A View from a Jamaican Foreign Service Officer During and Post-COVID-19

This chapter describes the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica during COVID-19. Jamaica is predominantly an emigration country with an expansive diaspora. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica is instrumental in maintaining relationships and developing allies with other countries in addressing international matters that could affect Jamaica and the Caribbean region. During COVID-19, when the world was on lockdown, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica (MFAFT) provided services to Jamaican nationals that were displaced in terms of loss of housing, being stranded overseas and unable to return home. The MFAFT assists those in need of medical assistance in a foreign country as well as those being trapped in the country after receiving assistance, with pending legal matters like virtual court hearings, and difficulty connecting individuals with relevant authorities in the host country. Some individuals also required support and information with logistical matters for weddings and funerals that were being threatened with postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Young people attending tertiary institutions abroad needed assistance in the authentication and legalization of educational documentation. The Ministry also connected nationals to counselling services when it was needed. A recommendation for the ‘new normal’ is to enhance virtual communications to enable the Ministry staff to interact with members of the diaspora in different time zones. It is not only in times of crises when effective communications are necessary between governments and populations.