THE EDITOR, Sir:
I am Sri Lankan by birth, Jamaican by citizenship. I came to Jamaica in 1962 on contract to teach at Cornwall College, and taught there for almost 38 years before retirement. I still live in staff quarters at Cornwall. Many of my relatives and friends are in Australia, and some of them have, over the years, come to Jamaica on holiday.
About seven years ago I had to send a cablegram to my brother in Australia, informing him of the tragic death of a Jamaican friend of ours. It was winter in Australia then, and the Cable and Wireless operator telephoned to my brother, saying "we have some sad news from Jamaica for you" and then delivering the message. The written message was delivered later that day.
Recently, an elderly cousin of mine in Australia died on 17th February, and a cablegram was sent to me telling me of his death and of his funeral to be held on 22nd February. There is a date-stamp on the message-form to show that the cablegram was at the Montego Bay office of Cable and Wireless on 19th February.
Cornwall College is within easy walking distance of the Cable and Wireless office, so that any form of courier service could have brought the message to me in minutes. Easier still, a telephone call to the Cornwall College office would have been enough. But what was done to the cablegram has quite mystified me. The message-form was put into an envelope marked "Cable and Wireless" "Message Services Telegram" (whatever that means), a 10-dollar postage stamp was affixed to the envelope, and the "cable-letter" was then entrusted to the normal mail service of the Post Office, the post-mark reading "Montego Bay, 20 February, 11 a.m." The letter must have travelled far (to Kingston and back?) for it finally turned up in Cornwall's Post Office box on the morning of Monday, 26th February.
My cousins would understand my not coming to Australia for the funeral on 22nd February, but they would be puzzled at not having received even a cablegram of condolence from me by that date. So I have sent them all the evidence of what happened to their cablegram. There should be some interest on (and amusement at?) the way things are done in Jamaica in the 21st century.
Finally, while I applaud the decision of Cable and Wireless to sponsor West Indies Cricket to the tune of US$8 million in the next three years, should it not be possible, within that same period of time, to train some employees of Cable and Wireless on the thoughtful and speedy handling of urgent messages?
I am, etc.,
BEVILL de BRUIN
Cornwall College
Montego Bay
