Dr Ewart Brown has called his decision to bring Uighurs to Bermuda the “low point” of his time as Premier.

In an interview with the Jamaican Observer, the former Premier revealed a number of intimate details, ranging from his current cologne du-jour and his thoughts on Caricom’s effectiveness, to his latest “splurge” in a London casino, as well as the high and low points as Premier of the Island.

“Well, the high points came when I saw how much the people supported me in times of stress,” said Dr Brown.

“I would imagine the low point was when I thought that inviting the Uighurs to come to Bermuda at the request of the United States was going to be met positively and my political opponents turned that into an effort to unseat me. But we did what we had to do and they were not successful.”

Published on Sunday in the newspaper’s lifestyle column, the article, titled “My Kingston”, explores Dr Brown’s life as well as his connection to Jamaica’s capital.

Dr Brown also revealed that he was working on a memoir, and that as a child he struggled to “adjust” to local schools, leading to his family moving to Jamaica where he found “a new lease on life.”

“My childhood in Bermuda was interesting. In fact, I came to Jamaica mainly because I had run out of schools in Bermuda. I couldn’t adjust; I was high-energy and at the time I thought that maybe school was not in my future,” said Dr Brown.

“I was just restless and then came to Spanish Town and actually got a new lease on life. That’s why I think I have this deep love and affection for Jamaica.”

The former Premier said that his best personal traits were listening and hearing, and that his worst trait was impatience.

“It’s all about a commitment to communication. If you really want to know what a person is feeling and saying, then you in turn have to listen and feel at the same time.”

Asked from whom he drew his political inspiration, Dr Brown said that his “political baptism” came in Jamaica, and that a lot of my political style can still be traced to Jamaican politics; at least, the confrontational part . . .”

Asked if he believed Caricom had been effective in coalescing the countries of the region, Dr Brown said: “I don’t think Caricom has been as successful as its founding fathers had imagined. It’s an extremely difficult exercise and I learned first-hand that where you are forced to engage in the politics of politeness, you’re less likely to make change.”

He also said that he was “moved to tears” when he saw young people succeed, and that he “likes a prize-giving.”

Outside of politics, Dr Brown said that his wife, Wanda, is “an inspiration just because of who she is,” and that his last major splurge was “in a casino in London, about four weeks ago.”

Dr Brown’s personal philosophy, he said, was to “live and let live.”

“But it is also to never lose the sense of awareness of the environment that you’re in. I don’t like surprises.”

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