Basil Jarrett | The UN during Melissa: Behind the scenes but at the heart of the response

WE ARE now in Week Three since Hurricane Melissa tore through the left end of Jamaica, leaving the island quite literally a tale of two halves. At one end, mosquitoes, tarpaulins, dark nights and dry pipes compete to compound the misery of Westend-ers while, at the other, it is business as usual with open schools, traffic and the vibrant nightlife standing in stark contrast.

In the midst of the chaos that is St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St James and Trelawny, aide groups, NGOs and big-hearted Jamaicans work tirelessly to bring back some normalcy and dignity to those communities, even as patience runs thin and frustration builds with every bite of relief corned beef and mackerel.

NEVER BEFORE SEEN

Even for the brave and resilient JDF soldiers and ODPEM workers who do their best work in this sort of chaos, Hurricane Melissa is a different challenge. Criss-crossing Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti with winds of up to 140 miles per hour, the storm left nearly 80 dead, thousands displaced, and untold billions in damage across the region. But, in a crowded coordination meeting at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel last week, one could be forgiven for feeling more than a bit of hope that ‘this too shall pass’.

Among the exhausted military officers, UN representatives, NGO reps and civil servants clutching clipboards and coffee cups, we were given a gentle reminder that coordination is everything during a crisis.

This was the UN mission’s nightly debrief, a mechanism that few Jamaicans ever get to see firsthand – thankfully. Led by the UN Resident Coordinator system, the UN Alphabet Soup of agencies, OCHA, WFP, IOM, PAHO, UNICEF, UNDP, FAO and UN Women, combined with local agencies, the JDF, JCF, Jamaica Fire Brigade and ODPEM and about 75 other local and overseas NGOs fought to bring some measure of relief to those hardest hit.

UNIFYING VARIED MANDATES

Each UN agency has its own mandate, budget, staff, and global HQ. What they don’t always have is the time, clarity, or local understanding to align themselves with each other, let alone with Jamaica’s priorities. If the UN is a central nervous system of interconnected body parts, then the Resident Coordinator (RCO) is the brain during a crisis such as this, making sure all the limbs and muscles work together in synergy.

It was truly a lesson in how to herd cats because, as you can imagine, such a large group can be unwieldy on its known, never mind in the midst of a full-blown Category 5 crisis. The RCO here in Jamaica is led by Dennis Zulu, a man with an outsize personality and the charisma to match. He leads just the way a good leader ought to lead during a crisis: far enough behind to allow the experts and specialists to do their work, but just within touching distance to course-correct or move impediments if necessary.

Under this system, the disaster relief and response mechanism works like a well-tuned orchestra. While the WFP coordinates food drops to marooned communities, the IOM assesses shelter conditions and displaced persons, UNICEF safeguards vulnerable children in temporary shelters, and PAHO/WHO coordinates health surveillance and water quality assessments. All while the JDF and ODPEM keep time with metronomic support round the clock. This crisis may be one of the worst we’ve ever seen, but it’s also been one of the most coordinated. Not perfect, since nothing is, but certainly well-coordinated.

THE RESIDENT COORDINATOR OFFICE

A lot of that credit, especially on the UN and NGO side, must go to the RCO that ensures that all UN agencies involved work in concert, not in competition with each other and, most critically, with the government. And, in a crisis like Hurricane Melissa, that job becomes pivotal in order to eliminate duplication, reduce waste, identify the highest-priority needs, and make sure that the international response aligns with Jamaica’s national emergency plans.

Because, even though the UN’s big boys are all here, this is still Jamaica’s show after all, and, at a time when desperation can quickly turn into dependency, that matters. At all times, the UN’s assistance must be people-centred, context-specific, and aligned with Jamaica’s goals, not imposed from the outside.

Hurricane Melissa has reminded us that, as climate change accelerates and disasters like this become more frequent, Jamaica must build long-term systems of coordination. That means having a well-resourced and deeply integrated ODPEM, a nimble and capable JDF, and a strong, powerful, mutually supportive relationship with the UN Resident Coordinator system.

HOW TO HELP

It also means having a civilian population that understands that local disasters today frequently have an international component that is vital to a swift resolution. If you’re a business leader, ask how your company can partner with the UN’s development goals or support its many organisations. If you’re in government, push for deeper coordination mechanisms that go beyond crisis and disaster response. And, if you’re a citizen, stay informed and stay in support of organisations that work in alignment with our own developmental goals and standards.

Hurricane Melissa made it painfully clear that no single agency, army, or organisation can do it alone. It takes partnership that is intentional, well-coordinated, and rooted in mutual respect and recognition of each other. In the end, coordination is not a competition or a courtesy, but rather a survival strategy, and true partnership isn’t just about showing up with bags of rice and cans of corned beef during a crisis.

Rather, it’s about being present and being engaged, long after CNN has left, the rains have stopped and dancehall nice again. That’s what builds resilience. That’s what Jamaica and the increasingly vulnerable Caribbean needs. These very partnerships that we forge today between the UN, government, military, NGOs, and citizens are what will define how well we survive and how swiftly we recover from the next Melissa.

Major Basil Jarrett is the director of communications at the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency and a crisis communications consultant. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Threads @IamBasilJarrett and linkedin.com/in/basiljarrett. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com