Hurricane Melissa was “The most powerful hurricane to lash the island of Jamaica since record-keeping began 174 years ago and one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded.” After sitting off the coast for nearly two weeks building up strength and fury, Melissa plummeted the western region of Jamaica, making landfall in Black River, St. Elizabeth, flattening everything in its path “with sustained winds of 185 mph,” according to ABC news. My people – including my nearest and dearest ages 4 to 89 – survived “the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded.” With the initial loss of only a handful of precious lives, Melissa serves as a testament to the Jamaican population’s high level of emergency preparedness.
But now more than two weeks since Melissa, the issues faced are daunting and people as take on the task of surviving the aftermath. Living daily with catastrophic destruction all around, no electricity, running water, no way to safely store needed medications – which often require some type of cooling system (a refrigerator or cooler), no AC or ceiling fans (because of no electricity); no charged phones and at best with sporadic or mobile network. Not to mention, no bedding, no schools, medical facilities, and few accessible roads. And, no food! Yet, with all of this, my 89 year old uncle’s spirit is formidable! While Jamaica’s heinous government plays politics with people’s lives, Uncle is helping his family and community keep hopeful as he ensures that everyone is checked on, direct the more able-bodied as to the clearing of path and the cleaning up of fallen trees, and the patching up of roofs. And, he still has the foresight to remind an anxious niece, too far away for any level of comfort, that we can and will get through this.
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Because the process of clean-up, relief, and recovery are not dramatic, requiring tenacious rituals that in a world fixated on entertainment and the quest towards microwave solutions and shiny balls – and a disdain for intentionality and grit – soon, very soon, the news of Melissa will loose the attention of global media.
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