Letter of the Day | Geopolitics, diplomacy and friendship

THE EDITOR, Madam:

On his farm in his community in the foothills of the Bull Head Mountain in the heart of Jamaica, Farmer Joe is confused.

He marvels at how, during this season of complicated geopolitical circumstances, word and action concerning diplomatic projections of ‘friendship’ could have come to be recognised as being poles apart.

US chief diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, came to our shores last year and pronounced in the presence of the head of government: “And I can think of no better friend in the Caribbean and frankly in the Western Hemisphere and your government, Mr Prime Minister”.

Farmer Joe, who had heard those words of comfort on radio, is now flabbergasted at how urgings could have come from the US Government for the Government of struggling Jamaica, their greatest hemispheric friend, to jettison a substantial portion of the country’s health service delivery provided for under a long-settled, half-a-century old contractual medical programme.

It gets worse! Upon hearing that Jamaica’s chief diplomat, the foreign minister, asserted in the Parliament that the Government’s decision ... was not influenced by the United States, he is bewildered.

The foreign ministry thereafter issued a statement that it is widely known that the United States government publicly raised concerns about the operation of the same medical programme globally.

He reflects that this was not the first misspeak of the foreign minister in the Parliament, and presumes that, on this occasion, she will regard it as being obligatory and principled that, with apology, the parliamentary record of Hansard concerning her misleading report is to be corrected by her from the Chamber posthaste.

In an animated discussion, Farmer Joe and his friends determine that the confusion started some time ago in Caracas and Washington, relating to Jamaica turning its back on Friend Venezuela following the life-saving kindness so considerately rendered to Jamaica in its hour of deep economic distress.

They concluded that there must have been consternation and disappointment in Caracas but, in Washington, there would no doubt also have been a reasoning that the same ‘knife of ingratitude’ could be pointed by Jamaica in Friend United States’ direction at any time.

They parted, pondering the recall of Farmer Joe’s neighbour: “So, why do I remember reading somewhere that, ‘A friend is the kind of companion you would wish to have in a lifeboat?’”

Farmer Joe and his compadres are not alone in remaining helplessly befuddled at this peculiar intermix of geopolitics, diplomacy and friendship.

A.J. NICHOLSON