AnnaKubat

With 130 mph winds, half a million people without power and a death toll of 45, Hurricane Melissa is the strongest storm to ever hit Jamaica. 

This intense, Category 5 storm became a problem on Oct. 28 and has been one ever since. As peak tourism season inches closer, the question of if the country can rebuild or not looms in the background of the destruction. 

Shantise Pearson ‘22 has been visiting her family in Ocho Rios, Jamaica since she was four years old. Although she was not directly affected, “The experience was still deeply disturbing. Seeing the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa was heartbreaking,” she said.

Her father, Hubert Pearson, owner of the Caribbean Delights restaurant in Omaha, traveled to Ocho Rios on Oct. 19 but was delayed in returning because of the storm. Montego Bay Airport was closed down as the hurricane began to threaten the island, and he did not have a way out. Hubert’s devices lost power, and he wasn’t able to contact his family for a day.

 “This was terrifying for my family…as we watched the news and saw the devastating effects of the storm unfold. We held onto faith that he would be safe and through the grace of God, he was finally able to contact us,” Shantise said.

Montego Bay, Jamaica’s tourism capital and a hotspot for vacationers, was hit hard. Hotels and resorts went through extensive damage. Other cities along with Montego Bay must rush to rebuild as tourism makes up 30% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), the total monetary value of goods and services produced within a country in a year. According to NPR reports, it also employs 20% of the workforce. Despite the damage, Jamaica is already focused on restoration. 

“Although it is painful to see how hard the hurricane struck an island that depends so heavily on tourism, I believe that with determination and community effort, Jamaica can recover and thrive once again,” Shantise said. 

The hurricane’s impacts are being felt far from the eye, with the Servants of Mary, Marian’s founding order of religious women, checking in on their members located in Jamaica’s capital. Two Servants of Mary are currently in Kingston, Jamaica: Sr. Hazeline Williams and Sr. Rose Chang. “The sisters have been blessed that there is very little damage where they live. However, other areas in which they have served and lived have experienced a great deal of devastation. They are reaching out to people and areas in greater need,” Sr. Lisa Sheridan, Servants of Mary US/Jamaica/Canada Prioress, said.

“Jamaica has been through many difficult times and has managed to survive – and this is giving us hope as we now face this challenge,” Sr. Rose said in an article written to the general council of her congregation. 

Prior to Hurricane Melissa, both Sisters provided spiritual direction and Sr. Hazeline worked at a local Catholic grade school. The sisters live in a convent on the grounds of an all-girls high school that is owned and operated by the Franciscan Sisters. 

“We have gotten information from the Franciscan Sisters and their relief efforts so that we can work together. The Sisters will be taking up a collection at their Thanksgiving Mass and I have discussed a possible free-dress day or bake sale where donations would go towards raising awareness,” Sr. Lisa said. 

 According to Jamaica’s tourism minister Edmund Bartlett, in an interview with NPR, there is already an established timeline to open hotels and airports while also getting citizens back to the workforce. This beginning leads into the new year with a hopeful outlook.

As Marian students, girls face a calling to help those less fortunate than them, and their help is needed now more than ever in places such as Jamaica. With Christmas break and the giving season approaching, many girls return to their warm homes and families. As Sr. Hazeline reflects in her poem, “Seeing Melissa from Eastern Glasses,” “We / the spared / heard God’s voice in the sky: / “Go comfort my people / bind what the storm has torn” / And yes, we rose to the call.”