US issues Travel Advisory for Jamaica (FALSE)

[Jambarney]

Booger no worries man, have a great day .
Jamb

[fargoman]

I came back unscathed once again from latest my trip last week is all I know....lol

[kathyl]

Couple the crime with the breakwater... not a good combo for tourism... that plus higher prices have definitely got me looking for next year.

[JamaGinger]

I think I need lessons in "embassy speak". What is a "warden message" technically? Are these issued very often and under what circumstances? Do all U.S. Embassy locations issue them?

[Rob]

"Embassy speak" can seem to be a language all to itself. Essentially messages from each local US Embassy are meant to be a more efficient way to pass on information, notifications and reminders.

All the US Embassies share the same basic website design, but not the same way they make issue reminders or notifications. For instance, Jamaica and Spain embassies call them "Messages to U.S. Citizens" but the France embassy calls them "Travel Information and Messages", which have "Messages to U.S. Citizens" located in that section. But it doesnt seem all have what is directly called "Warden Messages".

The last "Warden Message" from the US Embassy in Kingston was last year:

"Warden Message - July 30, 2014

The U.S. Embassy is asking all American Citizens to be aware and exercise caution when traveling in Jamaica. Jamaica is currently facing severe drought conditions, which have dried out much of the brush and underlying vegetation throughout the country."

Apparently they should no longer be called Warden Messages - this is from the U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7 Consular Affairs and explains the Warden system:

"A warden system provides a reliable way for you to reach U.S. citizens in the
event of an emergency, disaster, or threat, and to distribute other information
of interest to the private U.S. community (changes in section work hours and
procedures, voting information, physicians list, etc.). Posts can issue a
Message for U.S. Citizens, Security Message for U.S. Citizens, or Emergency
Message for U.S. Citizens depending upon the circumstances (see 7 FAM 058).
Hereinafter all three will be referred to as Messages unless there is a distinction
to be made. A good warden system supplements these Messages for the local
U.S. community and provides a valuable set of eyes and ears in an emergency.
We no longer refer to these Messages as Warden Messages. This change was
made to reflect the ease of electronic communication and the ability of resident
communities to hear from us directly, and in many cases instantly."

Apparently not all the Embassies got the memo. New Zealand still uses them as well:

http://newzealand.usembassy.gov/warden_information.html