I haven't really known what to say since Melissa passed us. Spent much of the last couple days scrolling through missing persons posts on Twitter whenever I had connection and sharing them. But also liking & celebrating every post where persons confirmed contact with family and friends. Homes & livelihoods are gone but for the ones who survived the ordeal, life is what matters.
The south eastern end of the island where I am was spared the worst and I'm grateful but the south west, west, north west to northern parts are damn near unrecognisable. Over 70% of Jamaica is without power. Bodies are yet to be recovered. So many images that have broken my heart but this one hit me really hard:
Shared by Matthew Samuda, our Minister for Water, Environment and Climate Change.
He's been so weary. All of our ministers of government have been. Climate change is real and climate injustice is real. The Caribbean Sea has been averaging 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31.1 degrees Celsius), not just on the surface, but several feet deep down. It's the end of October! Continue to deny this shit at your own peril.
I am really touched though by the support coming in especially from our Caribbean & Latin American neighbours. First relief plane to land since the airport opened was carrying a delegation from the Cayman Islands. El Salvador is gonna send aid and rescue teams, Mexico, Venezuela (also sending aid to Cuba), Barbados, Trinidad and so on. We may fight like siblings but we really does love each other bad enuh. Community is so important right now and I see it.
Thank you to everyone on here who have been sharing and boosting not just my post on where to donate officially to the Jamaican Government but every other donation drive that persons have put together. Please don't forget Haiti, Dominican Republic or Cuba. Please share those posts too if you see them.
@girlfromtheantilles has shared many great resources as well, please check their blog.
