The Hudson County Board of Freeholders – on behalf of the 608,975 residents of the 12 communities which comprise the county – have personally delivered an expression of condolence, support and solidarity with the people of the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the July 7 bombings in Great Britain.
Freeholder Chairman Silverio A. Vega personally delivered a resolution expressing those sentiments to Sir Philip Thomas, British Consul-General in New York City, where he also signed the Official Book of Condolences on behalf of the residents of Hudson County. The resolution had been previously passed unanimously at the Freeholder meeting last week.
“I know that the American people and especially the residents of Hudson County wish to stand side-by-side with the peoples of the United Kingdom,” Vega told Sir Thomas, “especially since we realize that your country would probably have not been attacked except for the fact that you have been America’s biggest ally in the war against terrorism in Iraq and throughout the world.”
“You have been there for us since September 11 and over the last 100 years through two great wars,” said Vega, “and we despise these despicable acts of terrorism against innocent civilians. Our hearts go out to all the relatives and countrymen of those who lost their lives.”
Sir Philip Thomas, a Cambridge University graduate and 30-year veteran of the British Foreign Office, became Consul-General in New York in 2004. He handles UK interests in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Fairfield County, Connecticut. He also served as Ambassador to Nigeria for three and a half years.
“We are humbled by the outpouring of condolences and support we have received from the Tri-State area,” said Sir Thomas, “and we are especially gratified to see that many Muslim groups in the area are also condemning the bombings and speaking out to a larger degree than after 9/11. Please take our heartfelt appreciation back to the constituents you represent in the twelve communities.”
Sir Thomas and Freeholder Vega spent a good 45 minutes discussing the bombings, the history of the American-British alliance and the economy of the region. Sir Thomas also serves as Director General for UK Trade and Investment in the United States and as such is responsible for teams across the United States that help UK companies to do business in the US market, and encourage American companies to invest and operate in the UK. He was completely familiar with the economic boom being experienced by Hudson County and expressed a desire to visit the county in the near future.
Freeholder Vega promised that he would contact him and arrange for a tour of the county followed by a dinner in Hoboken. It was during that exchange that Sir Thomas, a Welshman who speaks English, French, Spanish, German and Serbo-Croat fluently, spoke to the freeholder in Spanish after learning of the latter’s Cuban roots.
It further turned out that they were both track stars in college. Freeholder Vega was a long distance track star at the University of Tennessee (he also placed 24th one year in the New York City Marathon) and Sir Philip was a star miler at Cambridge.
In addition to expressing its condolences and support in person, it appears that Hudson County has made a new friend in the British consul-general.