Jamaica’s former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has been awarded one in every of Cuba’s highest honors, at the same time as her husband, Errald Miller, confirmed that the beloved chief is quietly going through a non-public well being battle.
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By Presidential Decree No. 1039 on July 10, 2025, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez bestowed the Medal of Friendship on Simpson Miller for her a long time of solidarity with Cuba and her steadfast name for an finish to the U.S. embargo. The award was offered on Wednesday at a ceremony on the Cuban Embassy in Kingston by Cuban Ambassador Fermín Quiñones.
Studying from a quotation earlier than the presentation, Quiñones stated the medal displays “the sentiments of a whole folks in recognition of her historical past of solidarity with Cuba and her contribution and unconditional dedication to the defence of the Cuban Revolution, peace, and the sovereignty and independence of peoples.” He hailed Simpson Miller—affectionately generally known as Sista P—as “an impeccable buddy of Cuba” who by no means wavered “even in essentially the most troublesome moments,” together with her repeated calls on the United Nations for the lifting of the U.S. financial blockade.
The ambassador highlighted the long-standing ties between the 2 nations, from the coaching of Jamaican docs in Cuba to Cuban-built establishments such because the José Martí Technical Excessive College and the G.C. Foster Faculty of Bodily Schooling and Sport. He additionally recalled Simpson Miller’s shut friendship with the late Fidel Castro and his brother, Military Normal Raúl Castro.
Accepting the medal on her behalf, Errald Miller stated it was “a pleasure to gather this on behalf of Portia,” including that the phrases of tribute “introduced her alive” in his thoughts. He recounted their go to to Cuba, the place they skilled the heat and solidarity of the Cuban folks.
“I’ve by no means seen a rustic and a folks that have so little and provides a lot,” Miller instructed The Gleaner. “You simply look the world over at issues that Cuba has been concerned with, and also you’ll see that my phrases are clear. … You give a lot of your self to the folks of the world.”
However Miller additionally used the second to disclose a deeply private reality. Talking emotionally after the ceremony, he confirmed to The Gleaner that Simpson Miller, 79, resides with dementia—a progressive mind situation that impacts reminiscence, considering and language.
“That’s my life. I stay for nothing else however her right now,” he stated. “I’ve a number of alternatives, however I’ve dropped all of these issues. I stay just for her. Just for her.”
Miller, who has been her major caregiver, defined that she stays within the early phases of the sickness.
“She nonetheless eats, drinks, sleeps, walks, talks to us who’re round,” he stated. “You’ll most likely see her stare at you, after which when you go and get the hug and the kiss, we all know that she recognises who it’s.”
He famous that she not solutions the cellphone recurrently and sometimes speaks briefly phrases, however emphasised that she has not reached the extra debilitating phases usually related to dementia. He stated that the previous prime minister nonetheless will get guests, however no pictures are allowed.
Folks’s Nationwide Occasion Chairman Dr. Angela Brown Burke expressed gratitude on behalf of the celebration, saying members can be “heartened” to know that Simpson Miller’s bond with Cuba stays cherished and publicly acknowledged.
The dignity—and Miller’s candid revelation—got here because the world marked World Alzheimer’s Day on September 21, a worldwide effort to lift consciousness about dementia and associated circumstances.
