Head of FCDO in Scotland to make history with move to Jamaica

The Herald Scotland

6 days ago

They met to discuss making history as the UK's first Head of Mission deployed to a Caribbean post having been born in the Caribbean too.
The 57-year-old is hoping to represent the shared history of Scotland and Jamaica but admits it was an opportunity she could not turn down despite her love for this country.
Alicia said: 'I feel like my life's gone full circle. There aren't many roles could have persuaded me to leave Scotland but having first come to the UK on a scholarship, I simply couldn't resist going back to the region of my birth to represent the UK as High Commissioner to Jamaica.
'It's been such a joy to work and live in Scotland. I will of course draw on Scotland and Jamaica's shared history.
'Living in Scotland has given me a comprehensive understanding of the issues that underpin that shared history, which will certainly help me as I work to strengthen the relationship between the UK and Jamaica, as we support the Caribbean on the 21st century challenges it faces, most notably climate change.
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'Lots of my colleagues have been joking that I'll miss the Scottish rain, but while Kingston's a lot sunnier than East Kilbride, I've not had to worry about hurricanes much working there.
'The Caribbean is a part of the world where the climate crisis is acute with the frequency and intensity of hurricanes increasing. A huge focus of my job will be how the UK partners with the Caribbean to address how climate change is affecting the region.'
She added: 'I am proud to be the first UK diplomat of Caribbean heritage to be announced as a Head of Mission to Caribbean post.
'It was lovely to have a send-off chat with the Foreign Secretary about this. I think it signals the huge strides that the FCDO and the UK has made on diversity.
'Joining the civil service as black, female immigrant back in 1999 was like landing on a different planet.
'Quite often I was the only woman in the room, and almost certainly, the only person of colour. Now 40 per cent of our Heads of Mission are female.
'While my appointment shows that things are heading in the right direction, there is still much to do. For example, black staff are still underrepresented at senior levels. We want people from all walks of life representing the UK internationally.
'No-one is resting on any laurels, but back when I joined the civil service, I could never have envisaged that I would be a High Commissioner having a chat with a black Foreign Secretary.
'My background has often proved an asset, helping me to develop rich and positive relationships with counterparts when working overseas. I have been claimed as Nigerian, Mozambican, Sudanese, Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Colombian… the list goes on.'
Alicia has been in charge of almost 1,000 FCDO staff in Scotland at Abercrombie House in East Kilbride and she has also served as the UK's special envoy for gender equality.
Her job has seen her face danger in war-torn Sudan, take on terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria and combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Mozambique.
But her family are thrilled by her new appointment as the UK's top diplomat in Jamaica.
She said: 'I think my dear mum when she was alive did worry and ask 'You're going where?'.
'I have not come under direct threat, but that threat has been there. I lived in Sudan for three years from 2006 and there was always war. A US diplomat was assassinated not too far from my house on New Year's Eve.
'I was in Nigeria when Boko Haram was just seeding and by the time I left, they had become quite a force. Boko Haram literally means 'Western education is forbidden'.
'I had colleagues working in the UN compound where 13 people were killed in a Boko Haram bomb attack in Abuja in 2011. I remember frantically sending in drivers to get our people out when they attacked Kano the same year.
'My parents are both sadly passed, but I have six siblings who are super excited and proud of what I have achieved.
'We are a typical Caribbean family so when we got to the age of 18 or 19, everybody left to go overseas to university, as I did. One of my brothers went back to Trinidad.
'A few years ago, when I went on an official visit to Trinidad, it was so interesting to invite him to a diplomatic reception at the High Commission for him to see me at work.
'It's funny because there is a fair amount of inter-island rivalry between Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica – similar to the sort of good-humoured banter you get between people from Scotland and England.
'So one of the first things my family said was 'Wait till Jamaicans find out that the new High Commissioner is really a Trini'. You get banter across all the Caribbean islands, but there's also a unity and a commonality.
'It's an exciting new challenge but I will really miss the incredible spirit of the people I've worked with in Scotland for over nine years at our joint HQ, Abercrombie House.
'FCDO continues to have a sizeable footprint in Scotland with our staff in East Kilbride at the heart of shaping and delivering UK foreign policy as a force for good in the world.'