Letters reveal candid views of British diplomats

[cacruden]

Letters reveal candid views of British diplomats

It's not exactly diplomatic — details of what British ambassadors really think about their foreign hosts were disclosed Sunday following the release of a series of frank, and sometimes outright rude, letters to London from embassies around the world.

Canadians are deeply unimpressive, Nigerians maddening, Nicaraguans often dishonest and Thai's commonly lewd, British diplomats claim in notes sent to Britain's Foreign Office over the last five decades.

The letters, disclosed to the BBC under Freedom of Information laws, also reveal how diplomats were bored by endless rounds of cocktail parties, and exasperated by the British government's failure to shake off its stuffy image overseas. [rest of article on website]

 

[cacruden]

Shows the arrogance of the people that wrote the letters. They were given privileged positions abroad and chose to focus on their little beefs with the country they are a guest of - instead of focusing on constructive criticism of what they (or their government) could improve in relation to the people of that country. Every country is different - has different strengths and weaknesses in different proportions - and all these ambassadors had to do on retirement was whine about their situations. Obviously they have to focus on who they fill these positions with and give it to someone who gives a dam about others.

 

[jenny_zhang]

A bit strange to hear Germans and Italians grouped with Chinese and Indians as "ethnics" in the Canada report. Well, very different from today's "visible minority" groupings. Anyways, they expectantly approach being racist or discriminatory for their time, but at least we can see an honest and direct reflection of what they thought, which I find interesting.

 

[Tewder]

I wonder if their observations would be the same in 2009? Canada has grown a lot in the past 30 years.

 

[AGTO]

They were given privileged positions abroad and chose to focus on their little beefs with the country they are a guest of - instead of focusing on constructive criticism of what they (or their government) could improve in relation to the people of that country.

This could be about americans as well.

 

[ACE]

.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I think you have to put England's Lord Moran's comments into context as he is speaking as a representative of a nation which gave the world culinary disasters, do-it-yourself dentistry, the complete mutilation of the English language, cars with horrendous electrical systems, football hooliganism, and Rick Astley.

True, but I'd much rather be living in a former British colony than a former Spanish one. There's a reason nearly every country south of Texas is now or until recently was a total mess politically and economically. Compare, for instance New Zealand (Population 4.3 million, nominal per capita GDP US$30K) against Nicaragua (5.1 million population, nominal GDP US$1,028 per capita).

Now, you will find that almost of the former European colonies in Africa are a mess, but I'd rather be living in former-British colonies of South Africa or Kenya (or even Zimbawbe or Nigeria up until the 1990s) than former Portuguese or Belgium hotspots like Rwanda or Congo. Much of Spain's colonies in the Americas had their independence for decades, in some cases over a hundred years before Britain's colonies in the Americas gained independence, but where would you rather live, in France's Haiti, or Britain's Barbados?

I'd say Britain has given the world a lot of positive political and economic contributions, and of course took, exploited and pillaged a lot in return...it was an empire after all.

 

[jenny_zhang]

And without Britain, India certainly wouldn't be one nation. Then again, I wonder if that would have been a good thing. Also I'm not sure I'd rather be in South Africa than other African nations. Well, maybe in the tiny gated pockets of safety.

 

[kEiThZ]

There is a newfound appreciation of the British influence in South Asia. Post-independence there was a lot of antipathy towards the former colonial master. Today that record is viewed as more mixed with an appreciation for the success the Brits had in uniting India through a common language (english) and infrastructure (the railroads) and institutions (a professional and apolitical armed forces, a competent federal civil service (a different story lower down), the parliamentary system, the common law legal system, etc.) These have all had their role in shaping India post-independence into a fairly cohesive, progressive nation. The countries that shied away from their British heritage have become basketcases (ie Pakistan).

