NEW YORK, USA — Jamaicans throughout the Diaspora are now able to access a new source of crucial information, all in one place, on a wide range of subjects necessary for navigating several tricky matters, mostly in Jamaica.

The Diaspora Resource Handbook was officially launched at a recent ceremony in Davie, Florida, and quickly debuted at number four in category on Amazon’s best-selling list.

Described as a reference material of sorts, the publication is written by Peter Gracey, the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council (GJDC) representative for the Southern United States (US). It contains 30 chapters with detailed information on little-documented subjects such as what it means to be a Jamaican abroad, gaining legal status overseas, how to replace vital documents, acquiring a visa, dual citizenship, and how to engage legal services.

The book also contains a list of the various embassies, missions, and consulates abroad as well as the various government ministries and agencies in Jamaica, complete with contact and location information, plus information on many of the various Jamaican organisations operating within the Diaspora.

Guidance on the requirements to invest and set up business in Jamaica or within the Diaspora, open a bank account back home, as well as how to deal with the repatriation of bodies for burial in Jamaica are all listed in the book.

“I was motivated to write the book as a result of the many

questions people have constantly and continue to raise as well as the frustration and challenges faced by many on how to access information on a good deal, if not all of the issues which are covered in the book,” Gracey said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

“The absence of an honorary consul in Orlando, Florida, something for which I have been advocating, also played a part in my decision to write this book,” Gracey added, noting that he made the call two years ago to address the needs of the growing number of Jamaicans now residing in Orlando and other Central Florida communities like Ocala, Gainesville, Tampa, Kissimmee, and the counties of Citrus, Seminole and Orange.

Gracey also cited distance and cost to travel to the Miami Consulate as a factor pushing Jamaicans living in Central Florida.

As he prepares to demit office as the GJDC representative for the Southern US at the end of his term in December, Gracey told the Observer that he would not be seeking re-election to the position but remains hopeful that, “my recommendation for the appointment of an honorary consul in Orlando will eventually bear fruit, given that more Jamaicans not only continue to move to central Florida, but are also establishing businesses in the area”.

Voting for the new GJDC representatives, which was scheduled to begin on November 20, 2025 through December 13, 2025, has since been postponed until next year due to the devastation of Jamaica by Hurricane Melissa. Registration and nomination for the positions were previously held on October 15, 2025.

At the launch ceremony Gracey was commended on his work by Jamaica’s Consul General to Miami Oliver Mair and the Jamaican-born mayor of Lauderhill Denise Grant, both of whom agreed that the resource book will serve as an important tool for the Diaspora, with Mair adding that, “publication of the book shows that Peter Gracey is passionate about what he does and that his heart is in the right place”.

An online version of the book is now also available through a mobile app, Jamaica: Stay connected, on all Apple and Android devices, as well as on all major platforms. Gracey said responses to the book so far have been good, pointing to comments from university lecturer and Diaspora activist Dr Allan Cunningham.

“The publication of this book is timely, well-needed and overdue. It provides the level and credible scope of information needed by just about everyone in the Diaspora. The fact that such information can now be found in one place is an important and welcome sign and an indication that the Diaspora is headed in the right direction,” said Dr Cunningham.

Gracey’s counterpart in the Northeast US, Michelle Tulloch- Neil, said “the book is welcome as it contains vital information that can be of benefit to Jamaicans across the world, and [is] not limited to the United States”.

Author Peter Gracey