Patterson
WHEN DONALD Patterson left St. Theresa's High in Black River, St. Elizabeth, he was told by his grandmother with whom he grew that he would become a public health inspector.
She even brought the applications forms home and made sure that they were filled out and mailed. Born in McAlpine district in Westmoreland, he was taken to Petersville at age five by his mother, where he fell under the strict thumb of this matriarch. In those days, he said, you simply did as you were told.
But, no one said that he could not do what he was told and also do what he really wanted to do. So he filled out application forms for the Police Force too. Patterson, who is now one of the chief of security managers at the United Nations, by dint of defiance began a career in law enforcement which was to take him all over the world.
His grandmother's reaction when she saw that he was accepted into the Force was "you are on your own." Feelings of guilt were many years in dissipating.
Fast track
Patterson's first posting was in Denham Town in Kingston. His career hit the fast track two years later when he was transferred to Special Branch.
Sent on a course in the United States on bomb techniques at the tender age of 21, he became the sole bomb technician in Jamaica in the early 80s. This was how he came to the attention of the United Nations. He was so young to be the local expert.
He met visiting representatives who encouraged him to come and work for the United Nations.
But, those were exciting times for him. To be a young kid in charge of a bomb disposal vehicle was a heady experience.
Donald Patterson's headlong rush to self-actualisation came to an abrupt halt when, after eight years, and having decided to sit the sergeant's Grade III examination, he was told by his divisional inspector that he had to wait.
He was too young, the inspector felt, and was therefore not eligible for the exam.
Giving thanks
Today, the UN peacekeeper feels that he has this inspector to thank. Furious at his response, he applied and was accepted at the UN headquarters in New York.
On the day he left Jamaica, he packed a suitcase, gave his resignation to a colleague to hand in after delaying a few days and took the plane out.
In New York, after initial training, Donaldson's first assignment was to UN Secretary General Perez de Quellar, a job which lasted for three years.
Then, in 1991, on the heels of the Gulf War, he was sent to Iraq as sector commander for 150 men.
Danger was present, but the greatest difficulty, the military man recalls, was adjusting to the culture.
Even men were not allowed to wear shorts, T-shirts and other revealing garments.
Many of the men also suffered because alcohol was strictly forbidden. Donald, who was not much of a drinker, was amazed to discover that people actually drank rubbing alcohol.
Fortunately, having grown with his grandmother, he did not suffer much in the area of cooking. Donald loved to cook. By virtue of his skills, he became the chef at large, as the men would keep coming to his home for food. Things got even better in the south, where the men were permitted to shop in Kuwait for the food they needed.
The tour of duty included a stint near the Turkish border and then down to Basra in the south. At its termination, it was back to New York and a new assignment with new man at the helm, Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
This assignment, to last for five years, saw Donald Paterson travelling the entire world. He saw, he says, for the first time real poverty, which has nothing to do with the kind we complain about in Jamaica. He saw children begging, children with no food, no clothes, no water. Compared to this, he said, "Jamaica is heaven on earth."
Subsequently assigned to cover civil unrest war-torn Tajikistan, Patterson tells the story of 19 staff members who were kidnapped. While other members of his group did the natural thing and panicked, this was where he earned his stripes as a hostage negotiator. All were returned alive.
But, also on the same tour, four of his colleagues were executed. "I saw the sorrows of those who grieved," he recalls. They, too, were casualties of war.
The United Nations Security Forces, Donald Patterson says, provides the assurance for residents in war-torn areas that they can return to normal life. "People feel safe while we are in the field."
Following Tajikistan, he was given the duty of taking members of the Security Council on a tour of Africa, ensuring that they moved safely from one country to another.
Now, the soldier is assigned to Secretary General Kofi Annan with whom, he say, he travels even more than ever before.
As second in charge of security, "I make sure that the boss gets to go where he wants to go," he explains. His function is that of providing 24-hour protection.
Hostage negotiator
As a full-fledged hostage negotiator, he also teaches at the UN headquarters in New York. With his encouragement and facilitation, there are also now about 200 Jamaicans working in the UN system and throughout the world.
Patterson says that he comes back to Jamaica as often as he can, as he is laying the groundwork to return home when he retires. When away, he keeps abreast of 'home' by watching the news everyday and also reading at www.go-jamaica.com
Married to insurance broker, Sharon, he is father of two boys, now aged 15 and 18 who are quite used to, he says, their father being frequently away.
The 47-year-old dad says that he is looking forward to another nine years on the job, after which he will retire. Until then, he feels, the prospect for promotion seems very good.
In the meantime," he has discussed the possibility of teaching hostage negotiation in Jamaica.
"This is my country, he says. "I want to make sure that it remains safe."
- Avia Ustanny