All that's not to say that there weren't large downsides, such as the reinforcement of the caste system by obsessively class focused Victorian Brits, the legacy of their divisive practices of favouring various minorities and of course, their division of the sub-continent by drawing rough lines on a map which has lead to over half a century of tensions and possibly helped give rise to the global Islamic terror phenomenon (cultivated by the Pakistanis owing to their tensions with India).

 

[Tewder]

I think you have to put England's Lord Moran's comments into context as he is speaking as a representative of a nation which gave the world culinary disasters, do-it-yourself dentistry, the complete mutilation of the English language, cars with horrendous electrical systems, football hooliganism, and Rick Astley.

... but aren't your observations about 'Cool Britannia' just as dated and irrelevent as those about Canada would be today? If you haven't been to London in many years you likely wouldn't recognize it as it has become one of the most progressive hotspots in the world right now for cuisine, fashion, art and style altogether.

And, as for these sorts of comments being unique to the British or Americans I'm always amazed at just how little self-awareness Canadians have about their own smug behavior where America bashing comes about as naturally and unconsciously as breathing.

 

[unimaginative2]

I can only imagine that the release of these confidential letters will have a dulling effect on the kind of dispatches that London will receive from its diplomats abroad. The UK will suffer if everything is edited to ensure it doesn't offend anyone a few years down the line. On the other hand, it might serve them to think a bit more about what they write.

That said, the letter about Canada is what one might expect from a Thatcher appointee and hereditary peer. He complains about honours given out liberally when his own far higher honour was earned solely by dint of birth. I was particularly amused by his claims that exceptional Canadians typically leave the country, when a few lines below he complains of finding all sorts of talented British people seeking economic opportunities in Canada that they couldn't find at home.

Also I'm not sure I'd rather be in South Africa than other African nations. Well, maybe in the tiny gated pockets of safety.

Having just visited South Africa, I'd say without hestitation that I'd rather live there than in other African nations. It's far from perfect, and it certainly has vast amounts of terrible poverty, but it's in a completely different category from any other country in sub-Saharan Africa. It's infrastructure is thoroughly First World.

I don't know how much of that comes from the British, though. The British colonized half the continent, with widely varying results.

And, as for these sorts of comments being unique to the British or Americans I'm always amazed at just how little self-awareness Canadians have about their own smug behavior where America bashing comes about as naturally and unconsciously as breathing.

Oh come on. America bashing is remarkably rare in Canada considering our circumstances, and certainly far rarer than in Britain (where it has to compete with France-bashing, Germany-bashing, etc.). Moreover, Canada is one of the only countries in the world where legions of people will jump on you for making even the mildest criticism of the United States.

When I was in Australia, I remember seeing a rather amusing ad for something or other with the tagline "As rare as a quiet American." I couldn't imagine such a thing in Canada. Certainly not without weeks of hand-wringing newspaper editorials.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

I'd say Britain has given the world a lot of positive political and economic contributions, and of course took, exploited and pillaged a lot in return...it was an empire after all.

yes, but you got all that from the romans. wouldn't you rather be living in a former roman province such a britannia? than a former carthaginian region such as.....

 

[AGTO]

i'm always amazed at just how little self-awareness americans have about their own smug behavior where rest of the world bashing comes about as naturally and unconsciously as breathing.

ftfy

 

[kEiThZ]

Having seen dispatches from our own people abroad, I am not at all surprised by the tone and frankness of the letter. That's what diplomats are supposed to do. They have to give an honest assessment of what they perceive the situation to be. One can take issue with his perception of Canada, but for the time period he lived in Canada, and from his vantage point as a Brit, during the height of the Cold War, dealing largely with our diplomats and politicians bureaucrats, I'd say a lot of his observations can be expected (some perhaps were true) albeit not politically correct.

I think it's deplorable the UK government published these letters. I certainly hope our government does not follow suit. The last thing we need are PC diplomats who'd rather engage in literary flourishes than giving our governments a clear and unvarnished picture of the situation on the ground.

 

[kEiThZ]

Here's a Canadian retort:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/dear-lord-see-my-exit-letter/article1331320/