In the eye of the storm

Jamaica has a long-standing tradition of taking clear, principled positions in diplomacy, and in the evolving geopolitical landscape, the world needs more diplomacy, not less. This is the perspective of Deniese Sealey, Jamaica’s charge d’affaires in Germany, who oversees Jamaican diplomatic efforts in 13 countries, including three that are at war.

Sealey’s responsibility stretches across countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia.

Despite the challenges presented by the tense political climates, Sealey’s position demands that she and her team represent the Jamaican government and its people well.

But how did this rural Jamaica native rise in the foreign service to become Jamaica’s pointwoman in Germany?

“I did not go out of my way to be involved in diplomacy,” she told The Sunday Gleaner on a recent trip to the island.

Fresh out of Knox Community College with training in administrative management, she landed a job in the foreign ministry. It was during this time that she developed an interest in diplomacy, inspired by the stories shared by her supervisors and former ambassadors.

She moved up the ranks and year later, a posting in Geneva saw her studying at Webster University. She would later complete a master’s at The University of the West Indies, and an MBA at The University of Technology, Jamaica.

Working in Geneva, the hub for many international organisations, Sealey became increasingly focused on global issues like humanitarian aid, security, trade, and development. Inspired by the world-changing work being done in these areas, she was determined to become a foreign service officer.

Her first assignment was in Geneva, Switzerland (1997-2000), after which she went to Tokyo, Japan (2000-2001).

She returned to Jamaica before being sent to New York as Jamaica’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations for a year and three months before finally arriving in Germany. The Germany posting would test everything she knows about diplomacy.

She recalled how the diplomatic car for the embassy in Geneva became a casualty in a demonstration by farmers during a meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). They were protesting against the WTO policies that seemed to have been putting them out of business.

“I think it was the second World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference that was going on and an interesting thing happened to Jamaica. While the negotiations were going on, there was a huge protest in Geneva. And the next thing I heard, I got a call that the diplomatic car – the main car for the embassy – was capsized, was turned over by these protesters,” Sealey recalled.

Ironically, she said, inside the hall, Jamaica was supporting the farmers’ interest. Sealey believes that if the protesters had known the car belonged to Jamaica, it would have been protected.

That respect, she said, is anchored in Jamaica’s history of taking independent and principled decisions in diplomacy over many years. According to her, Jamaica posits its arguments clearly, and votes on principle. The country’s representatives have always provided reasoned views on positions taken.

JAMAICA’S VIEWS RESPECTED

“Our foreign minister and Jamaica are really well respected. People tend to always ask for Jamaica’s views on issues and where we present our views, it’s always taken into serious consideration,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.

Diplomatic tests are inevitable in such a high-stakes environment. One of the first major crises Sealey faced was Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea. As Jamaica’s representative to both Russia and Ukraine, Sealey’s team monitored the situation closely.

“It was in that regard that we were made aware of this impending conflict between Russia and the Ukraine. And at that time, we knew that we had students in the Ukraine, and we made contact with them, making suggestions that they go – consider returning to Jamaica until after the conflict between those two countries was resolved,” she explained, noting that at the time, she was a deputy in the embassy, reporting to the ambassador.

Around ten students followed this advice and returned to Jamaica temporarily before heading back to Ukraine to complete their studies.

That was a dry run for what was to come.

When Russia’s war with Ukraine escalated in 2022, Sealey faced an even more difficult test. Parents in Jamaica were understandably concerned about their children studying in Ukraine, and the embassy worked diligently to ensure their safety. Many students, however, were hesitant to leave until the threat was undeniable. Even then, some Jamaicans chose to remain in Ukraine despite the conflict.

“Again, it’s another situation where we were ... watching what was going on, making contacts with all our colleagues in various missions. For example, we were making contacts with the Polish. We are also responsible for Poland, but we’re making contacts to ensure that should we require their support for our students, then they would be able to assist us. But prior to that, we had developed a relationship with the students in Ukraine. We knew that they numbered a little over 40, and so we were ensuring that even outside of the conflict, that they were in good condition,” she explained.

Sealey said the students were contacted directly ahead of the impending conflict and the embassy had names, ages, and next-of-kin contacts for the students and there was open communication.

In collaboration with Kingston, strategies were devised for the best way to assist them returning to Jamaica.

“It so happened that the day that we were arranging for those who would wish to come home, the flights, that was the day that the war actually started, and so everything changed. Everyone started to panic,” she recalled.

“Well, the embassy staff, we were very conscious of what it is that we needed to do. The one thing we needed to do was to try to see what flights were leaving and from where in order for us to be able to get the students out,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.

COORDINATING SAFE PASSAGE

Sealey said the embassy worked around the clock to make arrangements for evacuations., coordinating with Poland to ensure safe passage across the border after flights stopped.

She praised two individuals – one Polish and one Guyanese – for their help in ensuring Jamaicans’ safe passage through the border.

“ ... Something we’ve said to them from the very beginning [is] that ‘we have a responsibility for you. It doesn’t matter whether or not you would have gone there on your own. That’s not the case. The case is there is danger and it is important for us to ensure you arrive home safely’,” she reiterated.

As hostilities continue, the embassy is aware that there are still Jamaicans in both Ukraine and Russia.

The challenges have been significant, but Sealey remains optimistic about Jamaica’s future in diplomacy, especially as the world grapples with issues like climate change and renewable energy. Germany, once reliant on Russian energy sources, has begun diversifying its energy mix due to ongoing sanctions.

“So we have to remind them on a regular basis that we have these opportunities that they can also make use of, that would help them in their diversification of their energy source. We also are very open and available for investment in those kinds of sources here. So where we have small businesses that may be suffering from the increasing cost in Europe from energy costs, they perhaps would wish to invest in these kinds of businesses in Jamaica as we are open for investments from across Europe,” she said.

Looking ahead, Sealey stressed that Jamaica must continue to prioritise principled decision-making in diplomacy. By doing so, the country will remain an important player on the international stage, one whose views are always considered in global discussions.

In today’s increasingly fragmented world, she believes that the need for diplomacy is more urgent than ever.

“We need to be practising more of that (diplomacy) to ensure that we don’t get into the situations we presently are seeing across the world. But we know that Jamaica is a principled country and so it stands to whatever it has set itself to do. It follows the rule of international law and ensures that diplomacy is a major part of its thrust to develop relations with countries, maintain relations with countries,” she said.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com