| This started in Carlisle in Houghton where she was born. She is a “proud Cumbrian”, attended Warwick Bridge Primary School, going on to Morton Secondary. She was about to go to Leeds University to read food sciences when fate intervened. Jacqui caught chicken pox and, whilst recovering, read an advert in the paper for the Foreign Office. She says herself she has itchy feet (even without chicken pox) and so she applied to see the world. And she has and how!
Her first posting was Baghdad – controlled then by Saddam Hussein. Saddam then decided to invade Kuwait in August 1990. The world and the US then surrounded Iraq. Everyone living there was on rations and Jacqui became an involuntary TV personality, filmed collecting the rations for the Embassy. The Iraqis took a lot of hostages, holding them outside of power stations and other vital factories knowing the Allies wouldn’t bomb them. Eventually the British were evacuated along with other residents. But Jacqui and six men remained in the embassy until a week or two before the Allies did start bombing!
When she got home on the last commercial flight out, Jacqui remembers sitting on a floor in England watching this play out on family TV. Jacqui felt sad eventually leaving as she had lived there for two years and made many friends. She had a wonderful three bedroomed house overlooking the River Tigris where she had been able to see the construction of one of Saddam’s many palaces.
Due to the oppressive regime she was not allowed to speak to the local people, but one resident managed to hiss to her in a local shop “get rid of him!” A brave man indeed, who had probably not dared to say that even to his family. Jacqui’s belongings were largely left behind including her record collection – with Abba amongst others. This was in 1991 – the first gulf war – and then there came the American election and George Bush Jnr proclaiming: “That man”- Saddam – tried to kill my father” and the second gulf war was started.
Her next posting was to Latin America. Here she loved the countries, the people and the vibrant colours. Her remit was Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Guyana and the Falkland Islands. Here Jacqui had a slight change of title. She became the Relief Latin America Floater! This meant she could be dropped in at any time wherever needed often for as long as three months. Her nicest house was in Panama. It was a beautiful colonial house with a drawing room with a piano.
Following her exotic stay in Latin America, Jacqui ended up in Atlanta, Georgia. Here she was responsible for British citizens living in or visiting Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, North/South Carolinas, Georgia and Mississippi. The remit included lost passports, victims of crime etc. Although there for only four years, Jacqui was able to make use of an existing deal with Delta Airlines that gave Embassy staff reduced rates on North American flights so Jacqui did a lot of travelling every weekend. Itchy feet indeed!
This was followed by a few less exotic jobs in London until she was appointed Deputy Ambassador to Rwanda and Burundi. This was three years after the genocide in Rwanda. The minority Tutsis were attacked by the Hutus. The latter were poor people with little education and who were largely farmers. The genocide was stopped by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, exiled Rwandan Tutsis from Uganda. In the end the Tutsis regained power but hundreds of thousands were killed. |
