THERE is one man, inspired by the spirit of Jamaica, who insists that he wants to be a part of the island’s fabric.

He is French. But it doesn’t matter, for Jean Philippe Beyer – the managing director of spirits giant J Wray & Nephew Ltd and chairman of its foundation – will be a fully fledged Jamaican soon, as long as immigration officials see no problem with him becoming one.

JP, as he is called on professional and social platforms, has already started the process of becoming a Jamaican citizen. His police record is one of the last bits of information left to be submitted to the State agency responsible for making the Frenchman happier.

Living in Jamaica for five years, JP landed in this north Caribbean island with a task to oversee the takeover of the Lascelles deMercardo Group by Gruppo Campari, now Campari Group, which owned J Wray & Nephew, and has achieved most of the tasks set out.

Fully immersed in the flavour of the Caribbean, having lived in St Maarten for 27 years, the man who was born in Belgium, by accident as he put it, spent two weeks there before his parents took him back to the north of France and then the south where he stayed until he was 17.

In St Maarten, JP got baptised in the customs and cultures, splashed around as a water sports instructor, did a bit in construction, and even when offers were made for him to return to France to work, he staggered over it until he made his move.

When the opportunity arose for him to take up his latest appointment in Jamaica in 2016, JP did not blink, since he had been exposed to the island, having begun his visits here in 1995.

“First of all they found me in St Maarten where I was living a happy life on the beach and hired me to take care of the Caribbean, that’s when Campari decided to expand from having just one brand,” he said in a link-up with the Jamaica Observer last Wednesday.

“Every year they were buying a brand or a company and my responsibilities got bigger and bigger. So it was Caribbean, then Caribbean and Central America, then Mexico, and the US. It became quite big. They were trying to get me out of the island and said ‘Why don’t you come to France? It would be good for the kids and you can get together with your friends.’ But I didn’t want to because I was a lucky man – I had this nice house on the beach. And I said to them ‘Why would I want to go back to France while I am already where you want to be when you retire…on a nice beach in the Caribbean.’

“They convinced me to move to Greece, and we had a business there. I was in charge of Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa, then I moved to Monaco in the south of France where we had Campari International, then I went to open the office in Cape Town, South Africa,” JP said of his journeys.

“It was when I was in Mexico getting business in shape that Campari bought the Lascelles deMercado business and asked me to come and take care of it, which I was happy for. I am a fully baptised Caribbean man and I can tell you, there is nothing else out there. I have been to all places and there is nothing like the Caribbean people, nothing like the colours, the atmosphere. Maybe Cape Town is very beautiful, very nice. I lived there and I lived in the Caribbean and there is no comparison,” stated JP, who also disclosed that he just purchased a house in Montego Bay, the location to which he intends to retire.

“I chose Jamaica…not even St Maarten where I spent 27 years, so that tells you something. When you spend over 20 years in St Maarten all your friends become your family, but still I would rather stay in Jamaica,” he insisted.

But what is so special to him about Jamaica that has led him to become so insistent that he should spend the rest of his life here?

“Many things grab me about Jamaica. First of all, I love the people. It’s very diverse. I know it’s not always perfect but it’s not perfect anywhere, anyway. I like the fact that people are very smart and hard-working, and friends have made us welcome over the past few years.

“Then there is the natural beauty of the island, which is quite exceptional in the Caribbean. It’s the most beautiful island in the Caribbean.

“This island is amazing, its people are amazing. And if you imagine 2.8 million people with such an impact on the world stage in music, in sport, such strong support in the Diaspora who are very entrepreneurial; they make great rum…there are a lot of reasons why this is a real country. It’s a country I really like. I’ve met great friends so yes, I want to stay here,” JP underscored. “I hope they want me to be a part of this country. If they want me to be a citizen this year, I will be ready,” said the man known for his dress down, casual style at work.

Even crime, which has for decades dogged Jamaica’s capacity to achieve more, is not a turnoff for JP. His simple counter argument is that there is crime everywhere, and in many instances, there are countries far worse off.

“I have been here for five years and yes, I am turned off by the statistics because when you look at them they’re terrible, and yes there has been an upsurge since the pandemic – petty crimes and larceny and some break-ins – but otherwise it’s very geographically driven and also has a lot of gangs.

“It’s not like in Cape Town in South Africa; and in Mexico, where I was careful when I was walking on the street. In Cape Town they used to kill people for fun…it’s not like here. Yes, there is a lot of crime here, but it’s concentrated in some areas. It doesn’t really affect me other than what I read in the news and the sadness of it.”

Still struggling to understand the native tongue and to use choice Jamaican words within context, JP admitted that he has made some progress in his many lessons of trying to comprehend it and is now in command of a “few” words. But there is one other area in which he has been failing miserably – that of trying to understand dancehall music, although his saving grace is that he has heard that he is not the only foreigner who faces that problem, which makes him feel better.

Important to him, though, is the acquisition of a famous Jamaican saying, which to him has echo-like properties.

“One of the greatest sayings that I like so much is ‘We little but tallawah.’ To me it’s so representative and it’s so true of the Jamaican spirit. The population is small but it’s about how great and global Jamaica is. That statement is so on the money.”

Cooking, let alone preparing Jamaican foods, is not something that will yield positive results from JP’s plate, but he is at the head of the queue when it comes to the easier part of consuming local favourites.

Get this from him first-hand:

“I love ackee, oxtail, pig foot, but my biggest problem is breadfruit because I could eat that every day – roasted and fried with salt, they are the best.”

Cricket, too, could later become another of the endeavours to be understood on the to do list for the ‘Caribbean man at heart, having attended World Cup cricket in Antigua & Barbuda in 2007 although all he did was lie down drinking beer, not understanding what was going on.

But football he is quite familiar with, what with his French background and his St Maarten history.

The next shot at citizenship, he hopes, will land in Jamaica’s net.