Yahneake Sterling and Deon Green, Gleaner Writers
Mascoll: Portia should be judged by her performance not by the fact that she is a woman. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE RACE is over and Portia Simpson Miller was, on Saturday, elected the next President of the People's National Party (PNP). Yesterday members of the Jamaican Diaspora nodded in agreement to the choice of 1,775 delegates.
Gary Foster, vice-president of RUSH Communications in New York, expressed his delight.
"I think she represents the majority of Jamaicans. Portia comes from the streets and I believe she brings a unique flavour to the government now, that will give poor people a sense of hope that a better life can emerge."
Mr. Foster added: "I know for a fact that many Jamaicans, including myself in the Diaspora, are now considering moving back to Jamaica to help Portia to do the work to make Jamaica a better place."
JAMAICA CALLED TO ACTION
He said the mother of the nation has called Jamaica to action and that Jamaicans at home and abroad should answer the call to make Jamaica a better place for all.
"It's not what Jamaica can do for you, but what you can do for Jamaica," he expressed.
Other members of the diaspora also agreed with Foster, as Raine Martin, vice-president of Jamaica Impact Incorporated, said, "I am really happy that Portia Simpson Miller came out on top and will become the next Prime Minister. She is definitely a new face and some new blood and I think that she will do the country a lot of good."
She said she believes Mrs. Simpson Miller will surround herself with the right people and do the right thing for the country.
"In the past, they (the government) sort of looked to us for remittances. I'm looking for the new government to engage us (the Diaspora) more so that the leaders of the Diaspora can play a more active and intimate role in what goes on in Jamaica."
WOMAN OF GREAT EXPERIENCE
Jamaicans in the United Kingdom have also reacted overwhelmingly to Mrs. Simpson Miller's win.
Facilitators for a Better Jamaica, a think tank and lobby group which speaks for Jamaican interests in the U.K., said: "We always maintained the position that we will welcome the winner and trust that the delegates would heed the voice of the Jamaican people and they did, to which we are grateful. May God truly bless Prime Minister Portia Simpson ..."
Shaun Cain, a former Jamaican radio broadcaster, said: "... the country is at a point where it needs unity and the people of the country have got a lot of respect for and strong belief in Portia Simpson Miller as someone who can steer the nation towards social cohesion."
For his part, Philip Mascoll, president of the Jamaica Diaspora Canada Foundation and member of the Canadian Diaspora advisory board to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said: "Portia is a woman of great experience, she should be judged by her performance not by the fact that she is a woman."
