Guy Hewitt

Guy Arlington Kenneth Hewitt (born November 1967), a Barbardian Anglican priest and social development specialist. He held the ambassadorial appointment of High Commissioner of Barbados in London from 2014-2018.[1][2] He previously worked with the University of the West Indies,[3] Caribbean Policy Development Centre, Commonwealth of Nations, Caribbean Community, and the City and Guilds of London Institute.[4]

Politics in Barbados
Pastoring in Florida
Diplomat in London

Hewitt has been a strong advocate for the Commonwealth of Nations and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) particularly for a change in the OECD Development Assistance Committee rules to allow Caribbean and other SIDS to access development financing when devastated by catastrophic storm systems.[5][6] In 2016, to celebrate Barbados' Fiftieth Anniversary of Independence he published Fathering A Nation on the life and legacy of Errol Barrow, the first Prime Minister of Barbados and one of the Barbadian National Heroes.[7] He previous wrote extensively on gender-responsive national budgets.[8]

In 2018, he was one of the leading advocates on the Windrush scandal, in which he criticised the outcomes of the immigration policies of the British government on undocumented, elderly, West Indian-born, long-term UK residents which included the denial of the right to work, denial of benefits, denial of healthcare and also for some detention and deportation.[9][10][11][12] He published articles with Chatham House and the University of the West Indies on the Windrush scandal in which he outlines the strategy adopted to make the Windrush scandal a national concern and global issue and bring about a major policy u-turn.[13][14][15] Hewitt's agitation was included in the podcast series "100 Campaigns that Changed the World".[16]

In addition to his assignment to the Court of St James, Hewitt was the Permanent Representative to the UN International Maritime Organization, and a Governor on the Board of the Commonwealth Secretariat. He has also published a number of books and as an Anglican priest has ministered in Barbados and the wider Caribbean, North America and Europe.[1][4] He is currently based in Southeast Florida.[17]

As with the Windrush scandal, Hewitt has been active in the US on racial justice issues. His article No Justice, No Peace: A Christian Sociological Reflection on Race in the USA was a featured article in the Episcopal Journal.[18] He prepared a liturgy on Black Lives Matter for Lent and collaborated on a liturgy for Juneteenth.[19]

Hewitt supported the Barbadian government's decision to separate itself from the British monarchy and transform the nation into a republic noting that the decision to have a local head of state had long been planned, but the Windrush scandal altered perceptions of the ‘mother country’.[20] His position strengthened in response to the Oprah Winfrey's interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. According to Hewitt, “I would say [the interview] underscores and affirms that Barbados did make the right decision to have a native born citizen as head of state”.[21] However, he has been critical of how the current administration in Barbados is handling the process of constitutional change to a republic.[22]

On 11 June 2021, Hewitt sought the presidency of the Democratic Labour Party, the organisation co-founded by Errol Barrow that led Barbados into Independence and enacted many of its social and economic reforms.[23][24][25] Although unsuccessful, he remains committed to Barbados and the DLP. He continues to live and work between Florida and Barbados. Since 2019 Hewitt has been priest at St. James-in-the-Hills Episcopal Church, Hollywood, Florida.[26][27]

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References

  1. "Podcast: Interview with Barbados High Commissioner Guy Hewitt on the campaign for justice for the Windrush Generation". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  2. "Heads of Mission in order of precedence and their spouses". gov.uk. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  3. Anon (2019). "Hewitt, Guy Arlington Kenneth". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U282800. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. "Guy Hewitt". Linked In.
  5. "Hurricane-hit islands deserve aid. The rules that block it are wrong". Guardian Newspaper. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  6. "Proud Member of the Commonwealth". Diplomat Magazine. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  7. "Fathering a Nation". Hansib.
  8. "Engendering Budgets". ComSec.
  9. "Windrush Scandal". CNN. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  10. "Windrush Kids told: Don't approach Home Office". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  11. "A Call for Justice for Commonwealth Migrants". Church Times. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  12. "The Case of Guy Hewitt and the UK's Caribbean Windrush Generation". News Americas. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  13. "The Windrush Scandal: An Insider's Reflection". Taylor Francis. doi:10.1080/00086495.2020.1722378. S2CID 213683798. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
  14. "Winning the Windrush Battle". Chatham House. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  15. "The Guardian Interview with Guy Hewitt". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  16. "The Windrush Scandal:1 of 100 Campaigns". Steve Tibbett. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  17. "Ambassador assumes Pastoral Role in Florida". Hollywood Gazette. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  18. "No Justice No Peace". Episcopl Journal.
  19. "Black Lives Matter and The Way of the Cross". YouTube.
  20. "Long live Barbados as a republic, soon to be free of tarnished 'global Britain'". The Guardian.
  21. "Claim of Racism Among Royals Fuels Debate About Future of Commonwealth". Voice of America.
  22. "It's how you do it". Barbados Today.
  23. "Hewitt promoting a New Dawn for Democracy". Barbados Advocate.
  24. "Hewitt vows to get DLP Election ready". Barbados Advocate.
  25. "On Pulpits and Political Platforms". Barbados Today.
  26. Hewitt, Guy (2021). "Welcome from Fr. Guy". St. James-in-the-Hills Episcopal Church. Retrieved Dec 25, 2021.
  27. Hewitt, Guy (2021). "Sermons". St. James-in-the-Hills Episcopal Church. Retrieved Dec 25, 2021.
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