Gordon Robinson | How can I help?

For once, a Tuesday column won’t include shaggy dog tales, domino metaphors or Oma D’unn’s parables.

There’s nothing funny about last week’s demonic invasion by a blowhard named Melissa. Social media warriors, including ye olde scribe, joined a campaign of collective consciousness willing Melissa to KEEP MOVING WEST. We wanted to push her past Jamaica’s western tip. We succeeded in confounding professional guessers on American TV who predicted a catastrophic landfall in Clarendon but just couldn’t succeed completely. So I switched to the Marty Robbins classic:

Oh, devil woman;

devil woman, let go of me.

Devil woman, let me be

and leave me alone,

I want to go home.

Melissa turned St Elizabeth into a scene from The Last of Us starring Pedro Pascal and the magnificent Bella Ramsey. Westmoreland looked like New Orleans after Katrina. Manchester, St James, Hanover, Trelawny and St. Ann were terrorized and razed. Tourism wasn’t spared.

Scenes from Black River were unimaginably horrific. Agriculture has been decimated. The thoroughbred breeding industry, an agricultural enterprise, is ravaged. Heartbreaking devastation was wrought at Y.S. Farms (St Elizabeth) and Orange Valley (Trelawny). Further horseracing industry decline looms no matter into which product system lunatic fringe whiners encourage authorities to convert. Stud farms are horseracing’s foundation. They’re already in decline thanks to Government neglect. Without a thriving breeding industry there’ll be no horseracing product to complain about. Government’s proud employment illusion will dissipate.

Jamaica can look forward to months of difficult, dirty, uncomfortable and complex work towards recovery. But “recovery” won’t be enough. Recovery alone invites cyclical repetition. St Elizabeth and Westmoreland in particular need reconstruction. Urban planning is essential as we rebuild townships with more logical, ecological and climate change resistant designs. As I wrote on Sunday, clear, analytical, positive thinking is crucial to success. So I’ll begin the positivity with kudos to those who excelled so far:

• Government Ministers (especially Dana Morris-Dixon, Daryl Vaz and Desmond McKenzie), ministries and agencies did great jobs in the lead up to landfall. Transparency and assistance were watchwords. Regular, widely broadcast, focused press conferences disseminated important information and updates from Met Office, JCF; JDF and ODPEM. Four stars;

• Gully cleaning, although belated, was critical and effective. Explanations for the late start were convenient, yes, but also credible. However, that the later it’s done leaves less time for residents to block them again only exposed grossly inadequate routine work by NSWMA. Three stars;

• Media stepped up and reminded me of JBC Radio’s coverage of 1988’s Hurricane Gilbert - still the gold standard. In that time the original Good Morning Man, Desmond Chambers, stood out. This time, everybody did well but CVM TV, led from the front by the always impressive Giovanni Dennis, shone. Four stars.

• People in devastated parishes showed admirable spirit of positivity, hope and resilience. Stories like that of a man who distributed coconuts from his blown tree were heartwarming. Five stars!

Regrettable, in direct contrast, was the initial response from Mark Golding. If ever there was a time for national unity; to discard political tribalism; to eschew polytricks; this was it. Instead Mark delivered a tribal message calling on PM to shun tribalism and to ensure relief supplies distribution wasn’t tainted with political victimization.

Really? Seriously?

Anticipating political victimization in relief distribution BEFORE a single item is distributed? Where was sympathy for victims; pledge to assist wherever needed; and pausing political sparring during a national crisis FIVE YEARS before another election? This is NOT the time for political finger-pointing. Stop asking why PM visited where when. STOP. The only relevant query now is “How can I help?”

After suffering more blowback on social media than from Melissa he posted a more appropriate message also on social media. Then he wrote:

“In the wake of Hurricane Melissa, we have witnessed great challenge. But in the face of this adversity, we have also witnessed the unbreakable spirit of our people.

To those who have suffered loss, your pain is our pain. You are not alone.

The days ahead will require strength, but I have absolute faith in our collective resilience. We are a people who have always turned trials into triumphs. By linking our hands and our hearts, we will clear the debris, we will rebuild our communities, and we will rise from this stronger than before.

We stand with you, ready to help and serve in every way we can. This is our home, and together, we will see Jamaica shine again.

Let us move forward with hope and unity. Let’s show the world that we are, and will always be, Jamaica Strong. One Love”

THAT’s the spirit! So, kudos also to Mark Golding for belatedly coming to his senses and acting like a national leader and not a spoiled child. Two stars.

Peace and Love.

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com