This is my first blog as the new head of the Migration Team in Kingston Jamaica.
As I reflect on my time here so far, teamwork and friendship are the two words that best describe to me how the British High Commission and our partners across the Government of Jamaica and the NGOs come together to make a significant impact.
We all work in our own teams, be it the Migration Team at the British High Commission, the Ministry of National Security, The Jamaican Constabulary Force, the National Organisation of Deported Migrants, or the Open Arms and Open Heart missions. But when it comes to delivering change and improvement on behalf of Jamaica and the UK, we work as one big team and I think that this “one team” approach makes all the difference.
Recent examples of this include the response we prepared two weeks ago for a Jamaican mother and her two young daughters being deported from the UK. We’d been told that they had nowhere to go and no family or friends who could help them re-integrate in Jamaica, so we worked with our NGO partners to develop a bespoke package of support for them. That included being met at the airport, given a light meal and drinks, being transported to a local charitable mission and being provided with safe and secure accommodation. The National Organisation of Deported Migrants meet all deportees coming home from the UK and, as well as a friendly face on arrival and provision of transportation to anywhere on the island, they give useful advice and guidance about settling back into life in Jamaica. Open Arms and Open Heart are two charitable missions who assist the homeless and vulnerable, and we work with them to help deportees who have nowhere to stay when they come home to Jamaica. The UK government helps to fund these NGOs because we recognise the importance of supporting deported Jamaicans so that they better integrate into life when they come home.
Another case we are currently working on relates to a man who has mental health problems. He is due back in Jamaica soon so we are working with the Jamaican Ministry of Health to ensure suitable support is made available to him when he gets home.
We also have various projects under way with the Government of Jamaica, including helping to fund improvements to the passport archives and deportee monitoring units, as well as support for a PICA officer who works at the Jamaican High Commission in London, verifying the nationality and identity of those due to be deported.
Without teamwork we would all have a much tougher job to do and neither country would be as capable of protecting and supporting its citizens.
When you work as a team friendships often develop, and I’m pleased to say that this has been my experience with the team of people I’ve met and worked with since I arrived here in May. Maybe it’s just the Jamaican way, or maybe I’ve just been very lucky, but the wide group of partners we work with have been extremely friendly towards me and made me feel very welcome and at home on this beautiful island.
I’m very pleased to be here.
Chris Feist, Migration Delivery Officer at the British High Commission, Kingston.