been the author of several prayers for safer roads, was happy to accept the bishop’s suggestion that we have our roadways blessed.

Bishop and Rev Dr Blair have been travelling widely, as their church has been growing rapidly throughout the Caribbean, the US and Canada. Bishop Blair has also been moving huge audiences in Nigeria; I understand that organisers cannot count the thousands by number, only by acres! Our first national hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, must be well pleased to see this unity of the African diaspora through divine dispensation.

The PM and the media

I remember some years ago, when elections were called and the PSOJ tried in vain to get Prime Minister Simpson Miller to participate in a debate. In the end, while she did not debate, she agreed to address a meeting of the organisation. All thoughts of her being unable to handle her public were put to rest — she was strong and engaging, and answered some tough questions well. Indeed, she went on to trounce the Opposition leader in the last electoral debate. We should blame her handlers for being too faint-hearted to get her to agree to the long-awaited press briefing. We cannot blame TVJ’s Vashan Brown for trying to get answers in the absence of a more engaging arena.

The Trinidad debacle

Has the Caribbean gone mad? We had barely recovered from the Shanique Myrie Barbados incident for which — thank goodness — she got justice, when we heard about a racist law being proposed to deprive people of Haitian descent, who were born in Santo Domingo, of their citizenship. Then a few days ago, nearly 20 Jamaicans were denied entry to their fellow Caricom state of Trinidad. This galloping xenophobia is disturbing. Clearly our leaders need to respect our regional agreements; or are they too busy protecting their little fiefdoms?

We applaud the prompt defence of fellow Jamaicans by William Mahfood and Jamaica Manufacturer’s Association President Brian Pengelley. William had shared the flight back with the returning Jamaicans, and related their anguished conversations to our news media.

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com